Blakemore got off to an exceptionally early and impressive start in both vocations—he completed his PhD in less than 30 months—and he achieved great success while still in his 30s. In 1976, he delivered the Reith Lectures for the BBC, and in 1979, he accepted the Waynflete chair of physiology at Oxford University—both the sorts of honors given to those 20 years his senior. He directs the Medical Research Council Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience. Currently, Blakemore is chairman of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (he was its president, 1997-1998,) and president of the Physiological Society.
A long line of broadcasting appearances, along with his books and articles for the general public, have earned him a description by the Royal Society as "one of Britain's most influential communicators of science." For this role, The society presented Blakemore with its Michael Faraday award in 1989.
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