Veronica van Heyningen
Veronica van Heyningen is an English geneticist who specialises in the etiology of anophthalmia as an honorary professor at University College London. She previously served as head of medical genetics at the MRC Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh and the president of The Genetics Society. she chairs the diversity committee of the Royal Society, previously chaired by Uta Frith.Education
van Heyningen studied the Natural Sciences Tripos at the University of Cambridge, and was an undergraduate at Girton College, Cambridge where she specialised in genetics. She moved to Northwestern University where she was awarded a Master of Science degree. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Oxford where she worked on early gene mapping studies using somatic cell hybrids, with Walter Bodmer.Career and research
van Heyningen is a geneticist who studies eye development and disease. Among her research highlights is the discovery of the PAX6 gene, which is mutated in the eye disorder aniridia — the absence of the iris. PAX6 also coordinates the expression of other eye development genes, including the SOX2 and Orthodenticle homeobox 2 genes which are mutated in microphthalmia and anophthalmia. In the context of PAX6, she has explored in detail mechanisms of long-range gene regulation and aspects of phenotype variation. van Heyningen served as a member of the UK Human Genetics Commission.Awards and honours
She has received many awards in recognition of her work, including being appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to science in the 2010 Birthday Honours. She was awarded the Carter Medal of the Clinical Genetics Society in 2011. She served as President of the European Society of Human Genetics in 2003 and of The Genetics Society from 2009 to 2012. Other awards include:
In 1968 she married Simon van Heyningen. She was interviewed by Jim Al-Khalili on The Life Scientific in 2014.
