Professor Roberto Mayor and 3 other UCL academics elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences

Throughout his career, Professor Mayor has pioneered research into morphogenesis, the biological process that causes a cell, tissue or organism to develop its shape.  He has done this with the aim of increasing our understanding of the process that occurs during development of an embryo. In particular, Roberto Mayor has undertaken pioneering research into the neural crest, which is the embryonic tissue that develops into the face and head.  In so doing, he has made seminal advances into the causes of cleft lip and palate, by showing how genetic and environmental factors combine to cause a birth defect.

Roberto is founder and president of the Latin American Society of Developmental Biology (LASDB), Editor-in-Chief of Cells & Development and Professor of Developmental and Cellular Neurobiology in UCL Cell & Developmental Biology, in the Division of Biosciences.  Please visit Roberto Mayor's UCL profile for further information.

On hearing the news, Professor Geraint Rees [UCL Vice-Provost (Research, Innovation & Global Engagement)], congratulated all four of UCL's new Fellows: “I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to Professors Christopher Denton, Roberto Mayor, Sergio Quezada and Alison Rodger on their election to the Academy of Medical Sciences. Their outstanding work exemplifies the high quality, high impact biomedical research undertaken every day at UCL. They each thoroughly deserve this prestigious accolade.” 

Roberto's citation reads:

Roberto Mayor is a world authority on development of the cephalic neural crest, an embryonic tissue that contributes to the formation of face and head. Cephalic neural crest cells are directly involved in craniofacial defects which account for one-third of all birth defects. His work as identified the causes of cleft lip and palate, demonstrating for the first time how genetic and environmental factors combine to cause a birth defect, while it is also a noteworthy example of epigenetics, as environmental factors influence the expression of a gene. In addition, his work has greatly enhanced our understanding of early embryonic development and established neural crest cells as a leading model for studies on cell migration. His seminal work on contact inhibition of locomotion (the process that causes cells to stop moving and change direction after contact with another cell) uncovered the molecular mechanisms involved and revitalized research on this topic. His work has impacted research as diverse as cancer invasion during metastasis, microglia behaviour during Alzheimer disease, craniofacial defects in embryogenesis and bacterial movement during infection, to name a few. His recent work on the role of mechanical forces has also uncovered new connections between two apparently dissimilar processes: gastrulation and neural crest migration. Professor Mayor is now considered a leading figure in the emerging field of cell and tissue mechanics, and his work has wide implications in understanding cancer invasion and the origins of congenital craniofacial defects.

The Academy of Medical Sciences has elected 58 exceptional biomedical and health scientists to its prestigious Fellowship.  The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on Wednesday 18 September 2024. 

Professor Andrew Morris, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “It is an honour to welcome these brilliant minds to our Fellowship. Our new Fellows lead pioneering work in biomedical research and are driving remarkable improvements in healthcare. We look forward to working with them, and learning from them, in our quest to foster an open and progressive research environment that improves the health of people everywhere through excellence in medical science."

The Academy of Medical Sciences is the independent, expert body representing the diversity of medical science in the UK. Its mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. The Academy's elected Fellows are the most influential scientists in the UK and worldwide, drawn from the NHS, academia, industry and the public service. 

The new Fellows, who were chosen from 365 candidates by eight selection committees, join a Fellowship of over 1,400 world leading researchers at the Academy of Medical Sciences.  With research interests spanning everything from the wellbeing of people living with HIV to the development of new cancer immunotherapy treatments, the new UCL Fellows have each made outstanding contributions to their respective fields.