Inaugural John Clifton Postdoctoral Fellowship awarded to Dr Frédéric Lange
15 July 2024

We are pleased to announce that the inaugural John Clifton Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering has been awarded to Dr Frédéric Lange.
The Fellowship is open to postdoctoral researchers and aims to provide an opportunity to implement their own research ideas, gain leadership experience, and strengthen their research record. The Fellowship has been funded from a generous endowment from former Head of Department and Joel Chair, Professor John Clifton and his daughter Carolyn.
Meet the Researcher
Neonatal care was a passion of John’s, so we are delighted that Frédéric’s project will have a positive impact on this area.
John Clifton joined the University College Hospital Medical School (UCHMS) Medical Physics Department in 1957 and was appointed Head of Department in 1962. Following the re-uniting of UCHMS and UCL in 1981, he was appointed Professor of Medical Physics, and Joel Professor of Physics Applied to Medicine in 1990. Throughout his career, Professor Clifton made major contributions to the introduction and development of new clinical radiotherapy techniques at UCLH. Following his retirement in 1992, John Clifton maintained close links to our department and generously endowed the undergraduate prize named in his honour. On his death in January 2023, John left a substantial gift of money in his will to the department, to which his daughter Carolyn added a further generous donation.
To honour John’s legacy, the department has launched this new fellowship scheme in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering.
UCL Medical Physics Research Committee Chair, Dr Charlotte Hagen, commented:
"The John Clifton Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering is very special, it's the first of its kind in the department. It enables us to fund early-stage research with a potential for high clinical impact, while also providing a tangible career development opportunity to our postdoctoral researchers. We encourage applicants to design their projects around collaborative activities, such as working with hospital physics and engineering departments, and to align these projects with their career aspirations. Reading the many outstanding applications during the inaugural round was very inspiring, and I look forward to continuing my support for this important scheme."
On Friday 5th July, we were honoured to host three generations of the Clifton family in the department and give them a small glimpse of the monumental impact their father, grandfather and great-grandfather had on the field of Medical Physics.
Thank you to Professor Jem Hebden for organising the event and hosting the Clifton family.
Read more about their visit here.