Neil Gow

Professor Neil Gow has had a lifelong research career has been in the field of fungal biology and medical mycology. He is also known for his general work on the biology and growth of fungi which he as a passionate regard for as a group of organisms that greatly exceed the numbers of known plants.  His studies have focussed on mechanism of fungal development, morphogenesis and pathogenesis and how the fungal cell wall is assembled, targeted by and responds to antifungal antibiotics and is recognised by the human immune system.  This work impacts on the design of antifungal drugs, diagnostics and immunotherapies for fungal diseases.

Thirty of his group alumni now hold their own independent positions in mycology around the world.

He is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh where he obtained his Bachelors degree in Microbiology. Professor Gow went on to receive his PhD in 1982 from the University of Aberdeen, followed by a period of postdoctoral research at the National Jewish Hospital for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine and University of Colorado, Denver, USA. He was appointed as a lecturer to the University of Aberdeen and received a personal Chair in 1995. At the University of Aberdeen Professor Gow held various senior positions including Head of Microbiology Research Programme, 2002-2011, Director of Research and Commercialisation, College of Life Sciences and Medicine, 2011-2015, Director of the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award in Medical Mycology and Fungal Immunology and Co-Director, MRC Centre for Medical Mycology, 2017-2018. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, Royal Society of Edinburgh and American Academy of Microbiology and the European Academy of Medical Mycology and has acted as President of four major international societies of mycology and microbiology. He received an Honorary DSc for his work in medical mycology for the University of Kent in 2019.

He was  appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Impact and Professor of Microbiology at the University of Exeter in September 2018 . The University of Exeter is  a Russell group University that is 6^th in the UK in terms of top 10% most cited papers.   As DVC, he oversees the universities research portfolio and leads the research vision and strategy for the University.