Telomere maintenance in health and disease

Simon Boulton studied Molecular Biology at the University of Edinburgh and did his PhD at the University of Cambridge with Prof. Sir Steve Jackson (Gurdon Institute). He continued his training as an EMBO and HFSP funded postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School, Boston, with Prof. Nick Dyson (MGH Cancer Centre) and Prof. Marc Vidal (Dana Farber Cancer Institute). In 2002, he returned to the UK to establish the DSB Repair Metabolism Laboratory at Cancer Research UK, London Research Institute, Clare Hall Laboratories. He is currently Principal group leader and Assistant Research Director for Translation at the Francis Crick Institute, London, UK.

Simon has dedicated his career to understanding the processes of DNA double stand break (DSB) repair and how telomeres prevent DSB repair at chromosome ends. These processes are fundamentally important for maintaining the integrity of our genome and preventing many human diseases, including premature ageing and cancer. His work on DNA double strand break (DSB) repair revealed the existence of a backup DNA repair pathway important in cancer cells and defined how homologous recombination (HR) is executed and constrained in cells. He has also made important discoveries into the mechanisms by which telomeres protect the ends of linear chromosome from DSB repair and discovered that this process is fundamentally different in pluripotent and somatic cell states.

Simon was recently appointed Chief Translation Advisor at Cancer Research UK, with the remit to shape the strategic direction of translation and innovation activities within CRUK and Cancer Research Horizons. He is also Director of RadNet City of London, a Cancer Research UK initiative to accelerate understanding of radiation biology to improve treatments for cancer patients. He is also the Crick lead on an EPSRC funded Prosperity Partnership with GSK that is developing a chemical biology platform around reactive-fragment chemistry. With his background in translation and commercialization, Simon advises the Crick Translation Team to promote translation at the Crick, serving on the steering committees for our industry partnerships and our translation advisory group. Simon also chairs the Discovery Research Committee for Cancer Research UK, serves on the Bioscience and Biomedicine Committee for the Novo Nordisk Foundation and provides ad hoc advice to various start-up and venture investment firms.

Finally, Simon has been elected as an EMBO member, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Fellow of the Royal Society. He has also received the Colworth Medal, Eppendorf/Nature Award, EMBO Gold Medal, Royal Society Francis Crick Medal and the Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research.