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UCL academics elected to Academy of Medical Sciences

12 May 2021

Five UCL academics have been elected Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences in recognition of their exceptional contributions to biomedical and health science.

the five UCL academics elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences fellowship

Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu (UCL School of Pharmacy), Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery (UCL Laws), Professor Essi Viding (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences), Professor Lisa Cipolotti (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) and Professor Bryan Williams (UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science) are among 50 scientists and scholars to be elected to the prestigious fellowship this year. Two honorary members of UCL’s community, Professor Yvonne Doyle (UCL Global Health) and Professor Ravindra Gupta (UCL Infection & Immunity), are also among the new fellows.

They have been selected for their innovative research discoveries and for translating scientific developments into benefits for patients and the wider society.

The academics from UCL are:

Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu (UCL School of Pharmacy)

Professor Uchegbu has deployed nanotechnology to enable therapeutically effective doses of drugs to reach their targets in the brain, having profound implications for cancer and neurological conditions. In addition to her role as Professor of Pharmaceutical Nanoscience, she is UCL’s Pro-Vice Provost for Africa and the Middle East, and is chief scientific officer of the UCL spinout company, Nanomerics.

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery (UCL Laws)

Through his research, Professor Montgomery has redefined the field of healthcare law. In addition to his academic work, he has helped develop healthcare guidance in areas ranging from confidentiality to genomics. He is Chair of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and in 2019 he was awarded a knighthood for services to bioethics and healthcare law.

Professor Essi Viding (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences)

Professor Viding is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at UCL and co-directs the Developmental Risk and Resilience Unit. Her research combines multiple methodologies to study developmental pathways to persistent antisocial behaviour. She was the 2011 winner of the British Psychological Society's Spearman Medal, and received the Royal Society’s 2017 Rosalind Franklin Award.

Professor Lisa Cipolotti (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology)

Professor Cipolotti’s research focuses on how neurological conditions affect cognitive abilities, in order to develop accurate diagnoses of impairments arising from brain disease or injury. In addition to her role as Professor of Neuropsychology at UCL, she has been head of the neuropsychology department at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery since 1995.

Professor Bryan Williams (UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science)

Professor Williams is one of the world's leading authorities on hypertension and is credited with driving changes in clinical practice globally, helping to improve the lives of patients with acute illness. Professor Williams is Chair of Medicine at UCL and Director of UCL Hospitals NIHR Biomedical Research Centre.

Commenting on UCL’s five new AMS Fellows, Professor David Lomas, UCL Vice Provost (Health), said: “Each of the new fellows from UCL has made an outstanding contribution to biomedical science and their work has helped to improve lives by tackling some enormous health challenges.

“The diverse range of work recognised, ranging from nanotechnology to hypertension to healthcare law, reflects the vast strengths in health research, education and enterprise that UCL encompasses and nurtures.

“Congratulations to all on this fabulous accolade.”

Professor Dame Anne Johnson, Co-Director of UCL Health of the Public and President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, said: “I am truly delighted to welcome these 50 new Fellows to the Academy’s Fellowship, and I offer my congratulations to each of them on their exceptional contribution to biomedical and health science. The knowledge, skill and influence that each brings to the Fellowship is the Academy’s most powerful asset.

“I want to stress how important it is that the Academy Fellowship represents the widest diversity of biomedical and health sciences. The greatest health advances rely on the findings of many types of research, and on multidisciplinary teams and cross-sector and global collaboration. I am pleased that the newest cohort of Fellows demonstrates this breadth of expertise, from microbiology to healthcare law and medical statistics.”

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy on 1 July.

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  • Clockwise from top left: Professor Ijeoma Uchegbu, Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery, Professor Bryan Williams, Professor Essi Viding and Professor Lisa Cipolotti.

Media contact

Mark Greaves

T: +44 (0)7990 675947

E: m.greaves [at] ucl.ac.uk