BNA President Tara Spires-Jones elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship

21st May 2024

BNA President Tara Spires-Jones elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences Fellowship

We are delighted to confirm that today, our President, Professor Tara Spires-Jones, has been elected as a Fellow to The Academy of Medical Sciences. This prestigious fellowship recognises Tara’s exceptional work in the field of Neurodegeneration.

Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences is a highly prestigious honour, new Fellows have been recognised for their remarkable contributions to advancing biomedical and health sciences, ground-breaking research discoveries and translating developments into benefits for patients and wider society.

Election to the Fellowship is a mark of esteem and an endorsement of an individual's significant impact in their field.

Tara says: “It is an honour to be elected to this prestigious fellowship. I look forward to the opportunity to work with the Academy of Medical Sciences in improving our sector working towards a collaborative, inclusive, sustainable, and rigorous research environment. These goals align with the work we are doing at the British Neuroscience Association and I hope my fellowship will facilitate these societies working together.”

The expertise of Fellows elected this year spans a wide range of clinical and non-clinical disciplines, from midwifery to cancer stem cell biology. They join an esteemed Fellowship of over 1,400 researchers who are at the heart of the Academy's work, which includes nurturing the next generation of researchers and shaping research and health policy in the UK and worldwide.

This year's cohort marks a significant milestone in the Academy's efforts to promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within its Fellowship election. Among the new Fellows, 41% are women, the highest percentage ever elected. Additionally, Black, Asian and minority ethnic representation is 29%, an 11% increase from the previous year. The new Fellows hold positions at institutions across the UK, including in Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and York.

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on Wednesday 18 September 2024.

The Academy of Medical Sciences is the independent, expert body representing the diversity of medical science in the UK. Its mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. The Academy's elected Fellows are the most influential scientists in the UK and worldwide, drawn from the NHS, academia, industry and the public service.

The BNA congratulates all Academy of Medical Sciences Fellows elected in 2024:

1. Professor Ivan Ahel, University of Oxford (Structural Biology)
2. Professor Amrita Ahluwalia, Queen Mary University of London (Vascular Pharmacology)
3. Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi, Kings College London (Neurology)
4. Dr Annaliesa Anderson, Pfizer (Vaccinology)
5. Professor Michael Barrett, University of Glasgow (Parasitology)
6. Dr Axel Behrens, Institute of Cancer Research (Cancer Stem Cell Biology)
7. Professor Samir Bhatt, Imperial College London (Health Science)
8. Professor James Boardman, MRC Centre for Reproductive Health (Neonatal Medicine)
9. Professor G Marius Clore, The National Institutes of Health (NMR Spectrometry)
10. Professor Constantin Coussios, University of Oxford (Biomedical Engineering)
11. Professor Mark Cragg, University of Southampton (Experimental Cancer Biology)
12. Professor Alun Davies, Imperial College London (Vascular Surgery)
13. Professor Jane Davies, Imperial College London (Paediatrics)
14. Professor Christopher Denton, University College London (Rheumatology)
15. Professor Waljit Dhillo, Imperial College London (Neuroendocrinology)
16. Professor Michael Eddleston, University of Edinburgh (Clinical Toxicology)
17. Professor Gene Feder, University of Bristol (Primary Care)
18. Professor Dean Fennell, University of Leicester (Mesothelioma Research)
19. Professor Rashida Ferrand, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (International Health)
20. Professor Nita Forouhi, University of Cambridge (Population Health and Nutrition)
21. Professor Fang Gao Smith, University of Birmingham (Anaesthesia and Critical care)
22. Professor Susan Gathercole, University of Cambridge (Child Psychology)
23. Dr Fiona Godlee, ex- British Medical Journal (BMJ) (Health Journalism)
24. Professor Alison Grant, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (International Health)
25. Professor Catherine Harmer, University of Oxford (Neuroscience)
26. Professor Andrew Horne, University of Edinburgh (Reproductive Sciences)
27. Professor Srinivasa Katikireddi, University of Glasgow (Public Health)
28. Professor Saye Hock Khoo, University of Liverpool (Pharmacology)
29. Professor Julian Knight, University of Oxford (Genomic Medicine)
30. Professor David Lalloo, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (Tropical Medicine/Global Health)
31. Professor Teresa Lambe, University of Oxford (Vaccine Immunology)
32. Professor Azeem Majeed, Imperial College London (Primary Care)
33. Dr Niall Martin, Artios (Drug Discovery)
34. Professor Roberto Mayor, University College London (Neurobiology)
35. Professor Jane McKeating, University of Oxford (Virology)
36. Professor Adam Mead, University of Oxford (Haematology)
37. Professor Hisham Mehanna, University of Birmingham (Head and Neck Surgery)
38. Professor William Newman, Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine (Genomic Medicine)
39. Professor Faith Osier, Imperial College London (Immunology and Vaccinology)
40. Professor Maddy Parsons, King's College London (Cell Biology)
41. Professor K John Pasi, Roche Products Ltd (Haematology)
42. Professor Eugenia Piddini, University of Bristol (Cell Biology)
43. Professor Sergio Quezada, University College London (Immunotherapy)
44. Professor Rebecca Reynolds, University of Edinburgh (Metabolic Medicine)
45. Professor Richard Riley, University of Birmingham (Biostatistics)
46. Professor Alison Rodger, University College London (Infectious Diseases)
47. Professor Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, University of Edinburgh (Neurology)
48. Professor Jane Sandall, King’s College London (Midwifery)
49. Professor Mark Sculpher, University of York (Health Care Research)
50. Professor Kevin Shakesheff, University of Nottingham/Open University (Pharmacy)
51. Professor Alexander Simpson, Newcastle University (Respiratory Medicine)
52. Professor Debra Skene, University of Surrey (Neuroendocrinology)
53. Professor Reecha Sofat, University of Liverpool (Clinical Pharmacology)
54. Professor Tara Spires-Jones, University of Edinburgh (Neurodegeneration)
55. Professor Shakila Thangaratinam, University of Birmingham (Maternal Health)
56. Professor James Wild, University of Sheffield (Magnetic Resonance Physics)
57. Dr Marta Zlatic, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (Neuroscience)
58. Professor Krina Zondervan, University of Oxford (Women’s Reproductive Health)

This year Fellows were chosen from 365 candidates. The eight Sectional Committees met in March to consider potential Fellows for 2024 entry to the Academy. Three nominators from within the Fellowship must back each candidate. The Academy Registrar oversees the election. 115 candidates were shortlisted for peer review. The election brings the total number of Fellows to 1472.

The Academy of Medical Sciences is the independent, expert voice of biomedical and health research in the UK. Our Fellowship comprises the most influential scientists in the UK and worldwide, drawn from the NHS, academia, industry, and the public service. Our mission is to improve the health of people everywhere by creating an open and progressive research sector. We do this by working with patients and the public to influence policy and biomedical practice, strengthening UK biomedical and health research, supporting the next generation of researchers through funding and career development opportunities, and working with partners globally.

https://acmedsci.ac.uk/more/news/academy-of-medical-sciences-fellows-2024