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We are a biomedical discovery institute researching the biology underlying human health.

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Crick Lectures are delivered by leading internationally-renowned scientists from the Francis Crick Institute and elsewhere and cover the full spectrum of biomedical research. They aim to be relatively accessible to scientists in all biomedical disciplines, whilst also offering something for the specialist.

The talks are open to scientists from other institutes and universities from across London and beyond. You should have a minimum of graduate-level biological knowledge to attend and fully engage with these talks. Please pre-register if you would like to attend. Find out more. 

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Dr. Ron Vale is Emeritus Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at University of California, San Francisco, and a senior Group Leader at HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus. He is also the co-head of the 4D Cellular Physiology research area at Janelia.

Vale’s research has focused on how cargoes are transported within cells using molecular motor proteins. Vale discovered the motor protein “kinesin,” and his laboratory was involved in elucidating its mechanism of movement using structural and single-molecule approaches. For the past fifteen years, Vale has investigated the mechanism of dynein, a much larger and more complex molecular motor. His lab also discovered and studied proteins that sever, nucleate, and stabilze microtubules. Beyond motors and the cytoskeleton, his laboratory has studied T cell and macrophage signaling and developed new tools and methods in microscopy.

Biography

Dr. Vale received his Ph.D. in Neurosciences from Stanford University in 1985, was a Staff Fellow with the NIH stationed at the Marine Biological Laboratory in 1985-6 and was a faculty member in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of California, San Francisco from 1986-2019. Vale was Executive Director of Janelia from 2020-2024.

Prizes

Vale has received the Canada Gairdner International Award, the Lasker Award in Basic Medical Research, the Shaw Prize in Life Sciences, the Massry Prize, the Wiley Prize, and the Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry.

He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Indian National Science Academy, and the Royal Society (Foreign Member).

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