| Sir Philip Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Middlesex |
| Nationality | United Kingdom |
| Fields | protein phosphorylation |
| Institutions | University of Dundee |
| Alma mater | University College London |
| Doctoral advisor | Michael Rosemeyer |
| Notable students | Dario Alessi |
| Known for | research into protein phosphorylation |
| Notable awards | Anniversary Prize of the FEBS (1977) Colworth Medal (1977) CIBA Medal (1991) Prix van Gysel (1992) RSE Bruce Preller Prize (1993) Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine (1997) Datta Medal (1997) Knight Bachelor (1998) RSE Royal Medal (2004) Royal Medal (2008) |
Sir Philip Cohen FRS FRSE (born 22 July 1945) is a British researcher, academic and Royal Medal winner. During the 1990s he was Britain's third most cited professor[1] (and the second most cited in the fields of biology and biochemistry)[2] and has been described by Professor Garry Taylor of the University of St Andrews as "one of the world’s top scientists".[3] and by Professor Peter Downes as "arguably the UK's leading biochemist and an iconic figure in UK science".[4] As of 2008 he has written over 470 peer-reviewed papers and given over 250 invited lectures in 33 countries,[2] and has been repeatedly linked[3][5] to a move of biotechnology companies to Dundee and the economic regeneration that came with it, to the point where 15% of the local economy is derived from biotech companies and their employees.[5] His work has also seen Dundee attracting some of the world's best scientists, with over 1% of the world's most cited scientists residing in Dundee and fundraising of more than £35 million over the last 10 years to help attract them.[5]
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He was born in Middlesex,[6] and after leaving Hendon County Grammar School he attended University College London, where he was awarded a BSc in 1966 with first class honours and a PhD in 1969 under Michael Rosemeyer.[4][7] After leaving UCL he spent two years at the University of Washington doing postgraduate work with Edmond H. Fischer before returning to Britain in 1971 to become a lecturer at the University of Dundee, where he has remained for the last 37 years.[7] He was made a reader in 1978 and gained a personal chair in 1981.[6] In 1982 he was made a fellow of the European Molecular Biology Organization, and in 1984 he became a Royal Society Research professor and elected a fellow of both the Royal Society of Edinburgh and Royal Society.[2] In 1990 he was made Director of the Medical Research Council Protein Phosphorylation Unit,[8] and a fellow of the Academia Europea. In 1993 he was made a fellow of UCL and in the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours was knighted, served as a founding member of the Academy of Medical Sciences and was made an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists.[4] In 2006 it was announced that Sir Philip Cohen would be taking over as president of the Biochemical Society.[4] He is currently a director of the Division of Signal Transduction Therapy.
He has received many awards for his work, including the 1992 Prix van Gysel of the Belgian Royal Academies of Medicine, a Special Achievement Award at the 1996 Miami Biotechnology Winter Symposium, the Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine in 1997, the Datta Medal of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies the same year[9] and a Royal Medal in 2008 for "his major contribution to our understanding of the role of protein phosphorylation in cell regulation".[10] He has also been given honorary DSc degrees from the universities of Abertay, Strathclyde, Linköping and Debrecen.[4] He is now in the National Academy of Sciences.