The Academy of Medical Sciences has elected 50 prominent biomedical and health scientists to its respected and influential Fellowship*, it has been announced today [Wednesday 12 May 2021].
The new Fellows have been selected for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of medical science through innovative research discoveries and translating scientific developments into benefits for patients and the wider society.
The Academy’s 2021 new Fellows include experts who have spearheaded the COVID-19 response, such as Professor Sarah Gilbert FMedSci, who led the team at Oxford to develop the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine which is now in use across the world. New Fellows Professor Martin Landray FMedSci and Professor Peter Horby FMedSci have been at the forefront of the search for COVID-19 treatments, as the Chief Investigators of the RECOVERY trial, the world's largest COVID-19 drug trial.
Multiple new Fellows have been key providers of independent advice to the Government during the pandemic. Professor Jonathan Nguyen-Van-Tam FMedSci, the UK Government’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, leads on health protection and has regularly presented at the 10 Downing Street COVID-19 press conferences. New Fellow Professor Yvonne Doyle FMedSci has led the COVID-19 response from Public Health England, where she is Medical Director and Director of Health Protection, at the same time as maintaining a significant media presence to ensure public understanding of the virus.
Others are continuing to advance biomedical sciences in innovative ways for health challenges beyond the pandemic. Pharmaceutical nanoscientist Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu FMedSci, at University College London, has deployed nanotechnology to enable therapeutically effective doses of drugs to reach their targets in the brain, having profound implications for cancer and neurological conditions. New Fellow Dr Madan Babu Mohan FMedSci is a biomedical data scientist at St Jude Children's Research Hospital in America, whose research on G-protein coupled receptors has helped explain why people respond differently to certain drugs, having direct implications for personalised medicine.
Professor Guy Rutty MBE FMedSci, a forensic pathologist at the University of Leicester, has greatly improved the way in which mass disasters are investigated, as well as reducing the need for invasive post-mortems. Professor Jane Blazeby FMedSci, at the University of Bristol, has been pivotal in transforming the culture of surgery through randomised control trials, developing and championing high-quality methods to establish evidence to inform patient care.
Professor Dame Anne Johnson PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said:
“I am truly delighted to welcome these 50 new Fellows to the Academy’s Fellowship, and I offer my congratulations to each of them on their exceptional contribution to biomedical and health science. The knowledge, skill and influence that each brings to the Fellowship is the Academy’s most powerful asset.
“The last year has clearly demonstrated the power and prowess of UK biomedical science, and I am proud of how many Fellows, new and old, have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 response in the UK and globally.
“Although it is hard to look beyond the pandemic right now, I want to stress how important it is that the Academy Fellowship represents the widest diversity of biomedical and health sciences. The greatest health advances rely on the findings of many types of research, and on multidisciplinary teams and cross-sector and global collaboration.
“I am pleased that the newest cohort of Fellows demonstrates this breadth of expertise, from microbiology to healthcare law and medical statistics. I also warmly welcome the three new Fellows bringing knowledge and insight from the industry sector; translational collaboration with industry is necessary for patients to reap the full benefits of UK research.”
Professor Yvonne Doyle FMedSci, Medical Director and Director for Health Protection, Public Health England, elected as a new Fellow, said:
“I am honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
“As a leader in the healthcare sector, it is important to me that learning from research is used to address people’s health disadvantage. The Academy is in a unique position to bring lots of disciplines together to solve the most difficult health challenges.
“Reducing health inequality could not be more important at this time. COVID-19 has taken a high toll on some of the world’s most vulnerable people and has severely tested scientific and health leadership. It is a privilege and a challenge in equal measure to be at the epicentre of biomedical science in these times. I have been fortunate to work with great scientific and medical leaders through the Academy in the past – together we can help the populations and patients we serve to recover now and in the future.”
Professor Philippa Saunders FRSE FMedSci, Registrar of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said:
“The Academy’s mission of improving health via biomedical research relies upon the brightest minds coming together from across a wide range of backgrounds. We strive for a more diverse and equal Fellowship, and the new Fellows of 2021 include the highest proportion of experts from minority ethnic backgrounds ever elected to the Academy, at 14%, up from 12% last year. Regional representation within the Fellowship continues to improve, with new Fellows being elected from 11 different regions of the UK, including Northern Ireland. A third of the new Fellows are women.
“The Academy sees increasing diversity in those we work with as a priority for this year, and we expect it to be a central component of our upcoming 10-year strategy.
“The pandemic has highlighted the global nature of health and the immense power that the scientific community can have when it works together. I am delighted to welcome the 50 new Fellows and look forward to working with them through the Academy.”
The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy on 1 July 2021.
- ENDS -
For more information please contact:
Naomi Clarke, Senior Communications Officer
07903 158979, naomi.clarke@acmedsci.ac.uk
Notes for Editors
- The Academy of Medical Sciences is the independent body in the UK representing the diversity of medical science. Our elected Fellows are the UK’s leading medical scientists from hospitals, academia, industry and the public service. Our mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. We are working to secure a future in which:
- UK and global health is improved by the best research.
- The UK leads the world in biomedical and health research, and is renowned for the quality of its research outputs, talent and collaborations.
- Independent, high quality medical science advice informs the decisions that affect society.
- More people have a say in the future of health and research.
Our work focusses on four key objectives: promoting excellence, developing talented researchers, influencing research and policy and engaging patients, the public and professionals.
- This year Fellows were chosen from 384 candidates. The eight Sectional Committees met in March to consider potential Fellows for 2021 entry to the Academy. Three nominators from within the Fellowship must back each candidate. The Academy Registrar, Professor Philippa Saunders FRSE FMedSci, Director of Postgraduate Research, University of Edinburgh, oversees the election. 103 candidates were shortlisted for peer review. The election brings the total number of Fellows to 1368.
- *Full list of Fellows elected in 2021
Professor Franklin Aigbirhio, Professor of Molecular Imaging Chemistry, University of Cambridge
Mr Steve Bates, CEO, BioIndustry Association
Professor Jane Blazeby, Professor of Surgery, University of Bristol
Professor Alan Boyd, President and CEO, Boyd Consultants
Professor Lisa Cipolotti, Head of Neuropsychology Department, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
Professor Steven Clifford, Institute Director and Professor of Molecular Paediatric Oncology, Newcastle University Centre for Cancer
Professor Heather Cordell, Professor of Statistical Genetics, Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University
Professor Jonathan Deeks, Professor of Biostatistics, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham
Professor Adrianus Dondorp, Deputy Director and Head of Malaria and Critical Illness, Mahidol Oxford Clinical Research Unit, University of Oxford
Professor Yvonne Doyle, Medical Director and Director of Health Protection, Public Health England
Professor Thalia Eley, Professor of Developmental Behavioural Genetics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London
Professor Mauro Giacca, Professor of Cardiovascular Sciences, King’s College London
Professor Ian Gilbert, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Head, Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery, University of Dundee
Professor Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology, University of Oxford
Professor Christopher Griffiths, Professor of Primary Care, Queen Mary University of London
Professor Ravindra Gupta, Professor of Clinical Microbiology, University of Cambridge
Professor Peter Horby, Professor of Emerging Infectious Diseases and Global Health, University of Oxford
Professor David Hunter, Richard Doll Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine, University of Oxford
Professor Brian Huntly, Professor of Leukaemia Stem Cell Biology, University of Cambridge
Professor Heidi Johansen-Berg, Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow, University of Oxford
Professor Beate Kampmann, Director, The Vaccine Centre, and Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Professor Marian Knight, Professor of Maternal and Child Population Health, University of Oxford
Professor Martin Landray, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Oxford, University of Oxford
Professor Adrian Liston, Senior Group Leader, Babraham Institute
Professor Robert Lucas, GSK Professor of Neuroscience, University of Manchester
Professor Daniel McAuley, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine and Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, Queen’s University Belfast
Professor Rose McGready, Professor of Tropical Maternal and Child Health, University of Oxford
Professor Nicholas Mills, Butler BHF Senior Clinical Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh
Dr Madan Babu Mohan, Endowed Chair in Biomedical Data Science, Director, Center for Data Driven Discovery, St Jude Children's Research Hospital USA
Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery, Professor of Health Care Law, University College London
Professor Patricia Munroe, Professor of Molecular Medicine, Queen Mary University of London
Professor Jonathan Nguyen-Van-Tam, Clinical Professor and Head, Health Protection and Influenza, University of Nottingham
Professor Graham Ogg, Professor of Dermatology, University of Oxford
Dr Jane Osbourn, CSO, Alchemab Therapeutics
Professor Tracy Palmer, Professor of Molecular Microbiology, Newcastle University
Professor Guy Rutty MBE, Professor of Forensic Pathology, University of Leicester
Dr Erik Sahai, Senior Group Leader, Francis Crick Institute
Professor Anna Katharina Simon, Professor of Immunology, University of Oxford
Professor Benjamin Simons, Royal Society E.P. Abraham Professor, University of Cambridge
Professor Tom Solomon, Chair of Neurological Science, University of Liverpool
Professor Jonathan Sterne, Director of HDR UK South West and Professor of Medical Statistics and Epidemiology, University of Bristol
Professor Zoltan Takats, Professor of Analytical Chemistry, Imperial College London
Professor Steve Thornton, Vice Principal (Health) and Professor of Obstetrics, Queen Mary University of London
Dr James Turner, Assistant Research Director and Senior Group Leader, Sex Chromosome Biology Lab, Francis Crick Institute
Professor Nicholas Turner, Professor of Molecular Oncology, The Institute of Cancer Research, and Clinical Medical Oncologist, the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, Chair in Pharmaceutical Nanoscience, University College London
Professor Joris Veltman, Dean, Newcastle University Biosciences Institute
Professor Essi Viding, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology, University College London
Professor Scott Waddell, Professor of Neurobiology and Wellcome Principal Research Fellow, University of Oxford
Professor Bryan Williams, Chair of Medicine, UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Director, NIHR UCL Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre