Michael Arthur

Professor Michael Arthur is the President & Provost of UCL and is the first clinical academic to hold this position in the history of the university. Prior to this, he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds (2004–2013) where he is credited with guiding that large comprehensive university to academic excellence in research, innovation and student education, reaching a clear position amongst the top 100 universities in the world (QS ranking).

He is formerly Professor of Medicine (1992–2004), Head of the School of Medicine (1998–2001) and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences in Southampton (2003–2004). During his tenure the Medical School achieved major growth in its research profile with excellent results in the Research Assessment Exercise 2001 and a maximum score (24/24 points) in the Quality Assurance Exercise of Medical Education.

Professor Arthur is a hepatologist, with research interests in liver cell biology and the cell and molecular pathogenesis of liver fibrosis, developed initially under the guidance of Monty Bissell at the Liver Center Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco (1986-1988). More recently Professor Arthur was a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York (2002) working in Scott Friedman’s laboratory. He was awarded the Linacre medal of the Royal College of Physicians in 1994 and became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1998.

Professor Arthur has a significant national and international profile in higher education as well as medicine. He was Chair of the Advisory Group for National Specialised Services for the Department of Health (2010–2013) and a former Chair of both the Worldwide Universities Network and the Russell Group of Universities. He is a former Member of the Medical Research Council Member (2008–2014) and a former US/UK Fulbright Commissioner.