Imperial researchers win prestigious fellowships

Academy of Medical Sciences

Four leading researchers from Imperial have been honoured with fellowships of the Academy of Medical Sciences. - News

by Sam Wong and Simon Levey
Thursday 12 May 2011

Four leading researchers from Imperial have been honoured with fellowships of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

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Professor Gianni Angelini (NHLI), Professor Daniel Davis (Life Sciences), Professor Christoph Tang (Medicine) and Professor Dominic Withers (Institute of Clinical Sciences) are among 40 eminent scientists who have been honoured with Academy fellowships this year.

Academy Fellows are elected for outstanding contributions to the advancement of medical science, for innovative application of scientific knowledge or for their conspicuous service to healthcare.

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on 29th June.

Professor Sir Anthony Newman Taylor, Principal of the Faculty of Medicine, said: “I’m delighted that four academics from Imperial have been recognised for their outstanding contribution by the Academy of Medical Sciences. Their fellowships are wholly deserved and I’m sure everyone at the College will join me in congratulating them. We now have 82 fellows of the Academy here, which is a great reflection on the quality of our medical research at Imperial.”

New fellows

Professor Gianni Angelini

Professor Gianni Angelini

Professor Gianni Angelini is the British Heart Foundation Clinical Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Head of Cardiac Surgery in the National Heart and Lung Institute. His main research interests are saphenous vein coronary artery bypass graft failure, myocardial protection in adults and children, coronary artery bypass surgery on the beating heart and arterial revascularisation.

Professor Angelini said “It is an honour to be elected to the Academy. I was surprised and moved by all the messages of congratulations from colleagues and friends. I have been very lucky to work with a wonderful team of people from different disciplines who translate basic science into clinical practice - I owe them this prestigious award”.

Professor Angelini also retains his position in the Bristol Heart Institute in the University of Bristol.

Professor Daniel Davis

Professor Daniel Davis

Daniel M Davis is Professor of Molecular Immunology in the Department of Life Sciences. In his research he looks at how immune cells communicate with each other and how they recognise diseased cells, such as tumours. His work helped establish the idea that immune cells called “natural killer" (NK) cells detect diseased cells by changing the pattern of proteins on their outer surface. His group recently found a new way that immune cells interact with other cells, using membrane nanotubes, which provide a physical connection between distant cells. Professor Davis received the prestigious Lister Prize Fellowship in 2005 and the Wolfson Royal Society Merit Award in 2008.

Professor Davis said: "I'm really delighted to be elected into the Academy of Medical Sciences. My own research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms by which immune cells detect tumours and viral-infected cells. I hope to contribute actively to the Academy and also learn from other Fellows more about medical applications from this kind of basic research."

Professor Christoph Tang

Professor Christoph Tang

Christoph Tang is Professor of Infectious Diseases in the Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection. His research group works on the pathogenesis of infections caused by Neisseria meningitidis, the leading cause of childhood meningitis in the UK, and Shigella flexneri, which causes dysentery. Their main interests are in how these bacteria interact with aspects of the innate immune system, particularly the complement system which is critical for prevention of meningococcal infections. The group also aims to devise approaches to prevent these infections through vaccines based on understanding the virulence mechanisms the bacteria employ to cause disease.

Professor Tang said: “I am delighted by the news as the award recognises the talent and dedication of people who are and have been part of the group, and their achievements over the last 10 years at Imperial. I am grateful for all the support and encouragement the group has enjoyed from colleagues within the Department of Microbiology and the Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection, and to our collaborators, especially those in the College and at the Institut Pasteur and University of Oxford.”

Professor Dominic Withers

Professor Dominic Withers

Professor Dominic Withers is Professor of Diabetes and Endocrinology and Honorary Consultant in Diabetes and Endocrinology at Imperial and head of the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre Metabolic Signalling Group.

His group in interested in the way intracellular signalling pathways regulate metabolism. His work has relevance to the pathogenesis of diabetes, obesity and the diseases of ageing. 

Professor Withers said: “I am honoured a nd delighted to be elected to the Academy. I have been lucky to work with a group of talented scientists in my lab over the last 10 years and this honour is due to their efforts. We are now making excellent progress in particular towards understanding the molecular mechanisms of the ageing process.”

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