Anne Carla Ferguson-Smith (born 23 July 1961) is a mammalian developmental geneticist. She is the Executive Chair of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics and former Pro-Vice Chancellor for Research and International Partnerships at the University of Cambridge. Formerly head of the Department of Genetics at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, she is a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Darwin College, Cambridge Darwin College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded on 28 July 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and wo ...

and serves as President of the Genetics Society. Ferguson-Smith is an authority on genomic imprinting and the epigenetic control of genome function in health and disease, and is recognised for her work on parental-origin effects and epigenetic mechanisms. Her work has uncovered epigenetically regulated processes in development and over the life course, and identified key ''in vivo'' mechanisms involved in the maintenance of epigenetic states. She also explores communication between the environment and the genome with implications for health, disease and inheritance.

Education

Anne Carla Ferguson-Smith was born on 23 July 1961 in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, United States. She was educated at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

where she was awarded a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

. She moved to the biology department at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

to undertake a PhD identifying human

Hox gene Hox genes, a subset of homeobox, homeobox genes, are a gene cluster, group of related genes that Evolutionary developmental biology, specify regions of the body plan of an embryo along the craniocaudal axis, head-tail axis of animals. Hox protein ...

s and characterising mammalian Hox clusters, supervised by Frank Ruddle.

Career and research

Ferguson-Smith conducted postdoctoral research with Azim Surani at the University of Cambridge from 1989 to 1994, where she initiated molecular studies on genomic imprinting - the process causing genes to be expressed according to their parental origin. The team identified one of the first endogenous imprinted genes, and showed that the process was epigenetically regulated by

DNA methylation DNA methylation is a biological process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule. Methylation can change the activity of a DNA segment without changing the sequence. When located in a gene promoter (genetics), promoter, DNA methylati ...

. Her subsequent research in the Department of Physiology Development and Neuroscience (formerly Anatomy) at the University of Cambridge identified functions for, and regulatory mechanisms of,

genomic imprinting Genomic imprinting is an epigenetic phenomenon that causes genes to be expressed or not, depending on whether they are inherited from the female or male parent. Genes can also be partially imprinted. Partial imprinting occurs when alleles from b ...

, and contributed to its establishment as a model for understanding the epigenetic control of mammalian genome function. This work resulted in the characterisation of pathways important in mammalian development and growth, in the regulation of metabolism, and in the control of adult neurogenesis. In 2013 she was appointed Professor and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Cambridge and became the seventh Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics in 2015. Her research continues to forge links between

DNA sequence A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases within the nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. This succession is denoted by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of the nu ...

, epigenetic modifications and

gene regulation Regulation of gene expression, or gene regulation, includes a wide range of mechanisms that are used by cells to increase or decrease the production of specific gene products (protein or RNA). Sophisticated programs of gene expression are wide ...

, and their impact on phenotype; and the mechanisms and implications of epigenetic inheritance.

Honours and awards

Ferguson-Smith was elected a

Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) is an award for medical scientists who are judged by the UK Academy of Medical Sciences for the "excellence of their science, their contribution to medicine and society and the range of the ...

(FMedSci) in 2002, was awarded

EMBO Membership Membership of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is an award granted by the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in recognition of "research excellence and the outstanding achievements made by a life scientist". , 88 EM ...

in 2006 and elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

(FRS) in 2017 She won the

Suffrage Science award The Suffrage Science award is a prize for women in science, engineering and computing founded in 2011, on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS). There are three categories of awar ...

in 2014 and was awarded the Buchanan Medal of the Royal Society in 2021. She was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2023 Birthday Honours The 2023 King's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of King Charles III to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part ...

for services to medical research. She is an executive chair of

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation, is a non-departmental public body (NDPB), and is the largest UK public funder of non-medical bioscience. It predominantly funds science, scient ...

Personal life

Ferguson-Smith married Mark Gregory McHarg in 1988, with whom she has a son and a daughter. She is the daughter of Malcolm Ferguson-Smith, also a geneticist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson-Smith, Anne Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal Society Fellows of Darwin College, Cambridge Female fellows of the Royal Society 21st-century Scottish women scientists 21st-century Scottish scientists Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Living people Scottish geneticists British women geneticists 1961 births Alumni of the University of Glasgow Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Scottish women academics Arthur Balfour Professors of Genetics Commanders of the Order of the British Empire