Professor Andrew Baker, Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, has been awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award.

The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, has appointed seven new award holders.

Professor Baker received the prestigious appointment for developing a novel virus for human gene therapy.

Jointly funded by the Wolfson Foundation and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the scheme aims to provide universities with additional support to enable them to attract to this country or to retain respected scientists of outstanding achievement and potential.

Professor Baker said: “I am delighted to be have been selected as a recipient of this award. It is a great honour. This award will allow me to further develop my research agenda using novel viruses as vectors for human gene therapy.”

Other newly appointed award holders are working on a wide variety of projects including the evolutionary aspects of sex and the role of genetics in type 2 diabetes.

The scientists will have taken up their awards at institutions across the UK by 1 May.

Other appointments include:

Professor Mark Cannell, University of Bristol
Computing and seeing a new solution to problems in the heart

Professor David Haddleton, University of Warwick
Controlled polymerisation to new materials: Polymer therapeutics to oil recovery

Professor Andrew Mackenzie, University of St Andrews
Creating, understanding and exploiting novel quantum order in oxides

Professor Alfred Rutherford, Imperial College London
Biological and artificial water photolysis

Professor Guy Rutter, Imperial College London
Dissecting the actions of T2D susceptibility genes on insulin secretion

Professor Nina Wedell, University of Exeter
Genomic conflict: sexual antagonism and selfish genetic elements

The Wolfson Foundation is a grant-making charity established in 1955. Funding is given to support excellence.

More information is available from www.wolfson.org.uk

For more media information, please contact Eleanor Cowie, Media Relations Officer, on 0141 330 3683

First published: 18 April 2011

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