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Dr Flanagan will be presented with the G.B. Morgagni Silver Award
Exeter diabetes researcher wins top European award
A rising research star at the University of Exeter Medical School has won a prestigious European prize, for her commitment to the study of diabetes.
Dr Sarah Flanagan, who is based at the Medical School’s Research, Innovation, Learning and Development (RILD) building, has been selected to receive the G.B. Morgagni Silver Young Investigator Award, a prize which celebrates exceptional research in the field of metabolic diseases, along with a 5000 euro cash prize.
Dr Flanagan said: “I am delighted to have been selected to receive the Morgagni Silver Medal Award. It is fantastic that our research has been recognised internationally and this really reflects the great work which is being done by the genetics team in Exeter and the impact that the research is having on patient care around the world.”
Professor Gaetano Crepaldi, Chairman of the G.B. Morgagni Selection Committee, said: “We were thrilled to select Dr Flanagan for the award in view of her outstanding qualifications and remarkable list of publications. We’re proud to have the opportunity to support the efforts of exceptional researchers in the field of diabetes and metabolic disorders.”
The prize is named after Giovanni Battista Morgagni who was one of the first scientists to carry out research on human anatomy, and is awarded once every two years to outstanding young research talent making a significant contribution to the field of diabetes research. The award has been sponsored by the pharmaceutical group Servier since 1997.
Dr Flanagan will be presented with the prize at a ceremony in Venice on 19th October, where she will also be presenting a lecture.
Dr Flanagan’s research focuses on understanding the genetic basis of congenital hyperinsulinism, a severe, potentially devastating disorder in which people produce too much insulin despite low blood sugar levels. Unravelling the underlying mechanisms of this disease will provide vital new insights into the body’s production of insulin, which could have significant implications for diabetes research.
The prize comes after she was awarded a highly prestigious Sir Henry Dale Fellowship in 2015, a scheme run by the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science. The Sir Henry Dale Fellowships were created for outstanding post-doctoral scientists wishing to build their own UK-based, independent research career addressing an important biomedical question.
Date: 3 April 2018