Andrew Oliver Mungo Wilkie

Education Wilkie was educated at Arnold House School, Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980 and a Master of Arts degree in 1984. Nuffield Professor of Pathology at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine – premature fusion of the sutures of the skull. He identified the gene mutation responsible for Apert syndrome and the molecular pathways underlying this and other craniosynostosis conditions. These results have led to many clinical diagnostic tests.

Wilkie's discovery that the mutation causing Apert syndrome was more common than expected led him to develop the 'selfish selection' theory, which states that there is a proliferation or survival advantage for some mutations in the testis. Over time, sperm-generating cells carrying such mutations become prevalent, explaining why some conditions are more common in children born to older fathers. His former postdoctoral students include Anne Goriely.

Awards and honours Wilkie was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci) in 2002, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 2006 and a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2013.