Professor Chris Mason elected fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences

The Academy has announced that the new Fellows have been selected for their outstanding contributions to advancing medical science, cutting edge research discoveries, and translating developments into benefits for patients and wider society. Many of the new Fellows have also made a contribution to medical science through outstanding leadership, public engagement and supporting the career advancement of junior trainees. This year's elected Fellows have expertise spanning global health, virology, women’s health, medical statistics, health policy, cancer genetics, allergy and emergency care medicine, among many other fields.

"The Academy is outstanding in its commitment to research excellence, encouraging the next generation of scientists and clinicians, influencing government policy, and most importantly engaging patients, their carers, healthcare professionals and society. It is very gratifying to see the huge diversity of expertise of this year’s Fellows including; global health, virology, women’s health, medical statistics, health policy, cancer genetics, allergy and emergency care medicine.

My own area of expertise is cell and gene therapy where I have had the great pleasure in being involved in every step of the journey from discovery, R&D, clinical translation, scalable manufacturing through to industrialization. During my 20 years at UCL, my research in the Department of Biochemical Engineering has covered the entire breadth of regenerative medicine but has always focused on enabling scalable manufacturing, innovation and commercialisation.  This has only been achievable by leveraging the Department’s world-leading research in the bioprocessing of biologics, building multidisciplinary collaborations, and engaging with industry. The discipline of Biochemical Engineering is at the very heart of the innovative manufacturing required to deliver on the promise of cell and gene therapy. My goal is to enable these life-changing products to become routine clinical practice and available to patients everywhere including in developing countries.

I very much look forward to participating in the Academy’s activities, and in particular, promoting Biochemical Engineering, the discipline that enables life-science discoveries to be converted into commercially viable products on a truly global scale."

Professor Chris Mason, May 2019