31 May 2011
University to honour local heroes and international figures
Local heroes and leading international academics and researchers will be honoured at this summer’s graduations at the University of Dundee.
Professor Sir David Lane, one of the world’s leading cancer scientists, will return to Dundee, where he was based for 20 years, to receive his honorary degree. Among the others being honoured is Mr Jim McLean, the former Chairman and Manager of Dundee United Football Club, who lead the team to success at home and in Europe, and the acclaimed artist and playwright John Byrne.
Professor Pete Downes, Principal of the University of Dundee, said, 'Our Honorary Graduands reflect the nature of the University itself, celebrating local and Scottish achievement but also those made on the international stage.
'David Lane is someone who has had a hugely significant impact at all levels and it is a particular pleasure to be welcoming him back to Dundee. All of our Honorary Graduands are among the highest achievers, clearest thinkers and most respected voices in their respective fields. They are an inspiration to all our students.'
The University’s graduation ceremonies take place this year from Wednesday June 22nd to Friday June 24th in the Caird Hall in Dundee. The following guests will all receive an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD):
- Dr Nick Lydon - joint winner of the 2009 Lasker Award, one of the most prestigious awards in science and medicine, for his work in developing Gleevec, a drug that has saved thousands of lives and revolutionised the field of cancer drug discovery
- Dr Martin Mackay - President of Research & Development at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
- Professor James Murray - Senior Scholar, Princeton University, and the founding Director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology
- John Byrne - acclaimed artist and writer of successful works including 'The Slab Boys' and 'Tutti Frutti'
- Professor Sir David Lane - Chief Scientist of A-Star, Singapore and the Chief Scientist Cancer Research UK
- Dr Andom Ogbamariam - Director General for Research and Human Development for the Ministry of Health in Eritrea
- Jim McLean - former chairman and manager of Dundee United Football Club
- Dr Kazem Behbehani - Director of the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait
- Professor Douglas Hanahan - Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research
NOTES TO EDITORS
There will be photo opportunities with each of the Honorary Graduates before the ceremony in the Robing Room of Dundee City Chambers. These will be from 9.30 am for the morning ceremonies (which begin at 10 am) and 2 pm for the afternoon ceremonies (which begin at 2.30 pm).
The ceremonies where honorary degrees will be conferred are:
Wednesday June 22nd -
10am Martin Mackay, James Lydon
2.30pm Jim McLean
Thursday June 23rd -
2.30pm James Murray, John Byrne
Friday June 24th -
10am Andom Ogbamariam
2.30 pm Sir David Lane, Kazem Behbehani, Doug Hanahan
HONORARY GRADUATE BIOGRAPHIES.
DR NICK LYDON is an alumnus of the University of Dundee and joint winner of the 2009 Lasker Award, one of the most prestigious awards in science and medicine. He was recognised for his work in developing Gleevec, a drug that has saved thousands of lives and revolutionised the field of cancer drug discovery.
Dr Lydon gained a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Leeds before receiving his PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Dundee in 1992. He then worked for Schering-Plough in France before moving to Ciba-Geigy, which later became Novartis, in Basel, Switzerland. It was here that much of the work in developing Gleevec was carried out.
Gleevec has saved the lives of thousands of sufferers of both chronic myeloid leukaemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumours, as well as having an immeasurable impact on cancer drug discovery.
Dr. Lydon is currently a founder, scientific advisor and member of the Board of Directors of both Anaptys Biosciences Inc (San Diego, CA, USA) and Blueprint Medicines (Cambridge, MA, USA).
DR MARTIN MACKAY is the President of Research & Development at AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. He leads a global organisation tasked with advancing a portfolio on investigational medicines across a range of disease areas. Martin is a member of the AstraZeneca Senior Executive Team, Portfolio Investment Board and the Science Committee.
Prior to joining AstraZeneca in 2010, Martin was the President of PharmaTherapeutics Research & Development at Pfizer. His career at Pfizer spanned 15 years, where he held various leadership roles, including the President of Research & Development.
He serves on the Scientific and Regulatory Committee of the industry trade group PhRMA and co-chairs the US-India BioPharma & Healthcare Summit Advisory Board. Martin is a Visiting Professor at the University of Lincoln, UK.
MR JIM McLEAN is the former Chairman and Manager of Dundee United Football Club.
Appointed as manager of Dundee United in 1971, Mr McLean turned around the fortunes of the team, taking them from the status of a provincial club in Scotland to a name known and respected across Europe.
He won the Scottish League Cup with the club in 1979 and again in 1980. An even bigger title came in 1982-83 when he guided Dundee United to their only Scottish Premier Division Championship.
That was followed by a long adventure in the following season’s European Cup, where this small club from the east coast of Scotland went all the way to the semi-finals before being knocked out by Italian giants Roma. He came even closer to European glory in 1987 when he took United to the UEFA Cup Final, only to lose over two legs to Swedish side Gothenburg.
Mr McLean retired from management in 1993 but remained at Dundee United as chairman. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest club managers Scotland has produced, one who put the city of Dundee back on the European football map.
Mr McLean’s career in football also spanned the city divide, having previously spent time as a player and coach at Dundee FC before crossing the road to join United.
PROFESSOR JAMES D. MURRAY FRS, FRSE, Foreign Member of French Academy, is Professor Emeritus of Mathematical Biology, University of Oxford, Professor Emeritus of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington and now Senior Scholar, Princeton University. He was a student in the University of St. Andrews and obtained a B.Sc. and Ph.D. and at Oxford, an M.A. and D.Sc. He started to work on the applications of mathematics to biology and medicine in the late 1960’s and at Oxford was the founding Director of the Centre for Mathematical Biology which was the model for many subsequent centres started around the world such as in Britain, Europe, USA, Australia and Japan.
Professor Murray’s research has been in a wide spectrum of areas, just a few of which are animal coat pattern formation, the spread and control of rabies, brain tumour growth and control, marital interaction and divorce prediction, the benefits of cannibalism, bovine tuberculosis, wound healing and justifying tribal warfare. He has published more than 200 research papers and several books of which the best known is Mathematical Biology which has been translated into Polish and Russian. He is known for his lively public lectures about mathematics in the real world.
Professor Murray has been a visiting professor at many universities around the world and is the recipient of numerous international awards, such as the Royal Society’s Bakerian Prize Lecture, Honorary member of the Edinburgh Mathematical Society and several honorary degrees. As a result of his work on brain tumours an endowed professorship in perpetuity, the James D. Murray Chair in Applied Mathematics and Neuropatholgy, was established in the University of Washington in 2007.
JOHN BYRNE was born and educated in Paisley. He quit school in Fifth Year and, having failed to secure a job painting cinema posters with Mr Brown, Paisley's only commercial artist, started work as a ‘slab boy’ mixing powder colour for the designers at A F Stoddard, carpet manufacturers in nearby Elderslie.
In 1958 Glasgow School of Art beckoned. In his final year at GSA he won the Bellahouston Award, the school's most prestigious painting prize, and travelled to Italy, returning some six months later, a highly accomplished and confident young artist.
After establishing himself as an artist, John Byrne spread his diverse talents into design, animation, film and theatre.
Among his well-known works is `The Slab Boys’(1978) and the six-time BAFTA award-winning television series ‘Tutti Frutti’starring Robbie Coltrane, Emma Thompson and Richard Wilson.
His artwork is held in major collections in Scotland and abroad. Several of his paintings hang in The Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, the Museum of Modern Art and the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. He has also designed record covers for Donovan, The Beatles, Gerry Rafferty and Billy Connolly.
In 2001 he was awarded an MBE in the Queen's birthday honours list for services to literature and the theatre but returned it in protest at the British Government's joining forces with the US Administration's invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq.
DR ANDOM OGBAMARIAM is the Director General for Research and Human Development for the Ministry of Health in Eritrea.
Dr. Andom was born in Keren, Eritrea. He did his medical education in Ethiopia and worked in Massawa and Afabet hospitals before moving on to work in hospitals in the liberated area of Eritrea.
During the 30-year period of conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia he worked as a Medical Doctor and Field Surgeon for the Eritrean Liberation Front, becoming a well known character to his patients.
Following Eritrea’s declaration of independence in 1993 he was appointed Director of Communicable Diseases in the Ministry of Health. In this role he was instrumental in the development of national strategies to deal with malaria, a disease which as a result is now well controlled in Eritrea.
In his current role Dr Andom is committed to developing capacity in the local healthcare workforce in Eritrea in order that they can become self-reliant. To that end Dr Andom has been a key figure in establishing educational partnerships with the University of Dundee, in Nursing & Midwifery and Education, which have seen nearly 150 students graduate in Eritrea.
PROFESSOR SIR DAVID LANE FRS, FRSE, FMedSci, FRCP is currently the Chief Scientist of A-Star, Singapore and the Chief Scientist Cancer Research UK.
Sir David completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at University College London. He carried out Post Doctoral Research first at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London and then at the Cold Spring Harbor Labs in New York. In 1980 Sir David set up his own laboratory with CRC funding at Imperial College, London, then moving to the ICRF laboratories at Clare Hall before moving in 1990 to Dundee to help establish the CRC laboratories there. In 1996 Sir David founded Cyclacel, a Dundee-based, NASDAQ listed, biotechnology company developing novel drugs for the treatment of cancer.
Sir David has published more than 300 research articles and is well known for his speaking to non-specialist groups and for his clarifying reviews, of which his commentary 'p53, guardian of the genome - published in Nature, is a key example. He has won many international prizes for his work including last year the Royal Medal of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
David Lane was knighted for his contribution to cancer research in the New Year honours list in January 2000.
DR KAZEM BEHBEHANI, PhD (London), FRCPath (UK), of Kuwait, is presently Director of the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait. Dr Behbehani is a global health leader who has demonstrated sustained impact on health care internationally at the highest level.
He joined the World Health Organization's (WHO) Geneva headquarters in 1990. He became WHO Assistant Director-General for External Relations & Governing Bodies in 2003 and in 2005 became the WHO Envoy. He co-chairs Harvard University's scientific advisory board for the environment and public health.
He joined WHO’s HIV/AIDS programme, was appointed programme manager in the Tropical Disease Research Division, and subsequently became Director of the Control of Tropical Diseases Division and Eastern Mediterranean Liaison Office in Geneva.
Before joining WHO, Dr Behbehani was Professor of Immunology at the Faculty of Medicine of Kuwait University, and held the posts of: Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science, Vice Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Medicine, Vice President for Research of Kuwait University and a member of the University Council. He became a visiting professor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr Behbehani is actively involved in environmental and health issues, health management, application of information technology to health (eHealth), and development of interactive educational materials for public, professional and medical use (eLearning). He has written more than 100 scientific publications and a book on science and technology.
DOUGLAS HANAHAN, PhD, is Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, and Professor of Molecular Oncology in the School of Life Sciences at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, EPFL).
He received a bachelor’s degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1976, and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Harvard University in 1983, where he was elected to the prestigious position of Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows. He worked at the legendary Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York first as a graduate student and then as a faculty member.
Subsequently he spent twenty years as a Professor at the University of California at San Francisco before moving to EPFL in 2009.
Among his many achievements, he conceptualised, with Robert Weinberg of MIT, an organising principle with which to rationalise the daunting complexity of human cancer types; their landmark publication in 2000, entitled ‘the hallmarks of cancer’, proposed that six distinctive functional capabilities were necessarily acquired in one way or another by most human cancers, a concept that is now beginning to influence cancer therapy.
Professor Hanahan’s accomplishments have been recognised by his election to several honorific societies, as a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (2007), and as a member of the Institute of Medicine of the US National Academies (2008), of the US National Academy of Science (2009), and of the European Molecular Biology Organization (2010).
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