Professor Michael Simpson

Michael Simpson is the Professor of Genetics and Head of the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at King's College London. He has a specific research interest in the genetics of human disease, including both rare and common complex disease. Michael's research is strongly focused on the development and application of computational and statistical methods for the analysis of large-scale genomics datasets to understand causal genetic mechanisms.

His research team has a specific focus on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which genetic variation influences the susceptibility to skin disease and the response to treatment. Michael trained as a pharmacologist and subsequently studied Human Molecular Genetics at Imperial College before undertaking his PhD at St George's University of London. His doctoral research was focused on the resolution of the genetic basis of recessive disorders found at elevated frequency in Old Order Amish populations.

In 2009 Michael moved to King's College London where his research capitalised on advances in DNA sequencing technologies to identify the genetic basis of a series of rare diseases that had proved intractable to traditional gene mapping approaches. In 2014 Michael joined Genomics plc, a spin out company from the University of Oxford, where he held a series of leadership roles. He returned full-time to King's in 2021 and was appointed as the Head of the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics in 2023.

Michael is also actively involved in the translation of genomic approaches in healthcare systems and is currently the SRO for Research and Innovation for the NHS South East Genomic Medicine Service Alliance.