The medal, specially created by the Royal Mint, is MRC’s most prestigious personal prize. It is presented each year to an outstanding researcher who has made a major contribution to MRC’s mission to improve human health through world-class medical research. This year, the award is shared between Professor Sarah Tabrizi and biotechnologist Professor Lisa Hall (University of Cambridge).
Professor Tabrizi has been recognised by MRC for her outstanding achievements in medical research, including her pioneering work to advance the understanding and translation of therapies for neurodegeneration - in particular, Huntington’s disease. The MRC states that Professor Tabrizi has advanced our understanding of Huntington’s disease in patients at every level, with her bench-to-bedside research, which spans from understanding the cellular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, identifying new drug targets in the lab to first-in-human clinical trials testing novel disease-modifying therapies.
Professor Tabrizi also led the first human safety trial of a drug developed to reduce the levels of toxic mutant huntingtin protein in the nervous system. The drug is a single strand of chemically modified DNA designed to “silence” the genetic message that produces the toxic protein. The revolutionary “gene-silencing” trial made global headlines in 2017 when its “top-line” results found the drug to be safe and well-tolerated, and, most significantly, successfully lowered levels of the toxic mutant huntingtin protein in participants – opening new avenues for the development of treatments for Huntington’s disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Professor Tabrizi, Director of Huntington's Disease Centre and Joint Head of Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, said: “I am incredibly honoured to receive the MRC Millennium Medal for 2022 as a joint winner; it is a recognition of all the patients and families with Huntington's disease whom I have worked with over the last 25 years.
“I am also grateful to all my PhD students, postdocs, clinical fellows, past and present, and colleagues in the UCL HD centre, without their partnership I wouldn't be where I am today, and to my colleagues at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the UK Dementia Research Institute for their immense support over the years - my success is also dependent on all of them.”
Alongside her research, Professor Tabrizi has also been acknowledged for her “dedication to promoting a positive, open and fair research culture and actively championing equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)”. This includes being chosen as a UCL academic role model in 2013 and being an active champion and mentor of women in science.
Meanwhile, Professor Hall (University of Cambridge) has been recognised for her multidisciplinary work and key translational impacts in biotechnology and biosensor design, alongside “being a champion for women in science”.
Professor John Iredale, MRC Executive Chair, said: “These MRC prizes pay tribute to some of the world-class impacts carried out by our research community in the UK and abroad".
“It is especially pleasing to see the impact of two outstanding scientists receiving our MRC Millennium Medal. That impact is not only in the world-class science they have undertaken but also in their championing of open and inclusive research environments that can only make UK science and research more successful.”
Professor Michael Hanna, Director, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, said: “I am delighted to warmly congratulate my colleague Sarah on this major recognition of her outstanding contributions to translational neuroscience. She is a highly talented clinician scientist, driven by solving neurological diseases, in the best traditions of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology".
"She leads a highly productive, diverse multidisciplinary clinical and research team has that has made huge progress, including in the development of genetic therapies for patients and families with Huntington’s Disease.”
Professor Tabrizi and Professor Hall will receive their prize at an award ceremony in spring 2023, alongside the winners of the inaugural MRC Impact Prize.