Ron Laskey


Ronald Alfred Laskey FLSW is a British cell biologist and cancer researcher.

Career and research

Laskey was the Charles Darwin Professor of Embryology at the University of Cambridge. In 1991, he co-founded the Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research Campaign Institute, along with five other senior scientists including Professor Sir John Gurdon. In 2001, he founded the MRC [Cancer Cell Unit|Medical Research Council Cancer Cell Unit] in 2001, and was Director of the Unit until 2010. Laskey is also a Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge.

Awards and honours

Laskey was appointed Commander of the British Empire in the 2011 New Year Honours. Other significant honours include the Royal Society Royal Medal, for his "pivotal contributions to our understanding of the control of DNA replication and nuclear protein transport, which has led to a novel screening method for cancer diagnosis", and the Cancer Research UK Lifetime Achievement Prize.
Laskey married Margaret Ann Page in 1971. Laskey is an author, composer and singer of science-based humorous songs, in the tradition of Tom Lehrer. Various combinations of these songs were published by the Cold Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press in three records: "Songs for Cynical Scientists", More Songs for Cynical Scientists and Selected Songs for Cynical Scientists. Only the last-mentioned record is still available.