Interview with the 2025 Hooke Medal winner Ian Ganley

Ian Ganley is the Professor of Cellular Homeostasis in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation and Ubiquitylation Unit at the University of Dundee (UK). Ian obtained his undergraduate and Master's degree in Biochemistry from the University of Oxford (UK), followed by a Ph.D. at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge (UK), where he studied the lipid hydrolase phospholipase D1 under the supervision of Nick Ktistakis. For his postdoctoral studies, Ian moved to Stanford University in California (USA), joining the team of Suzanne Pfeffer to investigate the role of Rab proteins in intracellular transport. He then continued his research at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York (USA), working with Xuejun Jiang to study autophagy. In 2010, Ian started his own research group at the University of Dundee, focusing on identifying physiological signalling pathways that induce autophagy. In recognition of his work, he was awarded the 2025 Hooke Medal by the British Society for Cell Biology (BSCB). We spoke with Ian over Zoom to learn more about his career journey, his approach to mentorship and his pet, Eel Armstrong.