Dr Benedict Michael from the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences has been granted a prestigious intermediate fellowship to help develop his research on brain infections and inflammation.
Medical Research Council (MRC) Clinician Scientist Fellowships enable outstanding clinical researchers to lead their own research plans and establish their own research team to make the transition to independent investigator.
Dr Michael, who is a Senior Clinician Scientist Fellow at the NIHR Health Protection Research Unit for Emerging and Zoonotic Infection and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at The Walton Centre, recently published a study detailing the damaging role played by the immune system in viral encephalitis.
The new award, worth £1.4 million, will allow him to pursue and develop this important area of research even further over the next five years.
Commenting on his award, Dr Michael said: “I am absolutely delighted to be one of the few awarded an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship this year, especially given the other excellent candidates.
“This funding will make it possible for me to determine the immune response in patients with the viral brain infection ‘encephalitis’ and then use models in the lab to understand what is driving this, with the ultimate aim of identifying targets for therapies to reduce brain swelling and improve patient outcomes.”