2024 Rank Prizes Awarded in London for Research into Type 2 Diabetes and Retinal Imaging

The Rank Prize for Nutrition has been awarded to Professor Roy Taylor and Professor Mike Lean

The Rank Prize for Optoelectronics has been awarded to four pioneers of retinal imaging technology

LONDON, July 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2024 Rank Prizes were awarded last night at a ceremony in central London. Dame Sally Davies, the UK Special Envoy on Antimicrobial Resistance, was Guest of Honour.

Rank Prize for Nutrition

Professor Roy Taylor and Professor Mike Lean were the winners of the 2024 Rank Prize for Nutrition. Their research has furthered understanding of how type 2 diabetes develops, and has shown for the first time that remission from type 2 diabetes is possible for some by following a low-energy weight management programme. Their work is transforming services for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes by giving them the support to manage their health and reverse the effects of this serious condition.

Professor John C. Mathers, Chair of Rank Prize's Nutrition Committee, explained that: "The ground-breaking research by Professors Taylor and Lean has shown that a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is not a life sentence. Their demonstration that type 2 diabetes can be put into remission by sustained weight loss will empower millions of people globally to change their eating behaviour and to improve their health."

On receiving the award, Professor Lean commented that: "Success in research, making a difference for our patients, is gratifying, and for all this to be recognised by the Rank Prize is immensely rewarding." Professor Taylor added: "I am delighted to receive this recognition on behalf of the physicists, doctors, nurses, dietitians and others who have provided fantastic team input over many years of this research."

Rank Prize for Optoelectronics

The 2024 Rank Prize for Optoelectronics was awarded to four internationally leading scientists for the development of instruments that use adaptive optics technologies to capture high-resolution images of the living human retina. Their pioneering research has generated new fundamental insights into the structure and function of the human eye in both health and disease as well as new clinical interventions to remedy sight loss from common disorders. The winning scientists are:

• Dr Junzhong Liang
• Professor Donald T. Miller
• Professor Austin Roorda
• Professor David R. Williams

Professor Donal Bradley, Chair of Rank Prize's Optoelectronics Committee, noted that: "The Prize recognizes a seminal contribution to imaging within the eye that opens new opportunities to understand this complex optical instrument and to improve eyesight through precise interventions. The winners are to be commended both on their highly insightful contributions to vision science and their subsequent development of applications."

Professor David R. Williams responded: "Inventions and discoveries are almost always made by teams and this certainly was the case in this instance. I am so proud to be sharing this award with my former teammates, each of whom was not only critical to the initial development of ophthalmic adaptive optics but also continues to lead its evolution so successfully."

About the Rank Prize

Established by Lord J. Arthur Rank, a British industrialist and philanthropist, the Rank Prizes are awarded biennially in the fields of nutrition and optoelectronics. Previous winners include Arthur Ashkin and Shuji Nakamaru, who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. Find out more at www.rankprize.org.

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