Professor Philip Ingham FRS, the Raymond Schinazi and Family Chair of Life Sciences, will be leaving the University at the end of this semester (January 2026).
Philip joined us with an outstanding track record of research and leadership in the life sciences both nationally and internationally. After a decade as a Senior and Principal scientist at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, he established and led an MRC Centre at the University of Sheffield before moving to Singapore where he was Deputy Director of the A*STAR Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology and subsequently Toh Kian Chui Distinguished Professor and Vice-Dean for Research at the prestigious Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, a partnership between Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Imperial College, London. He was also the inaugural director of the Living Systems Institute at the University of Exeter.
A member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), Fellow of both the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society as well as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Philip has served on numerous international Scientific Advisory Boards and funding committees, most recently chairing an ERC Advanced Grants Panel, and is a past President of the International Society of Developmental Biologists and of the International Zebrafish Society. His groundbreaking research has made major contributions to our understanding of animal development and has led to the discovery of novel therapeutics for basal cell carcinoma, the most prevalent cancer worldwide.
Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bath, Professor Phil Taylor, said:
As the inaugural Head of Department for Life Sciences, Professor Ingham brought his own distinctive vision, aiming to integrate research and teaching across the department in a way that truly embraces One Health principles. I am sorry to see Philip leave before his vision has been fully realised but am most grateful for everything he has contributed to the University. I am sure you will join me in wishing him well in his future endeavours.
Professor Ingham’s vast experience of grant reviewing and mentoring has had a transformative effect, through initiatives such as the Grant Review Panel as well as the Futures Forum, the latter providing early career researchers with the opportunity to exchange ideas and influence departmental strategy. A key element of this strategy has been the creation of a new Microbiomics Cluster through the targeted recruitment of six new world class researchers from across the globe.
Philip has also sought to re-invigorate and transform education within the department, championing the successful introduction of TBL (Team Based Learning) across all Life Sciences degree courses whilst himself delivering lectures on various undergraduate units. More broadly, he has used his extensive research network to enrich the university environment, most notably through his establishment of the Bath Nobel Laureate Lecture series that has so far featured laureates from the US, UK and Germany.