Covid-19 effort recognised in Queen’s Honours
University staff have been recognised in the Queen’s 2022 Birthday Honours List.
The Queen’s Birthday Honours are announced each year to mark extraordinary contributions and service of people across the United Kingdom.
This year they also mark the 70th anniversary of her reign.
Vital work
Professor Aziz Sheikh has received a knighthood for services to Covid-19 Research and Policy.
Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor Sheikh’s research was vital in demonstrating the real-world effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines.
Through the EAVE II study, Professor Sheikh and his team were first to reveal that the Omircon variant was less severe and resulted in less hospitalisations than the Delta variant.
Professor Sheikh is now researching other key vaccine issues, directly informing the Covid-19 response.
In 2014, Professor Sheikh was awarded an OBE for services to medicine.
The way a global community of scholars pulled together to seek urgent answers to the unprecedented challenge posed by Covid-19 was both humbling and inspiring. Science is a team effort and I am most grateful to all those who have supported me, whether through my education and training, providing a stimulating and supportive academic environment, research funding, or mentoring and collegiality. To all of these wonderful colleagues and institutions, my sincere thanks. My family have been nothing but supportive throughout my research journey, and to them also my heartfelt thanks.
Covid response
Professor Ruth McQuillan has been made an MBE for services to Science during Covid-19.
She is the co-lead of UNCOVER (Usher Network for Covid-19 Evidence Reviews), which responds to requests from policymakers for evidence reviews.
The collaborative evidence review service brings together staff, students, alumni, who work on a voluntary basis.
Medical education
Professor David Charles Kluth has been made an OBE for services to Medical Education during the Covid-19 response.
Professor Kluth is a senior lecturer in nephrology in the Centre for Inflammation Research. He studies the role of inflammatory cells in kidneys.
Student support
Michelle Christian, Director of Property and Residential Services, is a Medallist of the Order of the British Empire (BEM) for services to Education.
Michelle worked throughout the pandemic to ensure that students were supported in their accommodation.
I am delighted to see the significant and wide-ranging contributions of colleagues being recognised and celebrated in this way. The pandemic put huge pressures on our community and I am very proud of the way colleagues worked tirelessly to support the world’s effort to overcome Covid-19, and to ensure we stay committed in our mission to deliver true excellence in learning, teaching and research.
Children’s health
Professor Harry Campbell has received an MBE for services to International Child Health and Global Public Health.
He is Professor of Genetic Epidemiology and Public Health, at the Usher Institute as well as an Honorary consultant in Public Health at NHS Lothian.
Professor Campbell has long-standing experience in many aspects of global child health with a particular interest in many aspects of childhood respiratory infections.
University spin out
The Managing Director of a firm that started at the University has received an MBE for services to Science and the Environment.
Dr Richard Tipper is MD of Econometrica, which began at the University in 2008 to provide greenhouse gas accounting services to companies and governments.
Dr Tipper was the lead author of the Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.