Professor John Speakman is a world-renowned authority in biological energetics and metabolic physiology, holding dual appointments as Chair in Zoology at the University of Aberdeen and Professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Following his BSc in Biology and Psychology from the University of Stirling in 1980, he completed his PhD there in 1984 with research on wading bird energetics before conducting postdoctoral work at Aberdeen with Paul Racey on bat metabolism. His career trajectory progressed from research fellow in 1985 to professor in 1997 at Aberdeen, where he served as Director of the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences from 2007 to 2011. In 2011, he established a significant presence in China as a 1000 Talents Professor while maintaining his leadership of the Energetics Research Group in Aberdeen, creating a unique transnational research platform.
Dr. Speakman's groundbreaking development and refinement of the doubly labeled water technique has fundamentally transformed the measurement of energy expenditure in free-living animals across diverse species. His seminal 1997 book Doubly Labelled Water: Theory and Practice established the definitive methodology that has been adopted by researchers worldwide, making his laboratory the premier global hub for collaborative energy expenditure studies. His research spans from wading birds to cheetahs and penguins, providing critical insights into energy balance mechanisms in natural environments and establishing the field of comparative energetics as a rigorous scientific discipline. The widespread application of his methodologies has enabled significant advances in understanding metabolic disorders, obesity, and evolutionary constraints on energy expenditure with direct relevance to human health.
Beyond his technical innovations, Professor Speakman has profoundly shaped his field through extensive editorial leadership, serving on prestigious journals including Science, Molecular Metabolism, and the International Journal of Obesity. His election as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2018, followed by his election as a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences in 2020, and the 2024 Solomon Berson Medal from the American Physiology Society represent the pinnacle of scientific recognition. He continues to lead pioneering research from his dual laboratories in Aberdeen and Shenzhen, with current work focusing on the metabolic basis of obesity and lifespan. His commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists and fostering international collaborations ensures his methodologies and insights will continue to drive innovation in metabolic research for decades to come.
