Four female scientists from MRC receive top medical science accolade
23 June 2005
The Medical Research Council (MRC) will see four of their top female scientists honoured for their contribution to medical sciences today (Friday 24th June) when they are officially elected to the prestigious Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Professor Janet Darbyshire, Director of the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, Professor Wendy Bickmore, Senior Scientist at the MRC Genetics Unit, Dr Anne O’Garra, Head of Immunoregulation at the MRCs’ National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and Dr Brigitta Stockinger, group leader at NIMRs’ Department of Immunology, along with three MRC-funded scientists working in universities, are among 40 of the UK’s top medical scientists selected by peer review process to receive the honour.
Professor Janet Darbyshire, is recognised as one of the most outstanding epidemiologists in the UK. Her work has had a major impact on human health, starting with her design of clinical trials in the epidemiology, effect of treatment and prophylaxis in tuberculosis, particularly in Africa. Applying her experience in TB, she refined the use of the clinical trial to tackle the consequences of the HIV epidemic in Africa and South East Asia. Her pre-eminence in her chosen field is attested by her membership on almost every board or steering group relevant to the organisation and effectiveness of clinical trials in AIDS, HIV and TB.
Professor Wendy Bickmore is a scientist of major international standing and is distinguished for her work on nuclear organisation and its relationship to the control of gene expression. Her recent research using jelly fish derived Green Fluorescent Protein, is helping us to understand how DNA is organised within the nucleus of living cells. Gaining knowledge of the way that DNA sequence is packed inside our body’s cells in this way, can help scientists understand how mistakes in chromosome structure and organisation affect gene expression in health and disease.
Dr Anne O’Garra is recognised as one of the world’s most influential immunologists and is a leader in the field of T-cell differentiation and cytokine research. Over the last 15 years, her laboratory has identified key roles for various molecules and cells to trigger the immune response. Her research into molecular and cellular pathways has been crucial for the design of vaccines for the prevention and intervention in infectious diseases.
Renowned experimental immunologist, Dr Brigitta Stockinger, has provided a novel insight into the nature of regulatory cells. She conclusively demonstrated that under physiological, non-lymphopoietic conditions, T cells of different lineages and phenotypes can act as regulatory cells. Her work is important for an understanding of perturbations resulting in autoimmunity, and for optimising effector and memory T cell responses to exogenous antigens.
Three other MRC-funded scientists were also elected to the fellowship. These include Professor Jon Driver, distinguished for his pioneering studies on attention, multisensory integration, and perception in the normal and damaged brain, Dr Roger Keynes, who’s had a major influence on current thinking on neural patterning during embryonic development and Professor Hugh Perry, one of the country’s leading neuroscientists in the field of degenerative brain disease and inflammatory mechanisms.
The Academy of Medical Sciences was established in 1998 to act as an authoritative body to promote medical science across traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Academy draws its authority from its elected Fellowship of 834 leading medical scientists in the UK.
Colin Blakemore, Chief Executive of the MRC said: “My warmest congratulations to all the MRC scientists who have been elected to the Fellowship. I’m especially delighted to see so many women recognised by their peers for their scientific excellence and their contributions to medical research.”
