We are delighted that Professor Sir Keith Peters, Senior Consultant to the Crick, Honorary Fellow of Christ's College and Clare Hall, Regius Professor of Physic Emeritus, physician and immunologist (Doctor of Medical Science) is to be admitted to the Higher Doctorates honoris causa at a Congregation in the Senate House, University of Cambridge on Wednesday 15 June 2016.
When higher doctorates are conferred honoris causa the recipients are individuals of outstanding national, or usually international, achievement in their field and normally no more than eight are conferred in a year.
Sir Keith graduated in Medicine from the Welsh National School of Medicine in 1961. After posts in the University of Birmingham, the National Institute for Medical Research at Mill Hill and the Welsh National School of Medicine, he was appointed Lecturer in Medicine and Consultant Physician at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS), Hammersmith Hospital. Between 1969 and 1975 he was successively Lecturer in Medicine, Lecturer in Medicine and Immunology, and Reader in Medicine, before being appointed Professor of Medicine and Director of the Department of Medicine at the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in 1977. In 1987 Sir Keith became Regius Professor of Physic in the University of Cambridge and head of the School of Clinical Medicine.
His research interests centre on the immunology of renal and vascular disease, and in particular on how delineation of immunological mechanisms can lead to new therapies for these disorders. He was Knighted in the 1993 New Year's Honours List, was made Fellow of the Royal Society in 1995 and was a Founding Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and its President from 2002-2006.
His major contributions to UK medicine have been through the promotion of clinical research and he is a senior consultant in research and development for GSK.
Sir Keith played an important part in developing the original idea for the Crick when he was interim director at the Medical Research Council's National Institute for Medical Research. He advises the project on clinical and translational work and innovation in the run up to the opening of the institute.
For more information about this year's honorary degrees from the University of Cambridge visit http://www.cam.ac.uk/news/university-honorary-degrees-2016
