| Authorised form of name | Ish-Horowicz; David; molecular biologist |
| Other forms of name | David Ish- |
| Other forms of surname | Horowicz |
| Nationality | British |
| Place of birth | Manchester, England |
| Date of birth | 2 August 1948 |
| Place of death | Oxford, England |
| Date of death | 19 July 2024 |
| Occupation | Molecular biologist |
| Research field | Genetics |
| Molecular biology |
| Developmental genetics |
| Cell biology |
| Developmental biology |
| Activity | Education:
Manchester Grammar School; University of Cambridge Pembroke College BA 1966-1969; MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge PhD 1969-1973
Career:
Postdoctoral Fellow (Gehring Laboratory), Universität Basel Department Biozentrum (1973-1977); Head ICRF Developmental Genetics Laboratory (Mill Hill Laboratories), Cancer Research UK (1977-1985); Head, Developmental Genetics Laboratory (ICRF Developmental Biology Unit), Oxford (1985-1995); Head, ICRF/CR-UK Developmental Biology Unit (Developmental Biology Unit), London (1995-2013); Professor, Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology, University College London (UCL) (2014-2024); died following his diagnosis with glioblastoma.
Awards/Medals:
Gulbenkian Science Prize 1997
Waddington Medal of the British Society of Developmental Biology 2007
Memberships:
European Molecular Biology Organization |
| Membership category | Fellow |
| Date of election | 13/05/2002 |
| Age at election | 54 |
| RSActivity | Commitees and Panels:
Biological Sciences Awards Committee 2022-2024
Research Grants Committee: Biological Science 2018
Sectional Committee 7: Cell Biology 2015-2018
Royal Society Leverhulme Trust Sr. R'search F'ship Panel 2014-2016
International Exchanges Committee 2012-2017
Education Committee 2003-2007
Royal Society Research Grants Scheme - Board E 2003-2005 |
| Relationships | Parents: Moshe Ish-Horowicz (1916–2008), prominent Reform Judaism leader in Manchester |
| PublishedWorks | RCN R69808 |
| OtherInfo | David Ish-Horowicz's research investigated the molecular and genetic mechanisms that establish, maintain and elaborate spatial organisation in vivo, in particular in Drosophila and vertebrate embryos. These studies led to major advances in our understanding of many distinct and conserved molecular processes that are used to pattern developing animals.
Identified the first metazoan corepressor, Groucho, which - in conjunction with a wide variety of transcriptional repressors - prevents inappropriate transcription in many tissue contexts. He also showed how asymmetric protein production within the cell is achieved by transport of selected mRNAs along microtubules to specific cytoplasmic subregions.
demonstrated that Notch intercellular signalling acts in vertebrate embryos to maintain a population of neuronal stem cells, and how the pathway also underlies the cyclic gene transcription which controls the regular production of reiterated body segments in vertebrate embryos. |
| Source | The Royal Society Fellows Directory, Professor David Ish-Horowicz FRS, [URL: https://royalsociety.org/people/david-ish-horowicz-11683/; last accessed: 19/02/2025]
Current Biology, Volume 34, Issue 20, October 21, 2024, Philip W. Ingham, Obituary David Ish-Horowicz (1948–2024) [URL: https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(24)01212-0] |
| Code | NA8468 |
Archives associated with this Fellow
| RefNo | Title | Date |
| IM/002376 | Ish-Horowicz, David | 2002 |
| EC/2002/15 | Ish-Horowicz, David: certificate of election to the Royal Society | |