Wendy Bickmore Explained

Wendy Bickmore
Birth Date:28 July 1961
Birth Place:Shoreham-by-Sea, England
Work Institutions:
Education:Chichester High School for Girls
Alma Mater:
Doctoral Advisor:Howard Cooke
Thesis Title:Molecular analysis of DNA sequences from the human Y chromosome
Thesis Url:http://hdl.handle.net/1842/10808

Wendy Anne Bickmore (born 28 July 1961) is a British genome biologist known for her research on the organisation of genomic material in cells.

Early life and education

Bickmore was born at Shoreham-by-Sea on 28 July 1961 to Beryl and Keith Bickmore. She was educated at Chichester High School for Girls where her interest in science began being influenced by her biology teacher and her parents who were keen amateur gardeners. Her interest in biochemistry was confirmed having read ‘The Chemistry of Life’ by Steven Rose[1] and she went on to study biochemistry at St Hugh's College, Oxford[2] graduating with a BA. She then undertook a PhD at the University of Edinburgh analysing nucleic acid sequences from the Y chromosome of humans.[3] Her supervisors were Howard Cooke[4] and Adrian Bird.[5] She was an independent fellow at the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine from 1991 until 1996.

Research and career

Her work has focused on how DNA, chromosomes and specific genes are organised and packaged in the cell nucleus,[6] how this process is regulated during development to facilitate the expression of genes, and how aberrant genome organisation is linked to disease.[7] [8] [9] [10]

In 2020, she was recognised for her research examining the likelihood that people will develop serious symptoms of the COVID-19 disease.[11]

Bickmore was president of The Genetics Society from 2015 until 2018.[12]

As of 2021, she is director of the MRC Human Genetics Unit at the University of Edinburgh.[13] [14]

She is a member of the editorial board for Genes & Development.[15]

Selected publications

Awards and honours

Bickmore was awarded EMBO Membership in 2001,[16] elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) in 2005 and elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2005 (FMedSci).[17] She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2017.[18] She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to biomedical sciences and women in science.

Personal life

She is a member of the organisation Trees for Life which is working to restore the forest in the Highlands of Scotland.[19]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Rose, Steven P. R. (Steven Peter Russell), 1938- . The chemistry of life. . 1979 . Penguin . Sanderson, Cath . 0-14-020790-2 . 2nd . Harmondsworth . 6426479.
  2. Book: St Hugh's College Chronicle 2015–16. 2016. St Hugh's College, Oxford. 41.
  3. Molecular analysis of DNA sequences from the human Y chromosome . 1986 . English . Wendy Anne . Bickmore . 606140886.
  4. PhD. University of Edinburgh. Molecular analysis of DNA sequences from the human Y chromosome. Wendy Anne. Bickmore. 1986. . 1842/10808.
  5. Book: Methods in Enzymology. 1992. 216. Recombinant DNA Part G. Bickmore. Wendy A.. Bird. Adrian P.. Use of restriction endonucleases to detect and isolate genes from mammalian cells . 224–244. en. 10.1016/0076-6879(92)16024-e. 1336093. 9780121821173. https://archive.org/details/recombinantdna0000unse/page/224.
  6. Web site: Prof Wendy Bickmore – Packing DNA. thenakedscientists.com. 4 August 2013 .
  7. Web site: wendy bickmore . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090403164354/http://www.hgu.mrc.ac.uk/people/w.bickmore.html . 2009-04-03 .
  8. Pritchard-Jones. Kathryn. Fleming. Stewart. Davidson. Duncan. Bickmore. Wendy. Porteous. David. Gosden. Christine. Bard. Jonathan. Buckler. Alan. Pelletier. Jerry. 4350729. 1990. The candidate Wilms' tumour gene is involved in genitourinary development. Nature. en. 346. 6280. 194–197. 10.1038/346194a0. 2164159. 1990Natur.346..194P.
  9. Croft. Jenny A.. Bridger. Joanna M.. Boyle. Shelagh. Perry. Paul. Teague. Peter. Bickmore. Wendy A.. 1999. Differences in the Localization and Morphology of Chromosomes in the Human Nucleus. Journal of Cell Biology. en. 145. 6. 1119–1131. 10.1083/jcb.145.6.1119. 0021-9525. 10366586. 2133153.
  10. Fraser. Peter. Bickmore. Wendy. 4388060. Nuclear organization of the genome and the potential for gene regulation. 2007. Nature. 447. 7143. 413–417. 10.1038/nature05916. 17522674. 2007Natur.447..413F.
  11. Web site: New Year Honours: who from Herefordshire has been recognised?. 2021-11-28. Hereford Times. 30 December 2020 . en.
  12. Web site: History. 2021-11-28. Genetics Society. en-GB.
  13. Wendy Bickmore
  14. Wendy Bickmore Web site: Wendy Bickmore website. 15 January 2018 . November 28, 2021.
  15. Web site: Genes & Development -- Genes & Development Editorial Board. genesdev.cshlp.org. 2019-04-28.
  16. Web site: EMBO member: Wendy Bickmore. people.embo.org. Heidelberg. Anon. 2001.
  17. Web site: Professor Wendy Bickmore FRS FRSE FMedSci. acmedsci.ac.uk.
  18. Web site: Anon. 2017. Wendy Bickmore FRS. royalsociety.org. London.
  19. Web site: Wimmer. Doris. Wendy Bickmore. 2021-11-28. ESHG Conference 2020. en-GB.

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