Macular Pigment Researcher Receives Health Sciences Honour

Wednesday, October 14 2015 | 00 h 00 min | Awards, Press Release

A Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) academic has been recognized for his contribution to medicine at a prestigious awards ceremony in New York.

WIT’s Professor John Nolan, Principal Investigator of the Macular Pigment Research Group (MPRG) made the 2015 Irish America Healthcare and Life Sciences 50 list.

On 7 October, Irish America magazine celebrated the Healthcare/Life Sciences 50 honorees at a reception in New York City.

“Our annual Health Care & Life Sciences 50 honors Irish and Irish-American innovators who are leading the way in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, and in this context, we are delighted to highlight the extraordinary work of Professor John Nolan. We applaud his excellent research into the cause of Age Related Macular Degeneration, which has brought new hope to the millions worldwide affected by the disease. And we are excited to follow his latest efforts into halting the onset of Alzheimer’s and improve cognitive function in those who have the disease. Prof Nolan’s work has put WIT on the map and we couldn’t be more proud,” said Patricia Harty, Co-Founder and Editor in Chief of Irish America.

“Professor Nolan’s work is making a significant impact in the field of vision research and latterly dementia. As such his work plays a significant part in the promotion of WIT as a seat of learning and centre for cutting edge research on both the national and international stage. His award as an honoree of the Irish America Healthcare and Life Sciences 50 list is highly prestigious and is not only a recognition of the quality of the research contribution made by Professor Nolan and the research team he leads to his field of expertise but brings great honour to the entire research community in the School of Health Science and the wider academic community within WIT,” said Professor John Wells, Head of the School of Health Science, WIT.

Prof Nolan said it is a great honour for him and his family to be recognized in this way.

“For me, this award reflects the efforts of all my team who continue to work tirelessly in our important research field. Our work has already contributed greatly to science and medicine, and it is amazing that the nutrients that we have been studying and identifying are now used worldwide for human health, in particular to improve vision for patients with age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness in the western world),” he said.

“Our recent work using nutrition for Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive function represents exciting potential for the future. It is wonderful that we have been able to achieve this work in Waterford, Ireland, at the Waterford Institute of Technology, and that our multi-disciplinary team have access to cutting edge specialized technology, which empowers them conduct research at the highest level,” he continued.