Matthew Neale is a Professor in the Genome Damage and Stability Centre and heads a research group investigating mechanisms of DNA repair and homologous recombination, with a focus on the meiotic nuclear division in which hundreds of DNA breaks are purposely induced within chromosomes in order to drive genetic diversity in gametes and progeny as part of sexual reproduction.

Prof. Neale completed his doctoral training at the University of Sheffield, under the supervision of Professor Alastair Goldman, where he explored the regulation of DNA break repair in meiotic cells (Molecular Cell, 2002), and was awarded his PhD in 2002.

Prof. Neale trained as a postdoc at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre, New York, in the laboratory of Professor Scott Keeney. During this time Prof Neale was supported by a Fellowship from the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP), running a project that elucidated the mechanism by which the evolutionarily conserved Spo11 protein is removed from meiotic DNA break ends (Nature 2005; Cell 2011).

Prof. Neale joined the GDSC in October 2007, funded by an independent fellowship from the Royal Society (2007-2015). Additional research grants were obtained from the Medical Research Council (2009-2012), the Royal Society (2011-2013), the BBSRC (2015-2018), and a Career Development Award from the HFSP (2010-2014). From January 2013, Dr Neale's research team became the recipient of a five-year Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (2013-2018), in 2018 a five-year Wellcome Trust Investigator Award (2018-2023), and most recently by a long-term Wellcome Trust Discovery Award (2023-2031). Over this period, Prof. Neale's total awaded grant income as PI is £6.84M.

During this period, the Neale laboratory has made key discoveries and methodological contributions that underpin our understanding of the regulation of the early stage of DNA break repair known as DNA resection (Nature 2011; Molecular Cell 2014; Nature Comms 2018), the communcation that arises between DNA break sites which influences the genome-wide patterning of genetic recombination (Nature 2015; PLoS Genetics 2018; Nature 2021; PLoS Genetics 2023; Nature Comms 2024), the molecular organisation of meiotic chromosomes (Nature Comms 2019; Nature 2020), and more recently has been developing methods to explore the parallel roles of Spo11 and topoisomerases in genome maintenance (Nature Comms 2019; EMBO J 2023; PNAS 2023; Nature Comms 2024; Nature Comms 2024).

Prof. Neale acts as an ad hoc reviewer of scientific manuscripts (Nature journals, DNA Repair, PLoS journals, MCB, Genetics) and research grants (Wellcome Trust, BBSRC, MRC, ANR, NSERC, Czech Science Foundation) relating to DNA repair, recombination and chromosome biology. Prof Neale sat on the editorial advisory board of the Royal Society Journal, Open Biology (2011-2021), and was a member of the Wellcome Trust Expert Review Group (2020-2024).

Prof. Neale contributes to teaching and student supervision at Undergraduate, Master, and PhD level, is a member of the GDSC management group, a member of the LifeSci Research Senior Management Team, chairs the Radiation Safety Health and Safety Subcommittee, chairs the Wellcome Trust Funding Strategy Group, and is the UoA5 Outputs Lead for REF2029.