New leadership in the School of Basic & Medical Biosciences

The Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine is delighted to announce two new Heads of Departments in the School of Basic & Medical Biosciences. Professor Franca Fraternali is now the Head of the Randall Centre for Cell & Molecular Biophysics and Professor John McGrath is the Head of St John's Institute of Dermatology. 

(Professor John McGrath and Professor Franca Fraternali)

Professor Franca Fraternali is a Professor of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology.  She began her career with a PhD in Physical Chemistry University of Naples before taking up an EMBO fellowship at ETH Zurich and positions with the University of Strasbourg and EMBL Heidelberg. She has been a permanent staff scientist in the Mathematical Biology Division of the National Institute for Medical Research of London before joining King’s in 2005. Franca has been acting as deputy head of the Centre since 2017. Franca provides leadership in molecular and cellular biophysics by her broad exposure to many areas of biophysical research as well as her outreach to other disciplines like genetics or chemistry. Franca is also involved in collaborations and coordination of activities for the partnership with the Francis-Crick-Institute.

(Professor Jonathan Barker)

After 17 years, Professor Jonathan Barker is stepping down as Head of the St John’s Institute of Dermatology.  Under Jonathan’s leadership, the institute has retained its world-leading position in academic dermatology, as well continuing to attract students from around the world to its MSc programme. 

Professor John McGrath will be taking over as the head of the St John's Institute of Dermatology. John is the Head of Genetic Skin Disease Group and has been acting as the deputy head of the department since 2017. He qualified in medicine from Guy’s Hospital in 1985 and himself trained in dermatology and dermatopathology at St John’s Institute. John’s research interests have reached out in an interdisciplinary way to groups in Genetics, Stem Cells and the Randall, and he is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and sits on the editorial board of several international journals.

Professors Fraternali and McGrath will commence their roles with immediate effect.