As an undergraduate, Stephen Simpson read a Scientific American article on the immune system that captivated his imagination. He was intrigued, not only with the facts, but with the craft of communicating them to a broader audience. His curiosity would lead to a career in both science and editing. As the new director of life sciences at Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), Simpson is eager to help shape the research landscape of a country. See CV

Simpson took his first degree in zoology at the University of Nottingham, UK. He moved to London to do his PhD at the National Institute for Medical Research, in part because of its pioneering use of transgenic expression in mice to probe immunology responses. Named a runner-up in The Daily Telegraph's annual science-writing award, Simpson continued to develop his communication skills while breaking new ground in immunology.

Next came a postdoc with Cox Terhorst at Harvard Medical School, where Simpson explored the newly discovered immune system of the gut. As a result he developed productive mouse models of colitis and Crohn's disease. With Terhorst's encouragement, Simpson became a faculty instructor at Harvard for two more years.

In 1997, he crossed the Atlantic again, to St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin. Despite Ireland's harsh funding climate at the time, he found an enthusiastic collaborator in Cliona O'Farrelly, who shared his interest in intestinal immunology. He next moved to the newly started Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research in Newbury, UK, where he set up a small mucosal-immunology group to explore oral vaccines. But the shortage of independent positions concerned him. Then he spotted an advertisement for his dream job: immunology manuscript editor at Science.

“I didn't know if I would be competitive, but I had to put in an application,” says Simpson. He got the job, and spent eight years there. Fellow Science editor Katrina Kelner says Simpson's extraordinary ability to engage others made him stand out. “His interest in science communication was apparent, as he helped develop podcasts as a new way to interact with the scientific community,” says Kelner.

Simpson says his new role at SFI will allow him to use his editorial skills to shape the early-idea stage of the scientific process, by scrutinizing grant proposals rather than simply the final product. “We can't be too prescriptive, but we will surely encourage emerging areas of research, such as how gene regulation affects health and disease,” he says.