Sir Edwin Southern
Doctor of Science (HonDSc)
Year conferred: 2010
Professor Sir Edwin Southern is Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford and Chairman, Chief Scientific Officer of Oxford Gene Technology Limited. He is also Chairman of the Kirkhouse Trust, which supports agricultural crop improvement research in the developing world. His major breakthroughs in molecular biology include a technique for finding specific DNA sequences known as ‘Southern blotting’, now used in labs across the world.
In 1985, he developed techniques which permit the rapid analysis of DNA sequences on a large scale and later set up the spinout company, Oxford Gene Technology Limited, which has provided invaluable cutting edge bioscience experience for several Oxford Brookes Biotechnology students.
Among his many awards and honours, Sir Edwin was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1983, and received his Knighthood in 2003.
