Sir Philip Cohen wins prize for diabetes work
One of the world's leading diabetes researchers at the University of Dundee has been awarded a major prize for his work on insulin.
Sir Philip Cohen, director of the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit and the Wellcome Trust Biocentre at the University of Dundee has been awarded the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Distinguished Achievement Award in Metabolic Research.
The $50,000 prize recognises his leading role in identifying how insulin accelerates the uptake of glucose from the blood and its conversion into glycogen, the major storage form of glucose in the body. It will be presented at a gala black tie dinner at the Palace Hotel in New York City on the evening of October 16th.
Sir Philip, who becomes the first non-American to win the award, said: "The award recognises the important work of the many outstanding research students, postdoctoral fellows and colleagues at Dundee who have cracked this problem while working in the MRC unit. Although I have received a number of awards over the years for my research in Britain and Europe, this prize is particularly pleasing as the first major recognition of my work in the USA."
Sir Philip started the work that led to the award in 1974, three years after he arrived in Dundee, and the project took almost 25 years to complete. Sir Philip's findings suggest new approaches for the development of improved drugs to overcome the body's resistance to insulin in Type II diabetes. This disease afflicts more than three per cent of the UK population and accounts for 10 per cent of all health care expenditure. Its incidence is expected to double over the next 10 years.
"Sir Philip's discovery of how insulin exerts its effects on target tissues is truly a landmark in the field of metabolic research," said Richard Gregg, M.D., vice president, Clinical Discovery, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
The Bristol-Myers Squibb Unrestricted Biomedical Research Grants Program that provides the Metabolic Award was initiated in 1977. The programme is celebrating its 25th year, reaching the milestone of $100 million in no-strings-attached funding in six biomedical research areas, including cancer cardiovascular, infectious diseases, metabolic diseases, neuroscience and nutrition.
The Distinguished Achievement Award of $50,000 is awarded annually in each of the six categories. The recipient is selected by peer review.
Sir Philip is one of the leading lights behind a campaign launched last month (August) to raise the £3.5 million still required for a new state-of-the-art £15m research facility in Dundee
One-hundred-and-eighty top scientists will work in the new centre, which will seek effective treatments for diabetes and malaria, building on the five star reputation of Dundee University's School of Life Sciences. The new facility will be sited next to the existing Wellcome Trust Biocentre on Dundee University's main campus.
Diabetes is caused by the failure of insulin to act normally on the body. It can cause problems with the kidneys, legs and feet, eyes, heart, nerves and blood flow. If left untreated, these problems can lead to kidney failure, gangrene and amputation, blindness or stroke.
Notes for Editors
Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global pharmaceutical and related health care products company whose mission is to extend and enhance human life. Visit Bristol-Myers Squibb on the World Wide Web at http://www.bms.com
For further information please contact:
Angie Nicol on 01382 348377 a.k.nicoll@dundee.ac.uk
Jenny Marra 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk
David Sawyer on 0141 333 0557/07770 886923 or e-mail:
dsawyer@webershandwick.com
By Jenny Marra, Press Officer 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk