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Nature recognises DCU scientist for lifetime inspiring students

Professor Martin Clynes, Director of the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology at DCU has been presented with the 2014 Nature Award for Mentoring in Science at the Science Foundation Ireland’s 2014 Summit.  Nature hosts these annual awards to champion the importance of mentoring and inspiring a generation of young scientists.

Editor-in-Chief of Nature, Philip Campbell, said: "In an era when laboratories are under great pressure to be competitive, it is essential that they maintain the technical robustness and ethical integrity of their science, while also empowering creativity. Thus the mentoring of young researchers has never been more important. And good mentoring by laboratory heads is not a skill that can be taken for granted.”

Professor Clynes has had a diverse supervisory career spanning nearly 35 years. His research team has been built around animal cell culture technology, linking it to other biomedical and molecular biology technologies, and applying it, in collaboration with experts in industry and medicine, to specific fundamental and applied problems

He is credited with attracting a wide network of industrial companies to invest in research and development in Ireland and is internationally recognised as an expert in biotechnology, cancer drug resistance and stem cell research.

Accepting the award, Professor Clynes said,

This Nature award underlines the importance of helping and supporting our young scientists at postgraduate, early postdoctoral and later postdoctoral stages.  The funding system in Ireland needs to pay more attention to how Ireland’s very able cohort of young researchers can be better supported and encouraged to develop independent research programmes.”  

Deirdre Cronin Fenton, Associate Professor Breast Cancer Epidemiology at Aarhus University, Denmark, said: “Martin has dedicated a lifetime to lending his extensive knowledge to better scientific research in Ireland and internationally. His students have progressed to positions in research and industry, and have competed at the highest level for jobs and research funding.”

Cliona O’Farrelly, Professor of Comparative Immunology (Trinity College Dublin) was also presented with a lifetime achievement award and Cormac Taylor, Professor of Cellular Physiology (University College Dublin), received the mid-career award.

Launched in 2005, the annual Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science recognize outstanding scientific mentorship and focus on a specific country or countries each year. Nature is the leading weekly, international scientific journal

More information about the Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science is available at www.nature.com/nature/awards/mentorship/