Outstanding contribution to neuroscience

Professor Sir Michael Owen, Director of Cardiff University’s MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics has been honoured with the British Neuroscience Association (BNA) Award for Outstanding Contribution to Neuroscience.

The prestigious accolade was announced at the BNA Christmas Symposium in London on Monday 18 December.

Prof Owen, who is the first psychiatrist to receive the award, has worked on neuropsychiatric genetics for over 20 years. He has published over 600 papers, and working alongside colleagues, has identified novel genetic risk factors and disease pathways for disorders including schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Commenting on the award, he said:

“I am honoured to receive this award and feel truly humbled to become the first psychiatrist to win this accolade.

I’d like to thank my academic colleagues, both junior and senior, as well as my technical and administrative colleagues over the past 20 years. This award is a testament to what we have achieved as a team, and I couldn’t be prouder.”