The Society is delighted that our Past President Colin Blakemore has been shortlisted for ‘The People’s Portrait competition’ from The BBC One Show, which recognises public figures from the worlds of science, community activism, sport and the arts. Each year the National Portrait Gallery, London, acquires portraits of a few people who have made a significant and lasting contribution to this country.
Colin is a Professor of Neuroscience at The University of Oxford, specialising in vision and development of the brain. He has deepened our understanding of conditions such as autism, dyslexia and schizophrenia. He has faced criticism for justifying limited animal testing, but remains convinced of its importance. See Colin, in his capacity as consulting editor on The Journal of Physiology, discussing his research into neural plasticity and physiology.
Prof David Nutt, British Neuroscience Association, says:
“Colin is one of the inspirational figures in British science over the last forty years; a brilliant communicator and someone that sees the future and is prepared to work hard to get there. A brilliant lecturer, he can actually take something complicated and turn that into something that everyone can understand, even school children.”
Lord Robert Winston, Professor at Imperial College London, says:
“The science that people like Colin does, it’s a public science and its important if the public has a stake in it, they should understand what’s going on. Colin was one of the first people to really drive that in our country.”
Michael Mosley, science journalist, says:
“Colin Blakemore is a real trail-blazer. For more than fifty years he has studied the forces that shape our brains, the factors that make us human.”
A short video from the show on Colin’s achievements can be watched online (minutes: 22:15 – 24:38).