̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - Paul Lehner

Nine Cambridge scientists among the new 2022 Fellows announced by the Royal Society

jg533 — Tue, 10 May 2022 11:33:12 +0000

̽��ֱ��Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and technologists from the UK and the Commonwealth. Its Foreign Members are drawn from the rest of the world.

̽��ֱ��Society’s fundamental purpose is to recognise, promote, and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity.

This year, a total of 51 Fellows, 10 Foreign Members, and one Honorary Fellow have been selected for their outstanding contributions to science.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society said: “It is an honour to welcome so many outstanding researchers from around the world into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.

“Through their careers so far, these researchers have helped further our understanding of human disease, biodiversity loss and the origins of the universe. I am also pleased to see so many new Fellows working in areas likely to have a transformative impact on our society over this century, from new materials and energy technologies to synthetic biology and artificial intelligence. I look forward to seeing what great things they will achieve in the years ahead.”

̽��ֱ��Cambridge Fellows are:

Professor Graham Burton FMedSci FRS

Mary Marshall and Arthur Walton Professor Emeritus of the Physiology of Reproduction, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Burton is a reproductive biologist whose research has focused on the early stages of human pregnancy. In particular, he showed how the placenta is established in a protective low-oxygen environment, stimulating its own development through interactions with the uterus. He demonstrated that aberrations in the early stages of placental development can adversely affect the life-long health of mother and offspring. Burton was founding Director of the Centre for Trophoblast Research, and founding Chair of the Strategic Research Initiative Cambridge Reproduction.

He said: “I am delighted to receive this recognition for myself and the field of reproductive biology, and thank colleagues and collaborators for their contributions over the years.”

Professor Roberto Cipolla FREng FRS

Professor of Information Engineering, Department of Engineering, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Cipolla is distinguished for his research in computer vision and his contributions to the reconstruction, registration and recognition of three-dimensional objects from images. These include novel algorithms for the recovery of accurate 3D shape, visual localisation and semantic segmentation and their translation into commercial products.

He said: "This is the ultimate honour for any scientist and recognises the amazing contribution of my students, collaborators and mentors in my 30 years at Cambridge. I am also very fortunate to be working in the field of computer vision and machine learning at a time of revolutionary progress and ground-breaking applications.”

Professor Douglas Easton FMedSci FRS

Professor of Genetic Epidemiology, Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Easton’s main research interests are in cancer genetics. He analyses large population studies to identify genetic variants that predispose to cancer, and to understand how they combine together with other factors to determine cancer risk. His work has characterised many important cancer genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2, and identified of hundreds of common cancer predisposition variants in the non-coding genome. He co-developed the BOADICEA risk prediction model now used worldwide to guide genetic counselling and cancer prevention.

He said: "I am truly delighted and honoured to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society. This prestigious honour is a tribute the work of many wonderful colleagues in Cambridge and worldwide, over many years, who have made the research possible."

Professor Robin Franklin FMedSci FRS

Formerly Professor of Stem Cell Medicine, Wellcome - MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; now Principal Investigator, Altos Labs - Cambridge Institute

̽��ֱ��central question of Franklin’s career is 'how do tissues regenerate?' To address this question, he has studied the brain, an organ notorious for its poor regenerative capacity. Working with many excellent colleagues, he has described how stem cells in the adult brain regenerate oligodendrocytes - the cells responsible for making the insulating myelin sheath around nerve fibres - once they are lost in diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS); how this process declines with age; and it can be reversed. ̽��ֱ��work has led to two regenerative medicine trials in MS.

He said: “I am absolutely delighted to have been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society - it is a huge honour.”

Professor Richard Gilbertson FMedSci FRS

Li Ka Shing Chair of Oncology and Head of Department of Oncology, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, Director of Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre and Senior Group Leader, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute

Gilbertson, a paediatric physician-scientist, has identified the origins of common and aggressive childhood brain tumours and many of the genetic alterations that drive these tumours. His research has helped establish a direct link between disordered development and the multiple different brain tumour types observed in children: contributing directly to their classification by the World Health Organisation (WHO); changing the way conventional treatments are used, sparing children from unnecessary side effects; and underpinning clinical trials of new therapies.

Gilbertson said: “I am truly delighted and humbled to receive this recognition that I share with all the wonderful students, trainees and colleagues I have worked with over the years.”

Professor Paul Lehner FMedSci FRS

Professor of Immunology and Medicine, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Lehner studies virus-host antagonism and how our genome is defended from invasion by RNA-derived retroelements such as HIV. His discovery of the ‘HUSH’ epigenetic silencing complex explains how the genome distinguishes new genetic material from endogenous genes through recognition of intronless DNA. This work uncovered an unanticipated surveillance system that discriminates ‘self’ from ‘non-self’ genomic DNA and defends our genome against the reverse flow of genetic information (RNA to DNA), paving the way to novel applications in medicine and biotechnology.

Lehner said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society; I’ve been fortunate to work with incredibly talented people and this honour recognises the commitment of the many past and present members of my group who have contributed to our work.”

Professor Roberto Maiolino FRS

Director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmology and Professor of Experimental Astrophysics, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Maiolino studies the formation of galaxies using observations collected at some of the largest ground-based and space telescopes. He has obtained key results on the interplay between the evolution of galaxies and the supermassive black holes at their centres. He has also investigated the enrichment of chemical elements across the cosmic epochs, as well as the origin and nature of dust particles in the early Universe.

He said: “I am truly honoured by such a prestigious appointment. Being a Fellow of the Royal Society will certainly foster my research activities and will allow me to further promote exciting, cutting-edge projects.”

Professor Angelos Michaelides FRS

1968 Professor of Chemistry, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge

Michaelides’ work involves the development and application of theoretical methods to better understand contemporary problems in chemistry, physics, and materials science. His group places a particular focus on developing and applying computer simulation approaches that provide the fundamental molecular-level insight needed to help address contemporary global challenges related to water, energy, and the environment.

He said: “Holy moly! I’m delighted to have been elected an FRS and very grateful to all the outstanding students, post-docs, collaborators, and mentors I’ve had over the years without whom this would never have happened.”

Professor Jason William Chin FMedSci FRS

Head, Centre for Chemical and Synthetic Biology, and Joint Head, Division of Protein and Nucleic Acid Chemistry, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology; Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge; Associate Faculty in Synthetic Genomics, Wellcome Sanger Institute

Chin has engineered the genetic code of living cells to synthesise modified proteins and non-canonical polymers. To accomplish this, he created new translational machinery and codons to reprogram the genetic code, going well-beyond prior work using amber suppression. He then completely synthesised a bacterial genome in which he reduced the number of sense codons in its genetic code. ̽��ֱ��codons thus unused were reassigned to encode non-canonical amino acids. Chin's fundamental advances have been widely used to drive discovery, including to define the molecular consequences of post-translational modifications, define protein interactions in cells, and provide mechanistic insight into enzymes.

̽��ֱ��nine Cambridge researchers were all selected for their exceptional contributions to science.

It is an honour to welcome so many outstanding researchers from around the world into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society

̽��ֱ��text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Images, including our videos, are Copyright © ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and licensors/contributors as identified. All rights reserved. We make our image and video content available in a number of ways – as here, on our main website under its Terms and conditions, and on a range of channels including social media that permit your use and sharing of our content under their respective Terms.

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“We’re in it for the long haul”

cjb250 — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 07:46:34 +0000

In late 2019, a new institute opened on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Its timing could not have been better - as the COVID-19 pandemic sent Britain into lockdown several months later, the institute found itself at the heart of the ̽��ֱ��’s response to this unprecedented challenge.

150 scientists from new institute join Cambridge fight against COVID-19

cjb250 — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 16:12:03 +0000

Based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID) is integrated with the NHS both locally, through Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and nationally, in particular through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) BioResource.

CITIID, based in the Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, opened its doors in September 2019. Following the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, the institute has redirected all of its research efforts to tackling the pandemic.

“ ̽��ֱ��world is facing an unprecedented challenge, with potentially millions of lives at risk, which is why over 150 of my colleagues at our new institute are focusing their expertise on the fightback against COVID-19,” says Professor Ken Smith, Director of CITIID.

“Together with our partners in the NHS and NIHR, we aim to identify those patients at greatest risk and understand why the coronavirus makes some people so sick while leaving others with only mild symptoms. Ultimately, we hope this will lead to the development of new treatments against this dreadful disease.”

̽��ֱ��Institute last week opened what is believed to be the largest Containment Level 3 Facility in any UK academic institution. These facilities are required for work on dangerous pathogens such as the coronavirus.

“ ̽��ֱ��state-of-the-art facilities and equipment at CITIID will allow us to do essential work on the novel coronavirus in a safe environment,” says Professor Gordon Dougan. “Our institute, positioned as it is on the thriving Cambridge Biomedical Campus, is perfectly suited to lead Cambridge’s response, working with research and health partners locally, nationally and internationally on this urgent problem.”

̽��ֱ��team at the institute has also been instrumental in evaluating and helping set up point-of-care, rapid diagnostic testing for patients at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust, as well as developing tests for frontline healthcare workers treating COVID-19 patients.

“Organising the logistics for testing has been a huge challenge,” says Professor Paul Lehner. “But thanks to a tremendous collaborative effort between CUH and the ̽��ֱ��, we are now testing frontline healthcare workers as well as people who are off work and in isolation due to potential COVID-related contacts.”

Recruitment is already underway of COVID-19 patients at Addenbrooke’s. Researchers aim to recruit all consenting patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 from the hospital.

Once consent has been obtained from a patient, the team will take blood and other samples, which will be processed in the Department of Medicine’s laboratories before being transferred for storage and further study at CITIID. Samples will be taken when the patients first arrive at the hospital and during the course of disease, with the research team also working alongside NHS staff to support patient care.

This study forms part of the COVID-19 BioResource, a collaboration with the NIHR BioResource, and will involve state-of-the-art analysis of the samples, helping the team understand how coronavirus infects us and causes disease and how our immune system fights back. It aims to allow researchers to predict which patients will do well or badly, and to help inform the development of new medicines to tackle the disease.

“A key challenge for the institute is trying to understand how much of the lung disease seen in COVID-19 patients is caused by the virus itself and how much is due to an inappropriate immune response,” explains Professor Lehner. “An answer to this question will help guide how best we treat this devastating condition.”

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� recently announced that CITIID would take be taking a leading role in the £20 million COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium, a major national effort to help understand and control the infection. Its researchers are also leading the evaluation of a new rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19, developed by a ̽��ֱ�� spinout company, which is capable of diagnosing the infection in under 90 minutes.

Visit the Cambridge Fighting COVID website

How you can support Cambridge's COVID-19 research effort

Donate to support COVID-19 research at Cambridge

One of Cambridge’s newest institutes, established to study the relationship between infectious disease and our immune systems, is leading the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 150 scientists and clinicians, the UK’s largest academic Containment Level 3 Facility, and a range of collaborators from across the UK and beyond.

̽��ֱ��world is facing an unprecedented challenge, with potentially millions of lives at risk, which is why over 150 of my colleagues at our new institute are focusing their expertise on the fightback against COVID-19

Ken Smith

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Coronavirus

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Cambridge scientists recognised by major European research organisation

cjb250 — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 11:42:19 +0000

Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� has the highest number of new members of any institution within Europe. Five ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge researchers are among the 48 scientists from 17 countries elected:

Professor Sadaf Farooqi – Wellcome-Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Metabolic Science
Dr Fanni Gergely – Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute
Professor Paul Lehner – Department of Medicine and the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research
Professor Lalita Ramakrishnan – Department of Medicine and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Professor Nicole Soranzo – Department of Haematology and Wellcome Sanger Institute

In addition, Dr Garib Murshudov from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology has also been elected.

EMBO is an organisation of more than 1800 leading researchers in Europe and around the world, whose mission is to promote excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. ̽��ֱ��major goals of the organisation are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information and help build a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.

“EMBO Members are excellent scientists who conduct research at the forefront of all life science disciplines, ranging from computational models or analyses of single molecules and cellular mechanics to the study of higher-order systems in development, cognitive neuroscience and evolution,” says EMBO Director Maria Leptin.

“We’re very honoured to have been elected as members of EMBO,” says Professor Farooqi. “This is great recognition for the excellent science taking place across our city, particularly on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. We are proud of the role we play in European science and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with colleagues across the continent.”

Researchers from the Cambridge Biomedical Campus have featured prominently in this year’s election to the prestigious European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO).

We are proud of the role we play in European science and look forward to continuing to work in partnership with colleagues across the continent

Sadaf Farooqi

CDC/ Melissa Brower

This illustration depicts a three-dimensional (3D) computer-generated image of a cluster of rod-shaped drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, the pathogen responsible for causing the disease tuberculosis (TB).

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