Dr. Adam Rutherford

Biography

Adam Rutherford joined the Galton Laboratory as an undergraduate in 1993, engaging in research projects focused on sexual selection and developmental genetics. His work particularly concentrated on secondary sexual traits in the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni, under the supervision of Kevin Fowler and Andrew Pomiankowski. He pursued a PhD in developmental genetics of the mammalian retina at the Institute of Child Health (UCL/GOSH), where he investigated the roles of transcription factors such as Chx10 and Pax6 in disease phenotypes resulting from mutations in these genes. Adam became the editor of the journal Nature, where he was responsible for overseeing news content and launching a video podcast. He has written extensively for The Guardian and various magazines, authored five books on topics including genetics, evolution, the origin of life, synthetic biology, and race and eugenics. Additionally, he has presented documentaries for BBC, including notable works like 'Cell' (2009) and 'Gene Code' (2011), and currently leads the weekly program 'Science: Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry' alongside UCL mathematician Hannah Fry. As a lecturer in the Department of Genetics, Evolution, and Environment, he also serves as a scientific consultant for films such as 'Ex Machina' (2015) and 'Annihilation' (2017).

Research Interests

Experience