Professor Neil Gow is Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Impact and Professor of Microbiology at the University of Exeter. His research speciality is in medical mycology and in particular the study of the structure and immunology of fungi that cause life-threatening infections.

He trained at Edinburgh, Aberdeen and in Denver before returning to Aberdeen, where he developed and nurtured a team that became an MRC Centre for Medical Mycology and helped coordinate UK training and research in medical mycology. He has acted as President of the British Mycological Society, the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology and the Microbiology Society. In 2018 he moved to the University of Exeter to become DVC for Research and Impact.

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Academy of Medical Sciences, Royal Society of Edinburgh, American Academy of Microbiology and European Confederation of Medical Mycology and has acted as President of four major international societies of mycology and microbiology.