Anthony Percival-Smith
Tony
Anthony Percival-Smith
Tony
I was born and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1981, I graduated with an Honors B.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of British Columbia.
I left British Columbia to pursue my Ph.D. under the supervision of
Dr. Jacqueline Segall in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Toronto. I cloned and analyzed a set of genes that were expressed preferentially during sporulation of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. I graduated with a Ph.D. in 1987.
For my postdoctoral positions, I decided to change model organisms from yeast to Drosophila. My first postdoctoral position was in
Dr. Walter J. Gehring's laboratory in Basel Switzerland. I lived in Switzerland for three years. In Walter's laboratory I studied homeodomain-DNA interactions among other things. Before taking up my Assistant Professorship at the University of Western Ontario, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Henry Krause's laboratory at the Best Institute in Toronto. While there, Dan Fitzpatrick and I showed that the Fushi tarazu homeodomain was dispensable for Fushi tarazu activity.
I have been a Professor at the University of Western Ontario since 1991.
During my sabbatical leave, I spent three months back in Basel in the laboratory
of Dr. Markus Affolter. I went back to Basel to have some fun doing experiments and also to experience Fasnacht again. Fasnacht in Basel is a Lenten festival that lasts three days and three nights. Many of the Drum and Piccolo groups are lead through the streets behind large painted lanterns that satirize a current event.
Summary of Academic History
B.Sc. in 1981 from the University of British Columbia, Department of Biochemistry.
Ph.D. in 1987 from the University of Toronto, Department of Biochemistry. Mentor: Dr. Jacqueline Segall
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel Switzerland from 1987-90. Mentor: Dr. Walter J. Gehring
Postdoctoral Fellow at the Best Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto from 1990-91. Mentor: Dr. Henry M. Krause
Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology, University of Western Ontario 1991-1998.
Associate Professor in the Department of Zoology, University of Western Ontario 1998-.
Visiting Scientist Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel Switzerland 1999. Sponsor: Dr. Markus Affolter
