Personal Chair: Colin Farquharson

Colin Farquharson has been appointed Personal Chair in Skeletal Biology.

After graduating from Strathclyde University he completed his PhD within the Department of Medicine at the University of Aberdeen in 1989.

He developed a career-long interest in skeletal biology while undertaking postdoctoral positions at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute.

In 1998 he became a Principal Investigator at the Roslin Institute and received Individual Merit Promotion (IMP3) in 2007.

This coincided with his transfer to Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies (RDSVS).

Professor Farquharson’s research programme is focused on the cellular mechanisms underpinning bone and cartilage development.

In particular his research aims to develop a functional understanding of key genes that regulate bone growth and bone cell differentiation and thereby provide a fuller appreciation of specific events essential for skeletal development.

This research has relevance to both animals and human medicine.

Professor Farquharson has postgraduate responsibilities within both the Roslin Institute of the University of Edinburgh and the RDSVS.

He is a Senior Editor for the Journal of Endocrinology as well as a member of the Editorial Board for Cell Biochemistry and Function.

He is a recent past Secretary of the Bone Research Society (2007-2010) and a past member of the BBSRC Training and Awards Committee (2007-2009).