From the Regius Professor of Physic at the University of Cambridge and Dr Rob Buckle, Chief Science Officer at the MRC

On behalf of the Medical Research Council (MRC) and the University of Cambridge, we are delighted to announce that Professor Matthew Lambon Ralph has been appointed as the next Director of the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (MRC CBU) from 1 September 2018. He will take over from the current Director, Professor Susan Gathercole, who will be stepping down at the end of August 2018.

Matthew has been the Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Manchester University since 2001. His research and clinical activities focus on combining clinical and discovery science approaches to the exploration of memory and language, and to multiple disorders in these domains.  Currently in Manchester, he leads the cross-disciplinary Neuroscience and Aphasia Unit and is also Associate Vice-President for Research. Matthew is extremely well-known internationally and has received multiple awards, including the Presidents’ Award of the British Psychological Society in 2015 as well as Fellowships of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the BPS.

Matthew said “It is a great honour to take on the stewardship of the MRC CBU at the University of Cambridge. Throughout its long and esteemed history, the Unit has been at the international forefront of cognitive science and neuroscience – both in terms of basic science and the application of its expertise to societal grand challenges. These continuing dual contributions will be critical to the rapidly advancing field of cognitive neuroscience and for tackling the significant and growing societal impacts of cognitive disorders such as dementia and mental ill-health.”

We are sure that you will all join us in congratulating Matthew on his appointment and we look forward to working with him to lead the exciting next phase of the MRC CBU’s development and build on its outstanding track record of achievement.

We also wish to record our huge thanks to Sue for leading the Unit through a very successful 7 years, which have included the smooth transfer into the University of Cambridge in July last year.