22 February 2011

Prestigious Award for Cancer Expert

The University of Glasgow has awarded the 2011 Tenovus-Scotland Medal to a cancer expert from the University of Dundee.

Dr John Rouse is a Programme Leader at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Protein Phosphorylation Unit in Dundee and has recently made several discoveries in how cells recognize and repair DNA damage to prevent mutations which can lead to cancer.

The award will be presented in June at the Scottish Chromatin Group Meeting during which Dr Rouse will deliver the 2011 Tenovus-Scotland Medal Lecture, entitled “Forks and molecular knives at the cutting edge of DNA repair".

Professor Sheila Graham, a reader at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research and Co-Chair of the Tenovus Committee, "Dr Rouse is a deserving winner of the 2011 Tenovus Medal. His recent research promises to uncover new avenues for developing cancer treatments."

Dr Rouse added: 'I am delighted to be awarded the Tenovus Medal, which is a reflection of the talents and efforts of the people who have worked in my lab and the outstanding research environment and facilities that we have here in the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit and College of Life Sciences at Dundee'.

The Tenovus Medal Lecture has been presented annually at the University since 1992 and is awarded each year to a scientist with a Scottish link whose work has had a major impact on molecular medicine.

The Scottish Chromatin Group Meeting will meet at the University on Wednesday 8th June 2011.

Dr Rouse becomes the third researcher from the College of Life Sciences at Dundee to be awarded the Tenovus Medal. Previous recipients were Tom Owen-Hughes and Neil Perkins, who carried out the work for which they received the Tenovus Medal in the Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression at Dundee.

Notes to Editors:

Full details of the programme for the Scottish Chromatin Group Meeting can be found at www.scottishchromatin.co.uk

Further details about the work of the 2011 Tenovus-Scotland Medal Winner, Dr. John Rouse can be found at www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/people/john-rouse

Information about the University of Glasgow Tenovus-Scotland Medal Lectures and the work of the Tenovus-Scotland charity can be found at www.gla.ac.uk/tenovus

For more Media information please contact:

University of Glasgow
Eleanor Cowie on 0141 330 3683 or Eleanor.cowie@glasgow.ac.uk

University of Dundee
Roddy Isles on 01382 384910 / 07800 581902 or r.isles@dundee.ac.uk

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902