Professor Russell Snell is a geneticist based in the University of Auckland School of Biological Sciences. His background is undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in physics at Otago University and a Ph.D. in genetics undertaken at the University of Wales College of Medicine, UK. Professor Snell’s research focus has included contributions towards the discovery of genes for simple and more complex human disorders, including Huntington’s disease, tuberous sclerosis, myotonic dystrophy, and more recently genes causing autism and neurodevelopmental conditions. Beyond gene discovery, his work includes the development of large animal models to investigate the underlying pathogenic processes and for pharmaceutical testing. These include sheep models for Huntington’s disease, Fragile X, and most recently Alzheimer’s disease. Professor Snell also works in farm animal genetics contributing to the discovery of genes for bovine and goat growth and milk production.