Six Oxford scientists join Royal Society Fellowship

They are Professor Tony Bell, Professor Yvonne Jones, Professor Alison Noble, Professor Yadvinder Malhi, Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt and Professor Hugh Watkins.

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said:  'Science is a great triumph of human achievement and has contributed hugely to the prosperity and health of our world. In the coming decades it will play an increasingly crucial role in tackling the great challenges of our time including food, energy, health and the environment. The new Fellows of the Royal Society have already contributed much to science and it gives me great pleasure to welcome them into our ranks.'

The new Fellows of the Royal Society have already contributed much to science and it gives me great pleasure to welcome them into our ranks

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society

Professor Tony Bell from the Department of Physics is known for his pioneering work into astrophysical and laser-produced plasmas, as well as work looking at cosmic ray acceleration. Professor Yvonne Jones is Deputy Director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics in the Nuffield Department of Medicine. She leads the Cancer Research UK Receptor Structure Research Group, which focuses on the structural biology of extracellular recognition and signalling complexes. Professor Alison Noble, the Technikos Professor of Biomedical Engineering in the Oxford University Department of Engineering Science, is changing our understanding of biomedical image analysis, with a particular focus on raising the profile of ultrasound imaging. Professor Yadvinder Malhi, based in the Environmental Change Institute at the School of Geography and the Environment, is an international leader in promoting the science and conservation of forests through research collaboration and capacity building in tropical countries. Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt, Principal of Jesus College and Professorial Research Fellow in Computer Science, has researched and published widely on topics ranging from cognitive psychology to computational neuroscience. He has made significant contributions to Artificial Intelligence and is an international leader in the field of open data and currently researching 'social machines'. Professor Hugh Watkins, Head of the Radcliffe Department of Medicine and Honorary Consultant in Cardiology and General Medicine, is known for work that is making a major impact in medicine using molecular genetic analysis of cardiovascular disease as a tool to define disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets.