Professors Ulrich Rass and Evi Soutoglou

Two recently appointed Professors have received prestigious awards designed to support UK institutions in attracting and retaining emerging talent from across the world.

Professors Ulrich Rass and Evi Soutoglou were successful in securing two of the four awarded Academy of Medical Sciences Professorships.

The Academy of Medical Sciences Professorship scheme aims to support biomedical and healthcare researchers who have recently moved to the UK during the initial years of their first full Professorship.

Rass and Soutoglou joined the Genome Damage and Stability Centre (GDSC) from European institutions and are experts in DNA damage responses.

Professor Soutoglou, who started at the GDSC in September 2019, formally worked at the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire in France. Her research focuses on how nuclear structure affects DNA repair and the formation of malignant translocations. 

She said: “I am delighted to have received this award; it means I’m fully supported in making this important transition into the UK community of biomedical researchers and clinicians.”

Professor Rass joined the University last year from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland. His research focuses on the mechanisms of chromosome break repair, chromosome stability and links to human disease.

He said: “Through this award, the Academy of Medical Sciences has given me an opportunity to build on basic science and move into more translational research. This will hopefully take us a step towards identifying important targets that can potentially be exploited for the treatment of cancer in the future.”

Dr Jo Murray, GDSC Subject Chair, said: “I’m so pleased our two new Professors were both successful in these awards. This shows the strength of the GDSC recruitment drive and that we can continue to attract leaders in the field, despite the uncertainties of Brexit.

“Congratulations to Uli and Evi! I would also like to add that we really appreciated the support of the University’s Research Services throughout the application.”

Each Academy of Medical Sciences Professorship will last for up to five years and will receive a maximum of £500,000. In addition awardees will have access to the Academy’s extensive networks across academia, industry and the NHS.

Applications for the award were judged by a panel of leading scientists and were assessed on the basis of the track record of the applicant, the strength of the Higher Education Institute partnership, and the added value offered by the Professorship to the applicant’s research career.

The scheme is supported by UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

For more information about the Academy of Medical Sciences Professorship scheme, visit the website.