John Parrington
Visiting Associate Professor of Biology
Affiliation: Visiting
Education: BA University of Cambridge; MA University of Cambridge; MA University of Oxford; PhD University of London (Kings College London)
Research Areas: Cell Signalling; Cell Biology; Genetics; Pharmacology; Cognitive Science
John Parrington is a Visiting Associate Professor in Biology at NYU Abu Dhabi. He is an Associate Professor in Pharmacology at the University of Oxford and a Tutorial Fellow in Medicine and Joint Head of Research at Worcester College, Oxford. He has a BA and an MA in Zoology from the University of Cambridge, an MA in Pharmacology from the University of Oxford, and a PhD in Cancer Research from the University of London.
His main laboratory research interest is studying the mechanisms of action and pathophysiological roles of cell-signalling proteins. He was a co-discoverer of PLCzeta, the sperm protein that activates the egg and kickstarts embryo development. He played a key role in the identification of the endolysosomal two-pore channels (TPCs) as key signalling proteins in the cell.
Parrington has published over 110 scientific articles (H-Index 54) in internationally-reputed journals including Nature, Current Biology, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, The EMBO Journal, Development, Developmental Biology, and Human Reproduction. He is the author of the books The Deeper Genome (Oxford University Press, 2015), Redesigning Life (Oxford University Press, 2016), Mind Shift (Oxford University Press, 2021), Consciousness (Icon Books, 2023), and Cognitive Science – A Primer (World Scientific, 2025).