Iain Mattaj


Iain William Mattaj FRS FRSE is a British scientist and Honorary Professor at Heidelberg University in Germany. In 2018, he stepped down from Director General of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, a position he has held since 2005. He is currently the Director of the Human Technopole.

Education

Mattaj was educated at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Leeds where he was awarded a PhD in 1980 for research on cloned Glutamate dehydrogenase genes supervised by John Wooton. Iain was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Sciences from the University of Leeds in 2018.

Research

Mattaj has made a number of important contributions to our knowledge concerning how RNA and proteins are transported between the cell nucleus and cytoplasm. These findings stemmed from his early work on the import and export of ribonucleoproteins particles — RNA–protein complexes — at the cell nucleus.
Iain subsequently uncovered the role of enzymes known as GTPases in the regulation of mitosis — the division of the cell nucleus into two daughter nuclei. Under the influence of Ran, a GTPase signalling protein, the cell cytoskeleton remodels to form the mitotic spindle — a crucial structure in mitosis. By dissecting Ran's role in facilitating mitosis, Iain is enabling researchers to create improved cell-regeneration therapies.
He serves on the Advisory Editorial Board of The EMBO Journal.

Awards and honours

Mattaj was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.