A Consultant Neurologist at Forth Valley Royal Hospital has been recognised for his outstanding contribution to biomedical and health science.

Prof Malcolm MacLeod, Professor of Neurology and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh

Prof Malcolm MacLeod, who is also Professor of Neurology and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh, has been elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. This prestigious academy recognises individuals for their remarkable contributions to biomedical and health science and their ability to generate new knowledge and improve the health of people everywhere.

Professor MacLeod said: “I came to NHS Forth Valley in 2005 as a full-time Consultant Neurologist and I’ve been very fortunate in the support I have had from colleagues and management across the organisation as I’ve gradually grown the research component of my role. I’ve been a Professor at the University of Edinburgh since 2012, but I’m very glad that I have continued to have a clinical role in Forth Valley and pleased to see others, in the Neurology service and elsewhere, follow in my footsteps.

“I’m delighted to have been elected to Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and I think this is in recognition of the work of a whole team of researchers, as we try to provide tools to help every researcher – in the lab or in the clinic – improve the way they go about their research. I hope this recognition will give even greater force to these efforts. At the end of the day, it’s all about delivering better treatments for patients – and the better we are at doing research, the faster this will happen.”

Professor Dame Jessica Corner FMedSci, Registrar of the Academy of Medical Sciences, added: “I warmly welcome the new cohort of Fellows and am grateful to those who have worked hard to nominate and select such excellent people from an outstanding group of candidates. The highest quality biomedical science relies upon the brightest minds coming together from across a wide range of backgrounds. It is notable that this year’s new Fellows hail from every region of the UK, with the proportion being elected from outside London, Oxford and Cambridge increasing to 45%, up from 32% last year.

Professor Dame Anne Johnson PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences said:
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome these new experts to the Fellowship to help to address the major health challenges facing society.

“Each of the new Fellows has made important contributions to the health of our society, with a breadth of expertise ranging from the physical and mental health of young people to parasitic diseases and computational biology.

“The diversity of biomedical and health expertise within our Fellowship is a formidable asset that in the past year has informed our work on critical issues such as tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding the health impacts of climate change, addressing health inequalities, and making the case for funding science. The new Fellows of 2022 will be critical to helping us deliver our ambitious 10-year strategy that we will launch later this year.”

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at the end of June 2022.