Patricia Simpson
Encyclopedia
Patricia "Pat" Simpson FRS
is a distinguished British developmental biologist. She is Professor of Comparative Embryology in the University of Cambridge
, and a Fellow of Newnham College.
She graduated from Universite de Paris VI, Pierre and Marie Curie University
.
She is distinguished for her work on development in insects. Her first major discovery was that pattern formation and growth are regulated by the same mechanism. By a study of genetic mosaics she demonstrated that cells develop into particular structures by means of local interactions with their neighbours.
She has made major contributions to the understanding of the process of lateral inhibition
, whereby initially equivalent cells interact between themselves and subsequently adopt different fates.
This process involves a conserved cellular receptor and is equally important in mammals; the work can be related to studies on human development and disease.
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
is a distinguished British developmental biologist. She is Professor of Comparative Embryology in the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and a Fellow of Newnham College.
She graduated from Universite de Paris VI, Pierre and Marie Curie University
Pierre and Marie Curie University
The Paris VI University , or the Pierre and Marie Curie University , is a university located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France....
.
She is distinguished for her work on development in insects. Her first major discovery was that pattern formation and growth are regulated by the same mechanism. By a study of genetic mosaics she demonstrated that cells develop into particular structures by means of local interactions with their neighbours.
She has made major contributions to the understanding of the process of lateral inhibition
Lateral inhibition
In neurobiology, lateral inhibition is the capacity of an excited neuron to reduce the activity of its neighbors. Lateral inhibition sharpens the spatial profile of excitation in response to a localized stimulus.-Sensory inhibition:...
, whereby initially equivalent cells interact between themselves and subsequently adopt different fates.
This process involves a conserved cellular receptor and is equally important in mammals; the work can be related to studies on human development and disease.
Awards
- 2000 Fellow of the Royal Society
- 1993 Siver medal of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifque, France
External links
- "Patricia Simpson", Google Scholar