Personal Chair: Tom Gillingwater

Tom Gillingwater has been appointed Personal Chair in Neuroanatomy.

Tom was born in Nottingham and brought up in Loughborough, Leicestershire.

His interest in human anatomy took him to the University of Leeds, where he graduated with a BSc (Hons) in human biology.

During his time in Leeds he undertook a summer research project with Simon Parson that sparked his interest in understanding why nerve cells die in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and motor neuron disease.

PhD studies with Richard Ribchester brought Tom to the University of Edinburgh in 1998.

Following a Wellcome Trust-funded postdoctoral position, Tom was awarded a Lectureship in Anatomy in 2004 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2008.

His research interests focus on understanding how and why the nervous system breaks down following injury or during disease.

His laboratory is currently investigating pathological changes occurring in the nervous system during the childhood motor neuron disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

Tom is an active anatomist, undertaking human anatomy teaching at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

He has been a Receiving Editor for the “Journal of Anatomy" since 2008.

Tom lives in East Lothian with his wife Lel and daughter Harriet.