24 October 2006

Professor wins premier award

Professor Irwin McLean has won the prestigious CE.R.I.E.S. Research Award 2006 for Dermatology Research for his work on the genetic basis of a range of inherited skin diseases. The £40,000 CE.R.I.E.S award, sponsored by Chanel, is the premier international prize in the field of Dermatology. The award was presented at the 2006 meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research in Paris.

In March this year, the McLean group discovered a major gene for atopic dermatitis (commonly known as 'eczema'), arguably the most common skin disease, which causes discomfort and distress to as many as 1 in 5 children in the UK and the developed world. The McLean laboratory at the Human Genetics Unit, University of Dundee, discovered that up to 10% of people in European populations carry mutations that essentially 'knock out' or 'switch off' the filaggrin gene. This gene normally makes large amounts of the filaggrin protein in the outermost layers of the epidermis. This protein is essential for maintaining skin barrier function that prevents the skin drying out and also prevents the entry of foreign substances into the body. The gene is also linked to a form of asthma that accompanies eczema in patients, as well as a number of other allergic symptoms.

Prof McLean said, "I’m really thrilled to win the CE.R.I.E.S. award. It is a tremendous honour not only for me but all the hard-working scientists in my laboratory and our many collaborators worldwide who have helped us along the way."

"I’m also really pleased that the association of the filaggrin gene and eczema has been upheld in many studies from different laboratories now. Establishing an inherited skin barrier defect in eczema will undoubtedly influence the development of better treatments for this condition in the years ahead."

NOTES:

Prof Mclean is available for interviews.

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