Sir James Cuthbert Smith (born 31 December 1954) is an Emeritus Scientist at the

Francis Crick Institute The Francis Crick Institute (formerly the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation) is a biomedical research centre in London, which was established in 2010 and opened in 2016. The institute is a partnership between Cancer Research UK, Im ...

, Honorary Fellow of

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 250 graduate students. The c ...

and President of the Council at the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

Education

Smith was educated at

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

and graduated from 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 ...

with a Bachelor of Arts degree in

Natural Sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

in 1976. He was awarded a PhD in 1979 by University College London (UCL) for research supervised by

Lewis Wolpert Lewis Wolpert (19 October 1929 – 28 January 2021) was a South African-born British developmental biologist, author, and broadcaster. Wolpert popularized his French flag model of embryonic development, using the colours of the French flag ...

Middlesex Hospital Medical School Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clo ...

Career and research

Smith completed

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

appointments at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

from 1979 to 1981 and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (now Cancer Research UK) from 1981 to 1984. In 1984 he joined the staff of the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), becoming head of the Division of Developmental Biology in 1991 and head of the Genes and Cellular Control Group in 1996. He moved to become director of the

Gurdon Institute The Gurdon Institute is a research facility at the University of Cambridge, specialising in developmental biology and cancer biology. History The Institute was founded in 1989 to provide a rich, collaborative environment for scientists working i ...

in 2001, returning to NIMR in 2009 to become its director. In 2014 he became Deputy CEO of the Medical Research Council in addition to his role as NIMR Director. When NIMR joined the CRUK London Research Institute as part of the

he became director of research at the Crick. He stepped down from his MRC and Crick roles in 2017 when he became Director of Science at Wellcome. He led the Wellcome Science Review in 2019. In 2021 he left Wellcome and became Secretary of the

. Smith's research has focused on how cells of the very early vertebrate embryo form the specialised tissues of muscle, skin, blood and bone. His discovery of a

mesoderm The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical ...

-inducing factor secreted by a cell line and establishing its identity as

activin Activin and inhibin are two closely related protein complexes that have almost directly opposite biological effects. Identified in 1986, activin enhances FSH biosynthesis and secretion, and participates in the regulation of the menstrual c ...

transformed the study of induction in the early embryo. He also showed that activin specifies different cell types at different thresholds and that characteristic genes like

Brachyury T-box transcription factor T, also known as Brachyury protein, is encoded for in humans and other apes by the ''TBXT'' gene. Brachyury functions as a transcription factor within the T-box, T-box family of genes. Brachyury Sequence homology, homo ...

are turned on at specific concentrations. In other work he shed light on the molecular basis of gastrulation, and especially the role of non-canonical Wnt signalling. His earlier work demonstrated threshold responses in chick limb development and also showed that the

mitogen A mitogen is a small bioactive protein or peptide that induces a cell to begin cell division, or enhances the rate of division (mitosis). Mitogenesis is the induction (triggering) of mitosis, typically via a mitogen. The cell cycle Mitogens a ...

ic response to

growth factor A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cell proliferation, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation. Usually it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are important for ...

s can be active when attached to the

extracellular matrix In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), also called intercellular matrix (ICM), is a network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins and hydroxyapatite that provide structural and bio ...

. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:

Awards and honours

Smith was elected as an

EMBO Member 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 EMB ...

in 1992, a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1993 and of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1998. He was awarded the

Scientific Medal in 1989, the

Feldberg Foundation The Feldberg Foundation promotes scientific exchange between German and British scientists in the field of experimental medical research. The foundation is registered in Hamburg, Germany with the secretariat based in the UK. The pharmacologist W ...

award in 2000, the

William Bate Hardy Prize The William Bate Hardy Prize is awarded by the Cambridge Philosophical Society. It is awarded once in three years “for the best original memoir, investigation or discovery by a member of the University of Cambridge in connection with Biological S ...

in 2001 and the

Waddington Medal The British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB) is a scientific society promoting developmental biology research; it is open to anyone with an interest in the subject who agrees with the principles of the Society. History The British Society f ...

by the British Society for Developmental Biology in 2013. In 2014 he was named by the ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'' as one of the 1000 most influential Londoners, in the 'Innovators' section. He was also awarded the

EMBO Gold Medal The EMBO Gold Medal is an annual award of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) given to young scientists for outstanding contributions to the life sciences in Europe. Laureates receive a medal and €10,000 and are invited to rece ...

in 1993. Smith was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in the

2017 New Year Honours The 2017 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours were awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

for services to medical research and science education.

Personal life

Smith married

Fiona Watt Fiona Watt, (born 28 March 1956) is a British scientist who is internationally known for her contributions to the field of stem cell biology. In the 1980s, when the field was in its infancy, she highlighted key characteristics of stem cells a ...

in 1979 and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Jim Cuthbert 1954 births Living people Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Developmental biologists English biologists Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor People educated at Latymer Upper School National Institute for Medical Research faculty John Humphrey Plummer Professors Presidents of the Zoological Society of London Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge