Director General

Gene Expression Unit

European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Heidelberg, Germany)

Iain Mattaj

Gene Expression

Iain Mattaj Ph.D., FRS, FRSE I have been Director General of European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) since May 2005. I served as Scientific and Clinical Advisor of Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc. I joined EMBL Heidelberg as a Group Leader in 1985. I became Coordinator of the Gene Expression Unit at EMBL in 1990 before being promoted to the position as Scientific Director in 1999. In addition to my leadership success at EMBL, my own research achievements have been considerable and varied. My early work centered on a group of ribonucle oprotein particles (RNP) that function in the processing of messenger RNA precursors. My analyses of these RNPs spanned a variety of topics and my studies led to fundamental insights of general importance. My prominent standing in the field was underlined by my election as President of the RNA Society and my award of the prestigious Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine in 2001. My most recent work is focused on aspects of the regulation of processes that occur during cell division. I am the Scientific Director of the EMBL and Programme Coordinator of the Gene Expression Programme at EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany. I am a distinguished scientist whose contributions have been recognised by my election as a Fellow of the Royal Society (London), Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Member of Academia Europe and Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Science. I am a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) and helped make The EMBO Journal a highly successful international scientific journal, acting as Executive Editor from 1990 to 2004. I attended Edinburgh University, Scotland and after completing my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry (honours), I attended the University of Leeds, England for my PhD studies. Following my PhD, I carried out postdoctoral research at the Friedrich Miescher Institute, Switzerland then at the Biocentre, University of Basel, Switzerland.

2004-2005 Scientific and Clinical Advisor of Anadys Pharmaceuticals Inc

2001 Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine