2nd January 2007

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Professor McConkey, Professor Liddell and Dr Neville McClenaghan with the Vice-Chancellor and the Chancellor at the Magee ceremony

 

Special awards were made at the Magee graduation ceremony to outstanding academics in recognition of their contribution to the community and to business life.

Distinguished Community Fellowship
Professor Roy McConkey

Professor McConkey was appointed to the University in 1997 as Professor of Learning Disability in the School of Nursing. Professor McConkey is employed on a joint appointment basis with University and the Eastern Health and Social Services Board.

He works extensively with a wide range of voluntary sector organisations and is well known to organisations such as Mencap and Autism (NI).

Professor McConkey also works closely with a wide range of statutory agencies and his expertise in the field of learning disability is widely sought for input to numerous voluntary sector committees, planning, review and steering groups.

Professor McConkey’s extensive knowledge of the needs of those with learning disabilities led to him being invited to join the Bamford Review of Mental Health and Learning Disability 2004-2006.

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Distinguished Community Fellow
Professor Christine Liddell

Professor Liddell’s distinguished career with the University began in 1992 when she was appointed as a lecturer in psychology.

She has made a major contribution to educational developments in the field of early educational intervention with disadvantaged children and has applied her research extensively in association with community based organisations overseas, particularly in Southern Africa.

In recent years, Professor Liddell has focused on Northern Ireland and has applied her work to mental health.

Professor Liddell maintains an excellent relationship with the Northern Health and Social Services Board which facilitates the application of her work in the community and has enabled her to make a major contribution in the field of public health.

Professor Liddell is also well known locally for her contribution to the Northern Ireland Community Energy Initiative.

Distinguished Business Fellow
Dr Neville McClenaghan

Dr McClenaghan has made a major contribution to teaching and research in the University since being appointed to a lectureship in Biomedical Sciences in 1998.

As a member of the University’s Diabetes Research Group, Dr McClenaghan’s research is focused on the diagnosis, treatment, cure and prevention of diabetes.

In recent years Dr McClenaghan’s interest in technology transfer, innovation and business development has led to the successful commercialisation of diabetes research and in 2004 Dr McClenaghan co-founded UU spin-out company Diabetica Ltd.

Dr McClenaghan is currently on a two year secondment to fulfil the entrepreneurial role of Chief Operating Officer of Diabetica Ltd and in 2006 Dr McClenaghan was instrumental in securing a multi-million pound global licensing agreement with a major multinational pharmaceutical company.

 

A Distinguished Business Fellowship was also awarded to Dr George McKerr, who was unable to attend the graduation ceremony.

Dr McKerr’s distinguished career with the University began in 1979 when he joined the Ulster Polytechnic as a lecturer. Dr McKerr has made a significant contribution to scientific teaching and research throughout his career.

Over the last fifteen years he has worked closely with local and global industry in the fields of instrumentation prototyping, software design and food technology.

His collaborations have resulted in the relocation of a cheese production company from Limerick to Coleraine bringing 300 production jobs to the area and, more recently, investment of £435,000 for an electron microscope demonstration laboratory.

Dr McKerr established bio-imaging in the Centre for Molecular Biosciences and was recently appointed as Director of the Centre for Advanced Imaging which houses the world’s first Focused Ion Beam microscope.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young