Announcement by the Royal Society of New Zealand

21 November 2007

Groundbreaking Brain Research Wins Scientist Top Award

New Zealand’s top science honour, the 2007 Rutherford Medal, has been awarded to internationally renowned neuroscientist Professor Richard Faull FRSNZ of The University of Auckland.

The Minister of Research Science and Technology, Hon Pete Hodgson, presented the medal to Professor Faull at this year’s New Zealand Science Honours Dinner in Dunedin Town Hall on Tuesday night.

Chief Executive of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Dr Di McCarthy, says “Richard Faull’s research has the potential to improve the lives of the many New Zealanders suffering from neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer's, and stroke.

“His research has shown that the diseased human brain can generate new brain cells. In a landmark paper in Science, his team recently demonstrated the pathway new neurons travel in the adult human brain. This finding could have profound implications for prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.”

In 2005 Professor Faull, a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, was appointed as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours and was awarded the prestigious Liley Medal by the Health Research Council of New Zealand for outstanding contributions to medical research.

The Rutherford Medal was instituted in 1991 as the premier New Zealand science award at the request of the New Zealand Government. The award is made by the Council of the Royal Society of New Zealand. The last six recipients have been Professor Ted Baker (2006), Professor Paul Callaghan (2005), Professor David Penny (2004), Professor George Petersen (2003), Professor Jeffrey Tallon (2002), and Professor Peter Gluckman (2001).

For more information contact Glenda Lewis at 04 4705758, 027 210 0997, or Glenda.lewis@rsnz.org