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Professor Dame Kay Davies has been awarded the Biochemical Society's 2020 Centenary Award in recognition for the excellence of her work on Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the profound impact her research has had on the scientific community and wider society.

The Biochemical Society has announced its 2020 award recipients and Professor Dame Kay Davies has been honoured with the prestigious Centenary Award.

The Centenary Award is awarded annually to a biochemist of distinction from any part of the world. As the newly announced winner, Kay is invited to present the Sir Frederick Gowland Hopkins Memorial Lecture at a Society conference during 2020, and to submit an article related to her Award Lecture to one of the Society's publications. 

 

I feel humbled, honoured and delighted to have my work recognised in this way by the Biochemical Society. I am also very grateful to all the talented researchers I have had the privilege to work with over the years. This recognises not just me, but the clinicians, scientists and families that are working on the development of an effective therapy for DMD. - Prof Dame Kay Davies

Kay has enjoyed an impressive career, a highlight of which was discovering utrophin in 1989, which opened up the opportunity for a new therapeutic strategy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. She was elected to the Royal Society in 2003 and was awarded her DBE in 2008 for her services to science, demonstrating her firm commitment to her field.

 

There is no effective treatment for DMD, which is a relentless progressive muscle wasting disease. There is therefore a great unmet clinical need. It has always been important to collaborate with clinicians and scientists, but above all the interaction with patients and their families has inspired our work. - Prof Dame Kay Davies

Head of Department, David Paterson, says: "The Department is very proud of Kay’s achievement in her receiving this honour as it reflects a life’s work of discovery."

 

More information is available about the awards and recipients on the Biochemical Society website.