14 May 2007

Honours for Dundee scientists

Two University of Dundee scientists - both prominent leaders in their fields - have had their work recognised with major awards.

Professor Michael Ferguson has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, while Professor David Lilley has been named as a recipient of one of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s interdisciplinary awards for 2006. Professors Ferguson and Lilley are both based within the College of Life Sciences at Dundee.

Commenting on his award from the Academy of Medical Sciences, the society in the UK that advises the Government on matters related to the understanding and treatment of human disease, Professor Ferguson said:.

"I am very honoured to have been elected a fellow of this important and prestigious academy. I am extremely grateful to all of my co-workers. This recognition reflects the excellent work on the biochemistry of tropical diseases carried out by my research group and our collaborators and the outstanding research facilities that we have in the College of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee."

Professor Ferguson becomes the seventh member of the College of Life Sciences to receive this accolade. Sir Philip Cohen and Sir David Lane were made Founder Fellows of the Academy when it was set up in 1998. Doreen Cantrell, Alan Fairlamb, Ron Hay, Grahame Hardie, Birgit Lane and Cheryll Tickle in the College of Life Sciences were elected subsequently.

Professor Lilley is Director of the Cancer Research UK Nucleic Acid Structure Group in the College of Life Sciences.

In naming him for the prize, Professor Jim Feast, The President of the Royal Society of Chemistry, cited Professor Lilley’s distinguished chemical and mechanistic insight in solving problems in chemical biology, particularly his work on the folding and catalytic activity of RNA molecules, as a major reason for making the award.

Commenting on the award, Professor Lilley said: "I am particularly pleased to receive this honour from chemists. It is good to remind people that much good chemistry takes place in departments with names like Life Sciences. I passionately believe that some of the most exciting areas of chemistry are to be found in areas that interface with chemistry and one way or other I seem to have spent most of my life working at these boundaries. I think that the RSC has shown great insight in highlighting the links that chemistry has with biology, physics, engineering and materials."

Professor Lilley will receive the award at the British Association Festival of Science in Liverpool in September 2008.

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