In 2005, Bodmer was appointed to lead a £2.3 million project (roughly US$4.5 million) by the Wellcome Trust at the University of Oxford to examine the genetic makeup of the United Kingdom – the People of the British Isles project. He was joined by Oxford Professor Peter Donnelly (a population genetics and statistics expert) and the Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow Lon Cardon. Bodmer said, "Our aim is to characterise the genetic make-up of the British population and relate this to the historical and archaeological evidence." The researchers presented some of their findings to the public via the Channel 4 television series "Faces of Britain". On 14 April 2007, Channel 4 in Britain aired a program that highlighted the study's then-current findings. The project took DNA samples from hundreds of volunteers throughout Britain, seeking tell-tale fragments of DNA that would reveal the biological traces of successive waves of colonisers – Celts, Saxons, Vikings, etc. – in various parts of Britain. The findings showed that the Viking invasion of Britain was predominantly from Danish Vikings while the Orkney Islands were settled by Norwegian Vikings. This research was most recently presented at the Galton Institute's conference on 'New Light on Old Britons' in 2019.[22] Bodmer had previously worked with the Galton Institute as its president from 2008 to 2014.[23]
He has been head of the cancer and immunogenetics laboratory in the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford since 1996.[24] Research interests of the laboratory include the fundamental genetics and biology of colorectal cancer.
His certificate of election to the Royal Society reads:[26]
Distinguished for his theoretical and experimental contributions to genetics. His analyses of population genetics models, especially human, his contribution to the understanding of bacterial transformation, to the understanding of the HL-A system, and to the use of somatic cell hybrids for human linkage studies are outstanding. Few scientists have contributed distinguished work in such a range of fields, and involving such a range of experience of techniques, mathematical and experimental, and such a range of organisms.
Personal life
Bodmer's father was Jewish so the family were obliged to leave Nazi Germany; in 1938, they settled in Manchester, England. In 1956, Walter Bodmer married Julia Bodmer (née Pilkington) 1934–2001; she also became a well-known geneticist. They had two sons and a daughter.[6] Lady Bodmer died in 2001.
Interviews
Bodmer, Walter; Blythe, Max (2017). "Sir Walter Bodmer FRS in interview with Dr Max Blythe: Interview 1". Oxford Brookes University. doi:10.24384/000458. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Bodmer, Walter; Blythe, Max (1998). "Sir Walter Bodmer FRS in interview with Dr Max Blythe: Interview 2". Oxford Brookes University. doi:10.24384/000007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)