Richard worked for Amersham International for a year, developing ELISAs for HIV testing, before reading Zoology at the University in Bristol in 1991. Having worked at Pfizer Central Research as a Summer Scholar in 1993 with Nicola Worman, he joined the Pfizer Molecular Sciences team in 1994 as a Research Associate, working for Dr Ross Kinloch. In 1995, he joined Prof Paul Martin's Lab at UCL to undertake a PhD on the "Molecular Basis of Embryonic Wound Healing", using mouse and fly models. Upon graduating in 1999, he joined Prof Sabine Werner's lab at ETH-Zurich as a postdoc, where he worked on genetically modified mouse models of cutaneous development and repair. He returned to the UK in 2001 to join Prof Clive Dickson's lab at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, where he maintained close collaborations with Prof Werner and developed his interest in FGFR signalling in cancer. In 2004, he joined Professor Ian Hart's Centre for Tumour Biology at Barts Cancer Institute, QMUL and has remained at QMUL since then. He is now a Professor of Cancer Cell Signalling and Dean for Global Engagement.