Professor Richard Marais Elected To The Academy Of Medical Sciences

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 02 May 2008 - 15:00 PDT

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The Institute of Cancer Research is delighted to announce the election of Professor Richard Marais to The Academy of Medical Sciences. Fellowship of the Academy is based on exceptional contributions to the medical sciences either in the form of original discovery or sustained contributions to scholarship.

Professor Marais has worked at The Institute of Cancer Research for 15 years in the Section of Cell and Molecular Biology . His particular research focus is on how gene mutations that are associated with exposure to ultraviolet light lead to melanoma and his work has been instrumental in showing how a damaged version of the BRAF gene stimulates the growth of over half of malignant melanomas.

Professor Marais said: "It is a real honour to be elected to The Academy of Medical Sciences. It is a pleasure to belong to an Academy that counts so many prestigious scientists amongst its Fellows and this honour reflects on the achievements of the whole Signal Transduction Team. We will continue to focus our future studies on understanding the role of BRAF in melanoma and on developing therapies that can help to combat the disease."

Professor Chris Marshall , Chairman of the Section of Cell and Molecular Biology and Director of the Cancer Research UK Centre for Cell and Molecular Biology at The Institute of Cancer Research said: "I am very pleased that Richard has been elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences for the tremendous achievements he has made in his field. He has made a great contribution to furthering our understanding of the development of skin cancer and this has now been rightly recognised by today's news. I am sure he will continue to provide an enormous amount of knowledge to medical science in the future."

About The Institute of Cancer Research

The Institute of Cancer Research is Europe's leading cancer research centre with expert scientists working on cutting edge research. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. Website at: http://www.icr.ac.uk .

The Institute works in a unique partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, forming the largest Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Europe. This relationship enables close daily contact between research scientists and those on the frontline in the fight against cancer - the clinicians, the carers and most importantly, the patients.

The Institute of Cancer Research