Dr. Simon Fisher

Biography

Simon E. Fisher is a geneticist who studies the molecular basis of human speech and language. He is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics and a professor at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour at Radboud University in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Simon's research focuses on the genetics of communication, including the identification of genetic factors that contribute to developmental disorders such as dyslexia and speech-language impairments. He co-discovered the FOXP2 gene, which is implicated in human speech and language disorders. Simon obtained his degree in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University and followed this with a DPhil in Genetics at Oxford University. His postdoctoral research at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics involved working on genetic factors affecting language development. In 2010, he was appointed Director of the Language Genetics department at the Max Planck Institute, which aims to uncover DNA variations that affect communicative abilities and contribute to language-related disorders in the general population. Simon integrates findings from molecular biology, psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary anthropology to bridge the gaps between genes, the brain, and language. He has received several prestigious awards, including the Eric Kandel Young Neuroscientists Prize and the Francis Crick Medal Lecture from the Royal Society.

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