New Chair for the Consortium Scholar Exchange Working Group

Professor Patrick Johnston, the Scholar Exchange Working Group (SE WG) chair since the inception of the Consortium in 1999, has been appointed Dean of the School of Medicine for Queen’s University Belfast and Director of the Institute of Health Research. As a result of his new appointment, he has stepped down from his position as SE WG chair. Professor Mark Lawler has graciously accepted the position as the new SE WG chair for 2008.

Professor Lawler is the Associate Professor in Experimental Haematology/ Oncology, Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and Chief Molecular Geneticist and Director of the Cancer Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory St James’s Hospital. Professor Lawler also holds the title of Director of Post-graduate Teaching and Learning in the School of Medicine, TCD. He has an active research group working on the molecular basis of cancer, with emphasis on biomarker discovery and novel anti-cancer approaches. He has been honored with numerous accolades including the Vander Molen Prize for Leukaemia Research, the Ulster Cancer Foundation Lecture, and he has received both the St. Luke’s Medal and the Graves Medal for research. He is founder and chairperson of the highly successful Cancer Conference which has now become an annual event and involves significant support from the National Cancer Institute. He is currently president of the Irish Association for Cancer Research, a member of the Ireland-Northern Ireland-National Cancer Institute Cancer Consortium Scientific Advisory Group, and a founding member and one of the coordinators of the MSc in Molecular Medicine, TCD. Professor Lawler has a significant commitment to scholar exchange and hopes to further its impact on the island of Ireland as chair of the SE WG.