John Skehel

Biography

Sir John James Skehel born 27 February 1941 is a British virologist and Emeritus scientist at the Francis Crick Institute in London.[3] From 1987 to 2006 he was Director of the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) at Mill Hill which was incorporated into the Crick Institute in 2016. Skehel was born in Blackburn to Joseph and Annie Skehel in 1941, and was educated at St. Mary's College, Blackburn before entering the University of Aberystwyth to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural biochemistry. He completed his postgraduate study at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), completing his PhD in biochemistry in 1966, for research on cation transport in yeast Following his PhD, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Aberdeen[1] for research, continuing it at Duke University In 1969 he returned to Britain and began work at the National Institute for Medical Research on the influenza virus. In 1984 he was made head of the virology division, followed by a promotion in 1987 to director of the Institute. He was director of the World Health Organisation (WHO)'s Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza from 1975 to 1993

Research Interest

virology, microbiology, influenza, virus replication and structure, membrane glycoprotein structure, receptor recognition, protein-mediated membrane fusion and antigenicity and antigenic variation