Jonathan Seckl

Jonathan Seckl is both medically and scientifically trained (MBBS at UCL, PhD in neuroendocrinology at Imperial College London). A clinical endocrinologist and former Wellcome Trust Senior Clinical Research Fellow, Seckl’s research (funded by 4 successive programme grants from the Wellcome Trust, and additional programme awards from MRC, Wellcome and HFSP) focuses on glucocorticoid biology from ‘cloning to clinic’. The laboratory exploits technologies from molecular and cell biology through models in vivo to detailed clinical investigation. The main themes are the discovery and understanding of the importance of local tissue regeneration of glucocorticoids (by 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases) as a cause of and therapeutic target for age-related memory impairments and the metabolic syndrome-diabetes-obesity continuum. The group also advanced and supported the glucocorticoid hypothesis of fetal ‘programming’ and has elucidated mechanisms by which this leads to subsequent disorders in adult life. Seckl has authored over 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers (career citations >19,000). He has given over 200 invited lectures at international meetings including many plenary talks. He has also talked to schools, teachers groups, lay audiences and in public fora on obesity, stress, developmental programming and ageing. 35 of Seckl’s students have gained PhDs; most are still active in research, several in leading positions around the globe.

Prof Seckl led the new-build interdisciplinary Molecular Medicine Centre (130 researchers), set up the interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of the Ageing Brain (now an MRC Centre), has been head of the Department of Medical Sciences (180 staff), was inaugural Head of School of Molecular and Clinical Medicine (500 staff), and is now Director of Research for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. He led the preparation of the College’s submissions to RAE2008. He has been on grant awarding committees for the MRC, Wellcome Trust, RSE, other UK charities and the EU and was a member of the Scottish Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee and an RAE2008 subpanel. He is currently on the MRC DPFS Panel and the council of the Academy of Medical Sciences. Seckl holds several patents and is on the Board of Edinburgh University’s technology transfer company, ERI. He advanced and raised MRC funding for the ‘Entrepreneur-in-Residence concept and leads Edinburgh’s MRC Developmental Pathway Funding Scheme Portfolio.