I feel very honoured, and am profoundly grateful to the many colleagues who participated in our research over the last 30 years, the patients who made much of that work possible, and Multiple Sclerosis International Federation for recognising these contributions through the 2007 Charcot Award. Professor Alastair Compston




The 2007 winner of the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation’s (MSIF) prestigious biennial Charcot Award for a lifetime achievement in research into the understanding or treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) is Professor Alastair Compston.

Multiple sclerosis is one of the most prevalent diseases of the central nervous system and directly affects an estimated 2.5 million people around the world. The cause of MS is not known.

Professor Compston was selected from an outstanding field of candidates by an international panel of experts from MSIF’s International Medical and Scientific Board, chaired by Professor Alan Thompson.

Professor Compston has made a major contribution to a number of important areas in the field of MS. He is a truly international figure who has inspired many through his research and his lecturing. He is a worthy winner of the Charcot award and richly deserves his place amongst the great contributors to the field of MS who have been honoured with this award in the past. I offer my congratulations on behalf of all the members of the International Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of MSIF. Professor Alan Thompson, of the Institute of Neurology, London

Professor Compston is professor of neurology and head of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge. He received his PhD in 1979 for work on the immunogenetics of MS and his subsequent research has focused on human and experimental demyelinating disease with an emphasis on genetic epidemiology, applied neurobiology, therapeutic immunology and clinical neuroscience.

Genetic epidemiology

Early in his career, Professor Compston studied the genetic epidemiology of MS and the interplay between genes and environmental factors. With others, he characterised the class II HLA association, performed the first whole genome linkage analysis and, in 2001, headed the Genetic Analysis of Multiple Sclerosis in EuropeanS (GAMES) network that was the first to perform a full genome association screen in MS, furthering the understanding of genetic susceptibility to MS.

Neurobiology

In the area of neurobiology and its relation to MS pathogenesis, Professor Compston’s cell culture studies on the mechanisms of injury and regeneration of oligodendrocytes (the cells responsible for producing myelin) have made a seminal contribution to the advancement of central nervous system cell repair.

Clinical Neuroscience

His interest in the clinical aspects of MS and its treatment has always been paramount. In 1987 he performed the earliest controlled trial showing the efficacy of high dose intravenous methylprednisolone (now the most widely used treatment) for treating relapses in MS. He was also a member of the 2001 International Panel that produced new diagnostic criteria for MS.

Current Research

More recently, one of Professor Compston’s major contributions has been in the area of treatment studies and the evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of CAMPATH-1 in MS. CAMPATH-1H therapy is now in an advanced phase of clinical trial development with highly promising initial efficacy data in relapsing remitting MS.

Centre for Brain Repair

Professor Compston has been the clinical lead in the establishment and running of the highly prestigious Centre for Brain Repair in Cambridge for over ten years. Through his numerous collaborations with basic neuroscientists, he has ensured that the Centre is now one of the most important in the world in this vital research area, paramount to the development of future MS treatments.

He has mentored clinical neuroscientists such as Profs Neil Scolding & John Zajicek and Drs Stephen Sawcer, Alasdair Coles and Siddharthan Chandran who have gone on to establish their own successful, independent research groups and programmes in the MS field.

Published Papers

He is the author of over 400 papers, was instrumental in the editing and production of the two most recent editions of the most prestigious and highly regarded textbook on MS, McAlpine’s Multiple Sclerosis (1998 & 2005) and is the current editor of the neurological journal ‘Brain’.

Professor Compston - Published Papers (53 kb)

Research Collaboration and International Recognition

Professor Compston’s innovative research has included collaboration with the NMR Research Unit at the Institute of Neurology, London. He has served on the grant panels of the UK Medical Research Council and MS Society, is a past-chairman of the Neurosciences and Mental Health panel of the Wellcome Trust (2001-3) and a past-president of the European Neurological Society (2002-3). He received the Sobek Foundation International Prize for Multiple Sclerosis Research in 2002.