MRC Scientists Win Royal Society Medals

Two MRC funded-scientists have been awarded a Royal Medal by the Royal Society. The annual awards are made to researchers in recognition of the profound implications their findings have had for others working in their fields. Sir Alan Fersht, Director of the MRC Centre for Protein Engineering at Cambridge University, and Sir Philip Cohen Director of the Medical Research Council's Protein Phosphorylation Unit in Dundee are the two medal winners.

Sir Alan Fersht FRS FMedSci, who is also the Herchel Smith Professor of Organic Chemistry at Cambridge University, has been awarded the Royal Medal A for his seminal work in protein engineering, which he has developed into a fundamental tool in enzyme analysis and the problem of protein folding.


Sir Philip Cohen FRS FRSE, who is also a Research Professor at the University of Dundee and Director-Designate of the newly established Scottish Institute for Cell Signalling, has been awarded the Royal Medal B for his major contribution to the understanding of the role of protein phosphorylation in cell regulation.


The Royal Medal A medallists are chosen each year by the Physical Sciences Awards Committee and the Royal Medal B medallists by the Biological Sciences Awards Committee. The two committees are made up of Fellows of the Society.


On hearing of his award, Professor Cohen said:


"I am delighted to have received this honour which is only awarded to one scientist in the UK biological sciences community each year. Coming so soon after my recent election to the US National Academy of Sciences, this has been quite a year for the MRC Protein Phosphorylation Unit at Dundee - Dario Alessi was elected a Fellow of The Royal Society, John Rouse received the Colworth Medal of the Biochemical Society and Kei Sakamoto was honoured with the Young Investigator Award of the American Physiological Society."


Sir Alan commented:


''The greatest thrill for me is to have been awarded the same medal as my scientific heroes from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in recent years as well as illustrious scientists of yore, such as Charles Darwin, Humphrey Davy and Michael Faraday, and so bathe in a just a little of their reflected glory."


In addition to the Royal Medal Sir Alan was recently elected to the American Philosophical Society.


Only three Royal Medals are awarded each year, for the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge: one in the physical sciences, one in biological sciences, and the third in applied sciences. The Nobel prize winners Frederick Sanger, Sydney Brenner, Max Perutz and Francis Crick, among others, have all received Royal Medals during the medal's rich history.

Medical Research Council