Sarah is among 80 outstanding researchers from around the world who have been elected as the newest Fellows of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences and the oldest science academy in continuous existence.
Fellowship of the Royal Society is composed of the most distinguished scientists, technologists and engineers from or living and working in the UK and the Commonwealth, alongside a shorter list of Foreign Members.
Sarah is Director of the UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre and Joint-Head of the Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. Sarah’s multidisciplinary research in Huntington’s disease (HD) balances the investigation of fundamental mechanistic science combined with human clinical research in patients, and has delivered seminal discoveries. She has provided transformational insights into the biology of HD and helped create an entirely new field of novel therapeutic agents. Sarah has redefined the lifelong trajectory of this fatal disease, making it one that is now therapeutically tractable. Her research has also underpinned the first treatment trials of nucleic acid therapies in HD and other adult brain disorders.
Sarah said: “I am so very honoured by this amazing news. It recognises the selfless contributions of Huntington’s disease patients and families, as well as the incredible work of my researchers and colleagues, past and present, at the Huntington’s Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI), all of whom have been utterly essential to driving forward my research. I’m also very grateful to the CHDI Foundation, the Medical Research Council, the UK DRI, the Wellcome Trust and all of the funders who have been so supportive of my research over the years. This election highlights the progress we’ve made in advancing understanding of HD and its biology towards what I hope will soon be disease-modifying therapies delivered to patients in clinic.”
Professor Mike Hanna, Director of the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology said: “I am delighted to congratulate Sarah on this wonderful news. Her pioneering multidisciplinary research has significantly expanded our understanding of Huntington’s disease biology and accelerated the development of genetic therapies for HD and similar disorders. Her election to the Royal Society is wholly deserved and recognises the fantastic efforts of her and her team.”
Sarah joins 12 other existing Fellows at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology and the likes of Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Lise Meitner, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar and Dorothy Hodgkin on the Royal Society’s illustrious list.