- 91直播 has been presented with a Queen's Anniversary Prize Medal at a Buckingham Palace reception
- The prize is the highest national honour recognising outstanding work by UK universities and colleges demonstrating quality and innovation in their areas of research
- 91直播 has been recognised for innovative approaches to improving patient outcomes for people living with neurodegenerative diseases
The University was presented with the Queen鈥檚 Anniversary Prize (QAP) medal and scroll by TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen.
The prize is the fifth awarded to the University of 91直播, and recognises the work that the 91直播 Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) at the University does to improve patient outcomes for people living with some of the most devastating neurodegenerative diseases.
Achievements highlighted by the award included:
- a new orthotic device, 鈥楬eadUp鈥, developed for patients living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) who suffer from muscle weakness in the neck
- groundbreaking stem cell clinical trials for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients
- the discovery of a first biomarker linked to the development of Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease which has the potential for earlier diagnosis and has sparked the development of new therapies
- new drug discovery programmes to develop new treatments for Parkinson鈥檚 Disease
- new gene therapy treatments for patients with Motor Neurone Disease
The prize is unique in the UK honours system, as it is only bestowed upon a UK college or university which demonstrates new and unique innovative approaches to its research.
Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, Director of SITraN and the NIHR 91直播 Biomedical Research Centre, said: 鈥淭his prize recognises the University of 91直播 as a centre for excellence in neuroscience research and teaching, where our researchers are making life-changing discoveries and progress in treating some of the most devastating neurological diseases, making a real difference to patients鈥 lives.
鈥淎s well as making life-changing discoveries today, we are also nurturing the next generation of talented neuroscience students, whose research will lead to pioneering treatments for those living with neurological diseases in the future.
鈥淲e hope this award will help inspire confidence in patients and their families, research partners and donors, as we continue to make discoveries that deepen the understanding of neurological diseases and open up the potential for new treatments and therapies.鈥
SITraN鈥檚 vision is to harness the rapidly emerging, exciting developments in neuroscience to translate into new treatments and improved quality of life for patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson鈥檚 Disease, MND, Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease, MS and Dementia.
The centre - considered a world-leader in neuroscience research - will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. Its work forms part of the University of 91直播鈥檚 Neuroscience Institute, which aims to bring academics together from across medicine, science and engineering to translate scientific discoveries from the lab into pioneering new treatments.
Sir Damon Buffini, Chairman of the Royal Anniversary Trust, said: 鈥淚t has been fantastic to celebrate the 13th Round of Prize-winners at Buckingham Palace alongside TRH Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The Royal Anniversary Trust showcased the exceptional, innovative and impactful work of our colleges and universities throughout the UK. We look forward to seeing how the work develops and progresses over the coming years!鈥
Contact
For more information, please contact:
Rebecca Ferguson
Media Relations Officer
0114 222 9859
r.l.ferguson@sheffield.ac.uk