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University of Reading Scientist Awarded 2003 Nutrition Society Silver Medal – University of Reading

Dr Parveen Yaqoob, a Reader at the University of Reading has been awarded the prestigious Silver Medal of the UK Nutrition Society. She will present her Silver Medal Lecture in a plenary session to the Nutrition Society's Summer Meeting Individual variability in the nutritional response at King's College, London in July, which will be attended by nutrition scientists from across the world. Dr Yaqoob is a Reader in Cellular and Molecular Nutrition in the Hugh Sinclair Unit of the School of Food Biosciences at the University of Reading. 'I am honoured to be recognised by the Society with such a prestigious award and would like to think that this will encourage other young scientists to study nutrition,' said Dr Yaqoob. Dr Yaqoob's research career began with work she carried out on the effects of dietary fatty acids for her doctoral thesis at the University of Oxford from 1990-1993. Several novel papers were published from this research, which has made a significant contribution to our understanding of the effects of dietary fatty acids on inflammation and immunity. While at the Institute of Human Nutrition at the University of Southampton, she was part of a team which made a major advance by showing that fish oils could reduce inflammation in arteries, now thought to be one of the causes of a heart attack or stroke. The key results of this work were published in the Lancet₁. Since joining the University of Reading in 1998, Dr Yaqoob has continued to increase her portfolio of published novel scientific work and invitations to speak at national and international conferences. She has also successfully raised a significant amount of research income, including funding to establish an independent research group. Her research examines the influence of dietary fats in health and disease, looking particularly at the anti-inflammatory effects of fish oils and the way in which they can help those with inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis and heart disease. For more information please contact Carol Derham or Sue Rayner, Communications & External Relations Office, University of Reading 0118 378 8004/5. Notes to Editors The Nutrition Society's Summer Meeting Individual variability in the nutritional response is being held at Kings College, London in July. For more information see www.nutsoc.org.uk ₁ Thies et al., (2003) Lancet, 361, 477-485