Six literary awards have shortlisted Matt Ridley's works, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His book The Agile Gene: How Nature Turns on Nurture earned the National Academies of Science award for best science book released in 2003. He is the head of the International Centre for Life in Newcastle, England, and has worked as a scientist, journalist, and national newspaper columnist. He's also a visiting professor at New York's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.