Seven Imperial scientists elected as Fellows of the Royal Society
Imperial experts in medicine, maths and engineering have been announced as new Fellows of the Royal Society.
The seven Imperial researchers elected as Fellows this year are drawn from fields including public health, infectious disease, civil engineering, neuroscience and maths. They join more than 70 members of staff at Imperial College London able to use the prestigious ‘FRS’ suffix in their titles.
Fellowships are given to distinguished scientists by the Royal Society in recognition of "contributions to science, both in fundamental research resulting in greater understanding, and also in leading and directing scientific and technological progress in industry and research establishments”.
"Impact, innovation, and scientific imagination are Imperial's DNA. I’m incredibly proud of all seven of our researchers whose achievements have been recognised by the Royal Society today." Professor Ian Walmsley Provost of Imperial College London
This year over 90 exceptional researchers from across the world have been elected as Fellows, including one of the Nobel Prize-winning pair who discovered CRISPR, Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier, and former Chief Scientific Advisor to the US President, Professor Anthony Fauci.
President of the Royal Society, Sir Adrian Smith, said: “I am pleased to welcome such an outstanding group into the Fellowship of the Royal Society. This new cohort have already made significant contributions to our understanding of the world around us and continue to push the boundaries of possibility in academic research and industry.
“From visualising the sharp rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution to leading the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, their diverse range of expertise is furthering human understanding and helping to address some of our greatest challenges. It is an honour to have them join the Fellowship.”
Professor Ian Walmsley, Provost of Imperial College London, said: “Impact, innovation, and scientific imagination are Imperial's DNA. I’m incredibly proud of all seven of our researchers whose achievements have been recognised by the Royal Society today – each new Fellow demonstrates this Imperial spirit to the fullest extent.”
Professor Xiaodong Zhang
Most recently she has been seeking to understand how cells react to DNA damage, which can be caused by exposure to toxic chemicals, UV light or other radiation. With her team she is investigating the many macromolecular systems by which cells detect, process and repair their damaged DNA.
She commented: “I’m very honoured to be selected to join this prestigious Society. I’m particularly grateful - and humbled- to be recognised in this way by my distinguished scientific peers. I want to thank all the wonderful colleagues I have worked with.”
Professor William Wisden
Professor Wisden’s work has contributed to core knowledge on how brain cells communicate, and how they generate sleep and wakefulness. It is hoped that this research, alongside the work of colleagues, on understanding how and why we sleep could eventually give insights into many aspects of health.
Professor Wisden said: “I am absolutely thrilled and delighted with this award. I would like to wholeheartedly thank all my colleagues and collaborators that I have worked with over the years that have made this award possible.”
Professor José Penadés
The work was recognised recently with a grant from the European Research Council, which funded Prof Penadés to further untangle the systems which bacteria use to swap packets of DNA. Researchers believe the work could help us to better understand, and potentially tackle, the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
Prof. Penadés said: "To become a Fellow of one of the oldest scientific societies in the world is a significant milestone for any scientist. I have spent my life studying microorganisms, and now join the society which helped microbiology to first emerge as a science, centuries ago. Bacteria are fundamental to life and with the threat of antimicrobial resistance looming large, understanding them better will be crucial to protecting our health now and in the future. I would like to thank my family, the present and past members of my lab, my collaborators, and as a Spaniard, this country for this extraordinary recognition. I’m proud to become a Fellow of the Royal Society, and to continue working and collaborating so closely with colleagues in Europe and around the world to help us understand microbes and their global impact".
Professor Richard Jardine
Professor Jardine is also Fellow of the UK’s Institution of Civil Engineers, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the City and Guilds Institute.
Professor Jardine said: “It is very rewarding that our work has been recognised by the Royal Society in this way. Of course, much of the credit for this great honour is due to the wonderful, students, technicians and academic colleagues with whom I have worked over my four decades at Imperial”.
Professor Toby Gee
Professor Gee works in the Langlands program, studying the interactions between p-adic Hodge theory and automorphic forms, in order to solve problems in number theory. Working with collaborators, he has resolved problems such as the Hasse-Weil conjecture for genus two curves - and recently constructed the "Emerton-Gee stack" with the University of Chicago’s Professor Matthew Emerton, which has transformed the study of p-adic Galois representations.
Professor Gee said: "I’m delighted to be elected to the Royal Society. I owe a great deal to all my collaborators on the work which has led to this honour, as well as to my family and friends for making this possible and encouraging me along the way.”
Professor Paul Elliott
His work has helped to understand the role of salt intake in high blood pressure, explore potential links between mobile phone use and cancer, track the prevalence of COVID-19 during the pandemic and the lasting impact of Long COVID. He was recognised with the award of a CBE in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours List for services to scientific research in public health.
Prof. Elliot said: “It’s an honour to be elected to the Royal Society Fellowship. As scientists we are in the privileged position of being able to seek answers to some of the most interesting and difficult questions. In the area of public health research, the answers we find may ultimately help to inform people’s life and health choices. So to spend your career in this field and gain recognition for your contributions is truly humbling.”
Professor Martin Blunt
Prof Blunt says: “At Imperial I have had the good fortune to work with exceptionally talented students and other colleagues. We have had the opportunity to work on some of the greatest scientific and engineering challenges of the 21st century, including how to avoid dangerous climate change, the generation of clean energy and preserving scarce water resources."
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