Career Details

Emeritus Professor Colin Ockleford was the foundation Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre, and is a member of Council of the Anatomical Society, several of its sub-committees, and a Member of the Education Committee of the International Federation of Anatomical Associations. He is a member of the Court of Examiners of the Royal College of Surgeons and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators.

He was Chair of the Lancaster Medical School Research Committee and has completed a 6 year term as an independent member of the ministerial Advisory Committee on Pesticides, DEFRA where he had responsibility for Reproductive and Developmental Toxicity. He is a former member of the Medical and Toxicology panel of the Chemical Regulations Directorate and a member of the PAHES working group on Pesticides Incidents. In 2012 he was appointed to the newly constituted Poisons Board by the Home Secretary. In 2012 he was also appointed to two panels of Scientific Experts by the European Food Safety Authority (the external review working group- ERWG & the plant protection products and residues panel- PPR). In 2018 he completed a three year term as Chair of the Plant Protection products Panel of The European Food Safety Authority and a member of its overarching scientific committee.

He is a former Visiting Professor and Head of the Laboratory for Developmental Cell Sciences at Leicester University. His research work on Reproductive Immunopathology has led to the award of the Symington Prize of the Anatomical Society, Fellowship of the Royal College of Pathologists by publication and a D.Sc. from St Andrews University. He was a partner in the European Molecular Biology of Implantation Consortium (EMBIC) a network of excellence funded by the EU from 2005-2009. He has been elected to Fellowships of the Anatomical Society, the Academy of Medical Educators and the Royal Microscopical Society. He is currently Honorary Secretary of the Anatomical Society.

He was a member of a SAPEA working group that published a report https://doi.org/10.26356/plantprotectionproducts containing briefing information for the Scientific Advice Mechanisms Group of Chief Scientific advisors in its review of authorisation processes of Plant Protection Products in Europe 2018. This was a scientific input to the pesticides refit instigated by the EU Health Commissioner and Commissioner for Research.

He is currently a member of a panel of 3 overseeing the organisation of an International Federation of Anatomical Associations Meeting in London Aug. 9-11 2019. On the 1st of January 2018 he was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Society of Biology.