Top Immunologist Wins Boyle Medal
Posted on October 20th, 2009 in General
Congratulations to Luke O’Neill, Professor of Biochemistry, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, who has won the prestigious RDS Irish Times Boyle Medal for Scientific Excellence for his pioneering work on the molecular understanding of innate immunity and inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Inaugurated in 1899, the Boyle Medal continues to recognise scientific research of exceptional merit and since its inception has been awarded to 37 distinguished scientists, including George Johnstone Stoney (1899), John Joly (1911), Patrick Cunningham (1996) and Garret A. FitzGerald (2005). In 1999 the awarding of the Boyle Medal became a joint venture between the Royal Dublin Society and The Irish Times. It is now awarded biennially – alternating between a scientist based in Ireland and an Irish scientist based abroad. This year’s award celebrates the work of a researcher working in Ireland and carries with it a cash prize of €20,000.
Professor O’Neill’s distinguished work has focused on “Toll-like receptors”, a family of proteins which respond to infection and trigger inflammation and are required to eliminate invading microbes. He has gained worldwide recognition for his contribution to this field of research and is therefore a very worthy Boyle Medal Laureate.
