University pancreatitis researcher awarded £2m fellowship
Mr Rajarshi (Rishi) Mukherjee, a Ronald Finn Senior Research Fellow has become the first recipient of the prestigious Medical Research Council (MRC) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Clinician Scientist Fellowship.
This landmark fellowship, valued at nearly £2 million, is part of the newly established MRC Medicines Development Fellowship scheme led by the University of Liverpool. Mr Mukherjee’s research will address life-threatening lung injury, that can lead to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), caused by acute surgical conditions such as pancreatitis, major trauma, and sepsis, all of which carry devastating risks for patients.
Designed to foster transformative academia-industry collaborations, the scheme supports talented clinical researchers in tackling urgent unmet medical needs. Not only is Mr Mukherjee the first recipient of this award, he’s also the first General Surgeon in Merseyside to secure a Clinician Scientist Fellowship, joining only a handful of surgeon scientists across the UK.
In partnership with GSK’s cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) team, he will leverage industry developed advanced technology to develop multi-omics models. He will also apply AIML approaches to accelerate drug discovery pipelines with the aim of identifying novel biomarkers and disease targets, alongside refining existing novel small molecule Cyclophilin D inhibitors developed in collaboration with University of Liverpool Medicinal Chemistry researchers.
Mr Rajarshi Mukherjee said: “I am honoured to receive this prestigious fellowship. Through funding of this scale, we are able to research and innovate to make a significant difference to the lives of so many patients. Estimates indicate that 1 in 6 patients admitted to ICU units across the UK are diagnosed with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and mortality can be up to 60% in this group, with no validated drug treatments available and often months of ICU care required for the survivors. We’ve built up considerable expertise in pancreatitis, where most patients die because of ARDS, through our work over the years in the Liverpool Pancreatitis Research Group. I am incredibly excited to utilise the unique industry collaboration and world-leading artificial intelligence expertise offered by this fellowship to develop multi-omics approaches and accelerate drug discovery in this crucial area of unmet need.”
Professor Tom Walley, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Clinical Research said: “Rishi is an outstanding clinician and scientist who will do great things in research within this new fellowship. His appointment is also a tribute to the success of the prestigious Finn Fellowship funded by our NHS partner Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which he has used to allow him to scale new heights. We look forward to seeing his future successes in research which will improve outcomes for patients with ARDS.”