Professor David Horn has received a prestigious award in recognition of his contribution to global efforts to overcome the disease known as African sleeping sickness.
Professor Horn was presented with the William Trager Award at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in National Harbor, near Washington DC.
David Gray has been promoted to Personal Chair. He takes the title of Professor of Translational Biology which is in recognition of his extensive work within the Drug Discovery Unit (DDU) and Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research (WCAIR).
School of Life Sciences researcher Professor David Horn will receive a £2.1 million Investigator Award from Wellcome to decode gene expression mechanisms in trypanosomes, pathogenic protozoa that cause a range of human and animal diseases.
Dr Susan Wyllie, Head of the Mode of Action (MoA) group, has been promoted to tenure track Principal Investigator in the School. Her group is part of the Division of Biological Chemistry and Drug Discovery (BCDD) and the Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research (WCAIR).
Background
A team of scientists at the School of Life Sciences have identified a protein that makes random decisions to allow parasites to survive in their human hosts. They have been able to identify a complex that allows genes to switch on and off randomly, changing cell surface characteristics and allowing escape from the defences of the host’s immune system. This behaviour is present in genes within parasites known as trypanosomes, and also in the parasite that causes malaria, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives every year.
Mike Ferguson, Regius Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, has today received a knighthood for his services to science.
Professor Sir Mike, one of the UK’s most eminent life scientists, received the award at Holyrood on Tuesday 2 July after his accolade was announced in the most recent New Year’s Honours list.
From the 12-15th May, the University of Dundee's Wellcome Centre for Anti-Infectives Research (WCAIR) is running an international research conference. ‘Setting our Sights on Infectious Diseases’ encapsulates the philosophy of the Centre.
The deadly parasite Leishmania has been traveling the world for millions of years, catching flights between humans, dogs and other animals throughout history and causing an untold number of deaths. Now, scientists at the University of Dundee are inviting the public to step inside the Para-site-seeing: Departure Lounge to see how humans are fighting back.
Last week, the School’s Annual Research Symposium was held at Crieff Hydro. The programme of talks and poster presentations covered the diverse research taking place in the School. Newly appointed Principal Investigators and Professors gave talks alongside more junior members of the School, who spoke as part of the SLS showcase sessions.
