Each year, the British Society for Immunology awards honorary lifetime membership to individuals in recognition of their outstanding contribution to immunology and/or to the Society. This honour is awarded after rigorous discussion and a vote by the Trustees. For 2023, we are delighted to announce that Professor Arne Akbar, Professor Allan Mowat and Dr Gitta Stockinger have all been made BSI Honorary Members at a ceremony conducted at BSI Congress.
Professor Arne Akbar
Arne Akbar is Professor of Immunology at University College London and a world leading researcher in the field of immune ageing. His research involves studies at the interface between academia, industry and clinical practice and focuses on the mechanisms that control the differentiation and senescence of human T lymphocytes.
Professor Akbar is a longstanding member and supporter of the British Society for Immunology having joined in 1978. He has recently completed his term of office as the Society’s President. During his four-year tenure, he expertly steered the BSI through the COVID-19 pandemic, making sure the organisation not only switched up our activities to support members but also that immunology had a strong and prominent voice to policymakers and the public. Professor Akbar has had a hugely positive impact on the organisation.
Professor Allan Mowat
Allan Mowat is Professor of Mucosal Immunology at the University of Glasgow and also worked as a Consultant Clinical Immunologist in an NHS diagnostic laboratory. His principal research involves understanding the factors that control whether the intestine generates active immune responses or develops immunological tolerance, with a particular focus on the functions of dendritic cells and macrophages in the intestinal mucosa.
Over the course of his career, Professor Mowat has been a great supporter of the Society and has held many roles within the organisation, most recently serving an eight-year term of office as a Trustee – he has been a much-valued source of experience and expertise on the BSI Trustee Board.
Dr Brigitta Stockinger
Dr Brigitta Stockinger is Senior Principal Investigator and Associate Director at the Francis Crick Institute. She is a molecular immunologist with a focus on how environmental factors can influence processes such as tissue repair and differentiation and immune cell functions.
She is a world leader in the field, as recognised by her keynote lecture at last year’s BSI Congress. She’s made numerous discoveries that have driven the immunology discipline forward, including the discovery of the differentiation factors for Th17 generation and the importance of the transcription factor and environmental sensor, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, in the immune system and beyond.