11 Facts About Michael Balls

Michael Balls was born on 1938 and is a British zoologist and professor emeritus of medical cell biology at the University of Nottingham.

Michael Balls is best known for his work on laboratory animal welfare and alternatives to animal testing.

Michael Balls studied zoology at Keble College, Oxford, graduating with a second in 1960.

Michael Balls conducted research for a DPhil from Oxford at the University of Geneva Switzerland between 1961 and 1964, followed by post-doctoral research at the University of California, Berkeley, CA, and at Reed College, Portland, OR, from 1964 to 1966.

Michael Balls lectured in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of East Anglia, a job that he had got through his friend Ian Gibson.

Michael Balls became Reader in Medical Cell Biology in 1985 and was promoted to Professor of Medical Cell Biology in 1990.

Michael Balls became a Trustee of Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments in 1979, and was Chairman of the Trustees from 1981 until his resignation in June 2013.

Michael Balls was Editor-in-Chief of Alternatives to Laboratory Animals from 1983 to 2018.

Michael Balls acted as an adviser to the British government during the drafting and passage of the Animals Act 1986 and, from 1987 to 1995, was a founder member of the Animal Procedures Committee.

In 1993, Michael Balls became the first Head of the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods which was established in 1991 within the European Commission's Joint Research Centre.

Michael Balls is the father of politician Ed Balls and investment officer Andrew Balls.