Michael Eccles obtained his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Otago in 1986, before carrying out Postdoctoral research at Princeton University. He returned to Otago University as a Research Fellow in 1989 to investigate developmental genes in cancer and disrupted growth/development. He was awarded a Royal Society of NZ James Cook Research Fellowship in 2000, and in 2006 was appointed the Zealand Institute for Cancer Research Trust Chair in Cancer Pathology. Currently, he heads the Developmental Genetics Laboratory in the Pathology Department, University of Otago, focusing on epigenetic mechanisms in cancer, overgrowth disorders and polycystic kidney disease.