Matt Higgins to become Gresham College’s new Professor of Physic

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Matt Higgins as our 40th Professor of Physic.

Professor Higgins currently holds the EP Abraham Chair of Structural Biology at the University of Oxford, leading a research team which investigates the molecular basis for critical host-parasite interactions and use this insight to design improved immunotherapeutics. He is also a Professorial Fellow of Merton College.

In 2006 he was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship to establish a research team to study the molecular basis for host-parasite interactions in malaria. He joined the University of Oxford in 2010 as a University Lecturer and was promoted to Professor of Molecular Parasitology in 2015 and served as a Tutorial Fellow at Merton College.

In May last year, he was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, while in July, he was elected a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).

The role of Professor of Physic dates back to Gresham College’s foundations, one of seven professorships set out in the will of our founder, Sir Thomas Gresham. The first was Matthew Gwinne, while the most recent have included Sir Chris Whitty and Professor Robin May.

“I am very excited to have the chance to engage with the wonderful Gresham audiences and to tell some amazing stories about how modern medicine makes all of our lives so immeasurably better,” Professor Higgins said.

Professor Higgins will continue the 430-year-old tradition of delivering free lectures aimed at the public, both within the City of London and online. Last year, Gresham College lectures had more than seven million views.

Professor Jane Shaw, Provost of Gresham College, said: “I am delighted we have appointed Professor Higgins as Professor of Physic at Gresham College. This is one of our oldest and most prestigious Professorships, dating back to our foundation, and Professor Higgins will bring his learning, insights from his innovative research. enthusiasm and energy to the post.”

This was echoed by Richard Smith, CEO of Gresham College, who said: “I am thrilled to welcome such a talented communicator to the team at Gresham. Professor Higgins is a worthy successor to Professor Robin May and we look forward to his lecture series.”