Professor KJ Patel recognised in the 2026 Royal Society Awards
The Buchanan Medal is awarded annually by the Royal Society. It was was created from a fund in memory of the physician George Buchanan FRS, former Chief Medical Officer of the UK, and was first awarded in 1897.
Professor Patel’s award-winning research has revealed how aldehydes, simple chemicals produced naturally within our bodies and when we consume alcohol, can damage our DNA - the blueprint of life. His work discovered the mechanism that protects our genomes from this threat, and showed that when this mechanism fails, the consequences are profound: blood production ceases, tissues age prematurely and the risk of cancer is greatly increased.
Speaking about the award, Professor Patel said:
" I am deeply honoured to receive the Buchanan Medal from the Royal Society, particularly given that past winners of this prestigious award include our founding director David Weatherall, Peter Ratcliffe and my predecessor Douglas Higgs. This award also belongs to the many exceptional students, postdoctoral fellows and collaborators I have had the privilege of working with over the years. Their dedication, creativity and perseverance made these fundamental discoveries possible, and I am enormously grateful to them. " Professor KJ Patel
Further information about the other University of Oxford researchers to be recognised by the Royal Society in 2026 can be found here.
The Buchanan Medal was previously awarded to Professor Sir Rory Collins, Emeritus Research Fellow in Epidemiology at St John’s, in 2025. The College is delighted to maintain its tradition of biomedical research excellence.