Cambridge researchers win Croonian Medal and Lecture 2022

Congratulations to our Metabolism, Endocrinology and Bone theme lead, Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly and to Sadaf Farooqi, Professor of Metabolism and Medicine, who have been awarded the Croonian Medal and Lecture 2022 from the Royal Society.

The Croonian Medal and Lecture is the premier lecture in the biological sciences. The lectureship was created by William Croone FRS, one of the original Fellows of the Royal Society.

Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly and Professor Sadaf Farooqi were given this prestigious award for their seminal discoveries regarding the control of human body weight, resulting in novel diagnostics and therapies, which improve human health.

Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly said: “It is an enormous honour to have our work recognised in this way by the Royal Society, one of the world’s pre-eminent scientific societies. The list of previous Croonian Lecturers contains many legendary names and to find oneself on that list is as surprising as it is humbling.”

“I hope that the award of this highly prestigious prize to a pair of physician scientists will help inspire young doctors to bring their natural curiosity to bear on patients presenting to them with patterns of disease that seem to be atypical. The rigorous investigation of such patients can provide them with meaningful diagnoses and open up opportunities for novel approaches to their treatment, while also illuminating new areas of human biology.”

Professor Sadaf Farooqi said: “I am absolutely delighted that our work has been recognised by the Royal Society. To receive the award alongside my longstanding mentor Stephen O’Rahilly, who taught me how basic scientific principles can be applied to the study of clinical conditions, is a huge honour. This prestigious Award recognises our work as Clinician Scientists, the contributions of many team members past and present, our collaborators across the world and the patients and their families who have contributed to our research.”

Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly and Professor Sadaf Farooqi will be awarded their medal and prize at the Royal Society at a future date.