Peter Wills

Peter Wills is a theoretical biologist in the Department of Physics at The University of Auckland. His main research focus is on the origin of genetic coding. His investigations cover theoretical aspects, such as the dynamics of coding self-organisation, computational aspects, such as the phylogeny of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase (aaRS) coding enzymes and experimental aspects, such as the de novo reconstruction of aaRS ancestors. Much of this work is conducted in collaboration with Charles Carter of the University of North Carolina at Capel Hill.  Their emphasis on the computational aspects of molecular biology, especially the way organisms use of digitally stored genetic information to synthesise molecular catalysts (protein enzymes), is unique among origin-of-life researchers.  Peter’s first foray into this field was in 1989 when he became a Fellow of the Humboldt Foundation and spent a year in the laboratory of Manfred Eigen at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany.  With ongoing Humboldt support he has returned for extended periods to work with many other scientists in various German universities (Jena, Bonn, Tübingen, Bochum, Leipzig and Hamburg). Peter began his scientific work in the field of physical biochemistry, studying applications of quasi-elastic light scattering to the investigation of macromolecules in solution. He then branched out into aspects of biophysical theory, especially the thermodynamics and statistical mechanics of macromolecular diffusion, sedimentation and light scattering.  He also investigated theoretical aspects of diseases known as spongiform encephalopathies, and he was recognised by Carleton Gajdusek as an early advocate of the prion hypothesis and subsequently invited to the US National Institutes of Health to pursue his research.  He now has a collaboration with Zoya Ignatova (Hamburg) to conduct experimental investigations into the plausibility of his model of how prions replicate. Throughout his career Peter has been a commentator on issues concerning the relationship of science and society. He was an active participant in debate about weapons of mass destruction during the Cold War and is now involved in discussions about pharmaceutical and agricultural applications of genetic engineering, especially its regulation. This work has often placed him in the public eye, including the relevance of biotechnology to Treaty of Waitangi issues.