Two consultants at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been elected to a prestigious academic body, it was announced today (Wed 13 May).
Dr Helen Firth and Professor Menna Clatworthy are among 50 of the UK’s most prominent biomedical and health scientists to be elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship.
Dr Firth specialises in the application of new genomic technologies to improve the diagnosis of severe developmental disorders. She is clinical lead for the UK-wide Deciphering Developmental Disorders project (ddduk.org ) and global DECIPHER platform for data-sharing in rare disease (decipher.sanger.ac.uk ) and co-author of Oxford Desk Reference Clinical Genetics & Genomics and Oxford Handbook of Genetics.
Professor Clatworthy, who holds an honorary position at CUH, is Professor of Translational Immunology and a Fellow and Director of Clinical Studies at Pembroke College. She divides her time between research, teaching and clinical practice in transplantation and nephrology. Her research interests include humoral and tissue immunity and the use of novel immunosuppressants.
The new Fellows have been chosen for their exceptional contributions to advancing biomedical science via world-leading research discoveries, running national science communication and engagement programmes and translating scientific advances into benefits for patients and the public.
The value of medical science has never been more apparent than during the current coronavirus global health crisis. From testing and vaccine development, to public health and behavioural science, to addressing the impacts of lockdown measures on mental health, biomedical and health scientists are helping to guide the UK through unprecedented challenges.
I am delighted to welcome these 50 new Fellows into the Academy’s Fellowship. Each one has made their own outstanding contribution to biomedical science, and together they are advancing the health of our society in the UK and internationally. Their work affects us all, from the way we keep healthy through our lifestyle, to how we are treated if we become ill, to the way we receive information about health.
Professor Sir Robert Lechler PMedSci, president of the Academy of Medical Sciences