Troy is acting head of NIMR’s Division of Change of New Years Honours Neurophysiology. He and his colleagues carry leadership at MRC for MRC scientists out research into how the brain uses the signals Cancer Cell Unit gathered from individual and groups of brain The New Year Honours cells to make sense of sensory stimuli. MRC Cancer Cell Unit list 2010 has recognised Director Professor Ron MRC scientists Professor He said: “It is, of course, an honour to receive Laskey will step down at Janet Darbyshire and such an accolade and I very much look forward Professor Carol the end of January after Professor Carol Dezateux to strengthening collaborative ties with our Dezateux with CBEs Professor Ron Laskey leading the unit for a German colleagues.” decade. Professor and Professor Val Beral with a DBE. Ashok Venkitaraman, with whom Ron has Janet, Director of the MRC Clinical Trials Unit, LMB scientist follows in Crick’s joint-directed the Unit for a number of years, was awarded a CBE for services to clinical will become the Unit’s sole Director. footsteps sciences. She has led the unit for over a decade Ron first worked at the MRC as a post doctoral and has played a leading role in coordinating MRC synthetic biologist Dr Jason Chin was researcher at the Laboratory of Molecular many clinical trials, particularly in HIV infection. selected to deliver the Royal Society’s annual Biology, where he discovered the signals that Since 2005 she has also been Joint Director of Francis Crick Lecture in November. direct proteins to the cell nucleus, and invented the NIHR (previously the UKCRN) Clinical Established in 2003, the prize lecture is aimed at sensitive methods for detecting radioisotopes. Research Network with the remit to develop a younger scientists and gives preference to those He went on to set up the MRC Cancer Cell Unit world class infrastructure for clinical research in who work in similar scientific areas to Crick many years later, in 1999, after a period as the NHS. himself, namely genetics, molecular biology and Director of the former Wellcome/CRC Institute She said: I am delighted that my work, which neurobiology. Jason, of the MRC Laboratory of at the University of Cambridge (now the Wellcome depends on the work of many people in the MRC Molecular Biology, outlined how he and his team Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute). Clinical Trials Unit and our collaborators across are building a whole new system for reading the Much of his career has been dedicated to the world, has been recognised in this way.” DNA in the genome to make proteins and other understanding how cells control DNA synthesis. polymers. A CBE for services to science was awarded to He has developed cell-free systems that allow Carol, who directs the MRC Centre of To date, genetic engineers have faced the these processes to be studied in a test tube, in Epidemiology for Child Health and is an MRC challenge of how to add new amino acids to the extracts from human cells. Some of the proteins Strategy Board member and Chair of the MRC’s genetic code while leaving intact the genetic studied in this work are emerging as promising Training and Careers Group. code which is essential for the organism’s markers for the development of screening tests survival. To get around this problem, Jason’s for the commonest cancers. Carol commented: “I am honoured and team is writing a parallel genetic code for delighted to receive this award and the Ron has garnered many accolades over his polymer synthesis. Their work is already helping recognition it gives to our scientific research for career. He is the Charles Darwin Professor scientists to better understand biological children and their parents. This has been made of Animal Embryology at the University of processes with molecular precision and create possible by our MRC Centre as well as by the Cambridge; Vice President of the Academy of next-generation protein therapeutics. many colleagues who have inspired and Medical Sciences; and a Fellow of the Royal supported me over the years.” Jason said: “We are expanding the paradigm Crick Society, which awarded him the Royal Medal described, such that the heritable information in in 2009. Carol is Professor of Paediatric Epidemiology and DNA is used to encode not just proteins, but an honorary consultant paediatrician at the Following his retirement as Director, Ron plans proteins containing new unnatural amino acids Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Trust where to continue his research at the MRC Cancer Cell and ultimately completely unnatural polymers. she co-directs the UK Newborn Screening Unit for another year. Programme Centre. She is also Head of the Such polymers would be encoded in the cell’s Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said: “Ron has led the MRC Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and genome and would allow us to watch a new Cancer Cell Unit with great distinction and we Biostatistics and Population Health Sciences at form of life boot–up. We can then ask whether were delighted by his decision to continue his University College London Institute of Child biology with additional genetically encoded research on retiring from the Directorship. Not Health. polymers can evolve to access functions that only has he made personal contributions that natural biology cannot.” MRC grantholder Val, who becomes a Dame, is have attracted widespread international acclaim Director of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit in The BBSRC has an initiative to explore the ethical but he has established the Unit as a premier Oxford. She has carried out epidemiological implications of synthetic biology research. international research centre. It has attracted research over the past 30 years which has led to the best investigators from around the world to the discoveries of some causes of cancers and address some of the long-term and difficult clarified the role of hormonal factors in breast problems in improving our understanding the cancer. Her work suggested that cervical cancer causes, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.” and Kaposi’s sarcoma were infectious diseases before the relevant viruses were identified. In 1997 she initiated the Million Women’s Study, which has since recruited more than 1.3 million women through the NHS Breast Cancer Screening Programme. Val has also served on the MRC’s research boards. MRCNetwork | 21.