Career: B.A., Biology, University of York, 1st Class Honours, 1974; PhD, Botany, Cambridge University, 1978; Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, then Associate at Yale University of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA 1978-1983; Visiting Research Fellow School of Biological Sciences, University Sydney, NSW, Australia 1983; Lecturer 1983-1989, Reader 1989-1992, Professor 1992–2010 and Head of Department 2004-2010 at York University; ScD Cambridge University, 1993; Director of John Innes Centre September 2010-present. Honours: President’s Medal, Society for Experimental Biology, 1987; Körber Foundation European Science Prize, 2001; Elected Fellow of the Royal Society, 2001; ISI-listed “Highly Cited Researcher”, 2002-present; Elected to the Royal Society Council 2004-2006. Research Interests: Research focus is on membrane transport and signal transduction in plants, with emphasis on transport of cations. Key questions relate to characterisation of the molecular processes that underpin (i) calcium mobilisation during signal transduction; (ii) transition metal homeostasis; (iii) interaction of proton pumping and metabolism. Transport systems are characterized using a combination of molecular, biochemical and electrophysiological techniques, with a particular current focus being the deployment of proteomic approaches for discovery of novel transport systems. An understanding of the way plants transport nutrients and what stimulates them to respond to certain conditions is crucial in areas such as improving crop quality in agriculture.