Philip Ingham (1973 Leaver) – Professor of Developmental Biology

Old Boy Philip Ingham (1973 Leaver) made a spontaneous visit to his Old School recently as part of a visit to the UK from his home in Singapore. It was the first time that Philip had been back to Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School in many years.

Philip is Lee Kong Chan School of Medicine’s Vice-Dean for Research, Professor of Developmental Biology and the inaugural Toh Kian Chui Distinguished Professor. Philip made the trip over to the UK as he has been awarded the highly prestigious Waddington Medal.

The Waddington Medal is the only national award in developmental biology in the UK. It is awarded for outstanding research performance as well as services to the subject community. The Medal is named after Conrad Waddington, who was a leading British embryologist and geneticist highly influential in the development of both subjects during the 1930s through to the 1960s. Nominees are outstanding developmental biologists who have made a significant contribution to UK developmental biology and who are still currently active in the field. Previous winners include Professor Jim Smith, Director of the UK Medical Research Council’s National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), in 2013, and Professor Alfonso Martinez Arias from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Genetics, in 2012. The medal is awarded annually at the British Society for Developmental Biology (BSDB) Spring Meeting, where the recipient presents the Waddington Medal Lecture.