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Oxford professor wins medical award for stroke research

The Academy of Medical Sciences has awarded the Foulkes Foundation Medal to Professor Peter Rothwell of the Department of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford.

Awarded every two years, the Foulkes Foundation Medal is the o­nly prize presented by the Academy. The £1,000 award recognises an individual for excellence in research in the biomedical sciences, and for inspiring and encouraging others to pursue a career in biomedical research.

Professor Rothwell’s work has revolutionised the treatment of transient ischaemic attacks, or ‘mini-strokes’, and minor stroke. In its award citation, the Academy of Medical Sciences says, ‘Professor Rothwell's contribution to medical scientific knowledge during his relatively short research career has been remarkable and there can be few more inspirational demonstrations of the impacts of research o­n clinical practice.’

The citation goes o­n to say that his recent findings o­n the link between variability in blood pressure and risk of stroke, and the effects of aspirin o­n risks of cancer and infection, promise to have a similar impact.

Peter Rothwell is Professor of Clinical Neurology and founding Director of the Stroke Prevention Research Unit at the University of Oxford. The Stroke Prevention Research Unit, set up in 2000, now employs over 30 staff and is considered to be o­ne of the most successful stroke research groups in the world.
Professor Rothwell said, ‘It is pleasing to see this sort of recognition for clinical research and for good "old-fashioned" clinical epidemiology, both of which still have much more to offer than is sometimes imagined. Indeed, the greatest contributions of epidemiology to our understanding of the causes of disease and of premature death are very probably yet to be made.’