Martin Charles Raff (born 15 January 1938) is a Canadian/British biologist and researcher who is an Emeritus Professor at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB) at University College London (UCL). His research has been in immunology, cell biology, and developmental neurobiology.

Early life

Raff was born and educated in Montreal, where he obtained his

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

degree in 1959 and an M.D.C.M. in 1963, both from McGill University.

Career

Raff was an intern and assistant resident in medicine at the

Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal The Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) (french: Hôpital Royal Victoria), colloquially known as the "Royal Vic" or "The Vic", is a hospital in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It forms the biggest base hospital of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) ...

(1963–65) and a resident in

neurology Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

at the

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United State ...

in Boston (1965–68). He did

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). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see ther ...

with

Avrion Mitchison (Nicholas) Avrion Mitchison (born 5 May 1928) is a British zoologist and immunologist. Biography Mitchison was born in 1928, the son of the Labour politician Dick Mitchison (Baron Mitchison of Carradale in the County of Argyll, who died 197 ...

at the

National Institute for Medical Research The National Institute for Medical Research (commonly abbreviated to NIMR), was a medical research institute based in Mill Hill, on the outskirts of north London, England. It was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC); In 2016, the NIMR ...

in Mill Hill, London (1968–1971), after which he moved to

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

, where he has been since 1971. He served as president of the British Society of Cell Biology (1991–95). He retired from active science in 2002, but he continued to serve on various scientific advisory boards in Europe and America until 2018. After his first retirement, when his grandson was diagnosed with autism, he became interested in the neurobiological basis of autism. He is co-author of two widely used cell biology textbooks: ''

Molecular Biology of the Cell ''Molecular Biology of the Cell'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Society for Cell Biology. It covers research on the molecular basis of cell structure and function. According to the ''Journal Citation Rep ...

'' and ''Essential Cell Biology''.

Awards and honours

Raff has received the following awards for his research: *1974: Nominated a member of the

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(EMBO) *1985: Elected a

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

(FRS) *1988:

Member of Academia Europaea Membership of the Academia Europaea (MAE) is an award conferred by the Academia Europaea to individuals that have demonstrated "sustained academic excellence". Membership is by invitation only by existing MAE only and judged during a peer review se ...

(MAE) *1989: Feldberg Prize given by

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 Wi ...

*1989: Honorary Member of the American Neurological Society *1998: Inaugural

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 The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of ...

(FMedSci) *1999: Foreign Honorary Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

*2001: Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence, awarded by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...

*2003: International

Member of the National Academy of Sciences Membership of the National Academy of Sciences is an award granted to scientists that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States judges to have made “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research”. Membership i ...

*2005: Honorary Degree, McGill University *2006: The Biochemical Society Award *2007: Honorary Degree, Vrije Universiteit Brussel *2010: DART/NYU Biotechnology Achievement Award in Basic Science

Personal life

Raff's son is also a scientist.

References

1938 births Living people Academics of University College London Autism researchers Canadian emigrants to England Canadian immunologists Canadian neuroscientists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society McGill University Faculty of Medicine alumni Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Canadian molecular biologists People from Montreal {{Canada-scientist-stub