Sanger Institute researcher scoops The Brain Prize
15 March 2012
The award is made by the Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Foundation, a Danish charitable organisation. The 2012 Prize was awarded jointly to Professor Steel and Professor Christine Petit (College de France) for their "unique, world-leading contributions to our understanding of the genetic regulation of the development and functioning of the ear, and for elucidating the causes of many of the hundreds of inherited forms of deafness".
The €1 million personal prize is given to one or more scientists who have distinguished themselves by making an outstanding contribution to European neuroscience. The 2012 prize lectures and award ceremony will take place on 9 May in Copenhagen, Denmark, where the Queen of Denmark, Margrethe II, will award the prize.
"It is a great surprise and a tremendous honour to be jointly awarded the 2012 Brain Prize," says Professor Steel. "The support from The Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Foundation will help us forge closer contacts with Danish neuroscientists and push forward our understanding of the molecular basis of deafness."
Inherited conditions render one in 1000 children deaf at birth, and cause as many again to become deaf before maturity. Such conditions can cause a delay or failure in acquiring speech, as well as having a negative impact on communication and learning. Genetic anomalies also contribute to many age-related and progressive forms of hearing loss.
As Principal Investigator for the Genetics of Deafness programme and founder of the Mouse Genetics Programme at the Sanger Institute, Professor Steel has pioneered the use of mouse models, starting with her painstaking description of the characteristics of mutant mice with disorders of balance and hearing. She is internationally recognised for her generous and altruistic approach to science.
Professor Colin Blakemore from Oxford University, Chairman of the Selection Committee, said: "We are delighted that The Brain Prize for the best of European neuroscience goes, in its second year, to two women scientists. We are sure that the award will be applauded by female researchers around the world, and by all those who are concerned that young women are given every encouragement to consider careers in science."
Image: Professor Karen Steel. Credit: Genome Research Limited.
