Success for Imperial in Queen's Birthday Honours

Researchers recognised in honours list<em> - News</em>

By Danielle Reeves
Friday 19 June 2009

Two Imperial academics have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday honours list 2009, announced this week.

Professor Anne Dell is made a CBE and Dr Caroline Shuldham receives an OBE. In addition, former Deputy Rector of Imperial, Professor Sir Bill Wakeham, receives a knighthood.

Professor Dell's CBE is in recognition of her services to science. Based in the College's Department of Life Sciences, she joined Imperial in 1975, after completing her PhD at Cambridge. During her time at the College she has held many senior positions, including heading the Department of Biochemistry, and holding a prestigious BBSRC professorial fellowship from 2001–2007.

Professor Dell's research focuses on a sugar-rich layer called the glycocalyx that coats every cell in the human body. These sugars play an important, but not yet fully understood, role in cell-to-cell communication and recognition. They are central to important biological questions such as why a foetus is not detected and rejected as 'foreign' by a mother's body, and how a parasite manages to hoodwink its host's immune system.

Her laboratory specialises in the development and exploitation of highly sensitive mass spectrometric screening and sequencing techniques for characterising these sugars and the proteins they interact with in the body.

Professor Anne Dell

On receiving news of the honour, Professor Dell said: "I am delighted to receive this honour, although it should really be a team award. The scientific output for which I have received recognition would not have been possible without the enormous contributions of my mentor Professor Howard Morris FRS and the many gifted researchers in our biopolymer mass spectrometry laboratory."

Professor Dell was elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society in 2002, and to the Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2008.

Dr Caroline Shuldham received her OBE for services to healthcare. Dr Shuldham is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the College's National Heart and Lung Institute and she has a background in cardiac and intensive care nursing, nursing education, and research. She is also director of nursing, clinical governance and informatics at Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, and is a nurse fellow of the European Society of Cardiology.

Dr Caroline Shuldham

Commenting on the news, Dr Shuldham said: "I am delighted to have been given this award and for the recognition it confers on Imperial College, Royal Brompton & Harefield, and nursing in general."

Professor Sir Bill Wakeham is a Fellow of Imperial College London and he was a member of the College for thirty years, joining the College's Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology in 1971 and becoming Deputy Rector in 1997. He left in 2001 to become Vice Chancellor of Southampton University. He receives his knighthood for services to chemical engineering and higher education.

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