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Stephen Cusack elected to the Royal Society
Stephen Cusack, head of EMBL Grenoble, has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society.
The Royal Society is a fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists drawn from all areas of science, engineering, and medicine. Founded in the 1660s, it is the national academy of science in the UK, and Royal Society scientists continue to make outstanding contributions to science in many research areas. There are currently some 1,600 fellows – including around 80 Nobel Laureates – and each year up to 52 new fellows are elected. Among its earliest members were Christopher Wren and Robert Boyle, and later Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Dorothy Hodgkin and Tim Berners Lee.
“I feel very honoured to be elected to this centuries old scientific academy,” says Cusack. “My first thought is to all the talented collaborators I have worked with, and to EMBL – the inspiring organisation where I have spent my career, whose support and encouragement has enabled me to fulfill dreams and do ambitious science.”
My first thought is to all the talented collaborators I have worked with, and to EMBL
Cusack is internationally renowned for major contributions in structural biology and X-ray crystallography. His research highlights include many structural insights into RNA metabolism, including particularly world-leading efforts in the structural analysis of amino-acyl tRNA synthetases, and a series of seminal advances in understanding of the structure and life cycle of viruses, with particular focus on therapeutic potential. As head of the EMBL outstation in Grenoble he has played a pioneering role in the development of instrumentation for structural biology at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, benefiting the structural biology community throughout Europe, and he more recently played a wider role in Europe as a founder of the Instruct pan-European research infrastructure.
Iain Mattaj, Director General of EMBL, says: “I am delighted that Stephen has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. Stephen’s election is highly deserved and recognises the quality of his research and a career full of world-class achievement. Highlights include many important structural insights into RNA metabolism and the recent publication of a complete influenza virus polymerase – the culmination of 20 years of work. EMBL has benefitted greatly from Stephen’s scientific vision and leadership since 1989, when he became Head of EMBL Grenoble.”
Stephen’s election is highly deserved and recognises the quality of his research and a career full of world-class achievement.
