Scientist-of-the-Year Award for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Research

The School of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, University of London, has been recognized with a national award for its world-class research in the development of novel therapies for rare diseases such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Professor George Dickson, from the School of Biological Sciences and Chair of Molecular Cell Biology, received the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign’s “Scientist of the Year” award from TV presenter Sue Barker (see photo) at the DMD Campaign’s annual conference held in Coventry, UK, on October 18, 2014. Professor Dickson commented: “This is a really nice recognition of the hard work and dedication of our research team, and of past colleagues. I thank my lucky stars to have such a talented team of brilliant, dedicated people, and such a tremendous and supportive research environment in the School and the College.” Professor Dickson has dedicated his career to studying neuromuscular disease and muscle cell biology, including the first cloning of an intact dystrophin gene, the discovery of the role of cell adhesion molecules in muscle stem cell fusion, the first identification of utrophin, and the first description of exon skipping in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). He has also conducted notable research into gene therapy for atherosclerosis, and genetic vaccination against HIV/AIDS.