2017 Outstanding Contributions Through Service to the Profession of Clinical Chemistry
Dr. Young is professor of medicine at Queen’s University Belfast and deputy medical director and consultant chemical pathologist at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust in the U.K. He is also chief scientific advisor and director of research for health and social care in the Department of Health of Northern Ireland. His main clinical and research interests are in the biochemical aspects of nutrition and lipid metabolism, particularly in relation to disease prevention and management of patients with complex lipid disorders. He has made significant original contributions to both these areas, in work ranging from basic science investigations to epidemiological studies and clinical trials. For example, his team was the first to identify evidence of free radical production during transient ischemia in the human myocardium, showing the likelihood of myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury. They also provided the first comprehensive evidence for the role of an interaction between folate status and genotype in determining levels of homocysteine. He is the author of more than 350 research papers. Dr. Young chaired the scientific division of the International Federation for Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine from 2010 through 2016, and is currently president of the Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine in the U.K. He is a member of the U.K. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition and the scientific advisory board of the U.K. National Institute of Biological Standards and Controls. He has served on a host of other committees for international professional organizations. He is associate editor of Clinical Chemistry and a member of the editorial boards of several other scientific journals.