[1][2] His father, Herbert Lewis Curtis, was an architect who served in World War I by surveying aerial photographs.

His mother, Nora Patricia née Stevens was born in Ireland and studied painting at Slade School of Fine Art.

[2][3] He initially planned on studying geology and applied to King's College and University of Cambridge.

[4] He attended the University of Edinburgh for his PhD, studying in its Institute of Animal Genetics under advisors C. H. Waddington and Geoffrey Selman.

[8] He also helped found the Tissue and Cell Engineering Society UK and served as its president from 2001 to 2003.