Buchanan Medal winner 2018
Sir Adrian Peter Bird CBE FRS
The Buchanan Medal 2018 is awarded to Sir Adrian Peter Bird CBE FRS for his discovery that 5-methycytosine-binding MeCP2 protein silences transcription of methylated DNA and can reverse established Rett Syndrome in MeCP2 deficiency, the first demonstration that such neurodevelopmental diseases are curable.
Sir Adrian will receive a medal of silver gilt and a gift of £2,000 at the Society’s Anniversary Day meeting on 30 November 2018.
The award
The Buchanan Medal is awarded annually for distinguished contributions to the biomedical sciences.
The award was created from a fund to the memory of the physician George Buchanan FRS (PDF), former Chief Medical Officer of the UK, and was first awarded in 1897. Originally it was awarded once every five years, but since 1990 it has been awarded once every two years. The medal is of silver gilt and is accompanied by a gift of £2,000.
The next round of nominations opens in November 2018.
Past winners
Sir Peter Ratcliffe FMedSci FRS was awarded the 2017 Buchanan Medal for his ground-breaking research on oxygen sensing and signalling pathways mediating cellular responses to hypoxia.
Professor Irwin McLean FMedSci FRS was awarded the 2015 Buchanan Medal
for his major contribution to our understanding of the genetic basis of
heritable skin diseases.
Professor Douglas Higgs FRS was awarded the 2013 Buchanan Medal for
his seminal work on the regulation of the human alpha-globin gene
cluster and the role of the ATRX protein in genetic disease.
See full list of all past winners of the Buchanan Medal.