Born in 1941, Peter Lawrence gained his doctorate degree from Cambridge University in 1965 and is a permanent member of the scientific staff at its Laboratory of Molecular Biology since 1969. From 1984 to 1986 he was Joint Head of Division of Cell Biology at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology. He became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) in 1976 and in 1983 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. He is regarded as one of the foremost authorities in the field of developmental biology. His work on the genetic development of the Drosophila melanogaster fly has been key since it shares 60% of its genes with every animal species, including humans. The analysis of these shared genes is the focal point of studies on human illnesses with a strong genetic component. He has published several books, including The making of a Fly (1992), which explains the general principles of the Drosophila and is considered to be essential in many biogenetics laboratories. Throughout his career he has received several awards, including the Zoological Society of London's Medal, the Darwin Medal from Royal Society (UK, 1994), the Moet et Chandon "Vinci d'Excellence" Prize (France, 1996) and the Waddington Medal from the British Society of Developmental Biology (2000). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2000.