The Nobel laureate Sir Paul Nurse is to become UKCMRI's first Director and Chief Executive. For the past two years, Paul has been chairing the UKCMRI Scientific Planning Committee which has been advising on the development of the institute. He will take up his post on 1 January 2011.
Paul Nurse said: "I am honoured to have the opportunity to head UKCMRI as it takes shape as one of the foremost biomedical research institutes in the world. This is a time of extraordinary opportunity in our quest to understand the causes of health and disease. UKCMRI will have a key role in developing our understanding and ability to tackle many of the most significant diseases that affect people and their families."
The Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts, said "I very much welcome this appointment. Sir Paul Nurse is ideally qualified to provide both the scientific vision and the leadership required to take forward this major new UK venture."
A Nobel Prize-winning biologist, Paul has been elected the next President of the Royal Society. He is currently President of the Rockefeller University, New York, which he joined in 2003.
Before moving to the United States, Paul spent more than three decades working in the UK, where he was born. He was Director General of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) and played a major role in the merger of ICRF with the Cancer Research Campaign which together formed Cancer Research UK - which he went on to lead as Chief Executive.
