Contact: Tania Banak, University Relations Specialist
608/263-6716, banakt@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu
Date issued: March 7, 2006

MADISON – Dr. Ian D. Duncan, professor of neurology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, has been elected to the Corresponding Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which is Scotland’s national academy.

This prestigious international honor is based on a rigorous selection procedure. Inductees to the Corresponding Fellows reside outside of Scotland and have achieved significant international distinction within their own subject or profession. Potential Fellows must be nominated by at least four other Fellows, and are then subjected to review by peers.

The Fellowship is multidisciplinary, encompassing excellence in the sciences, arts, humanities, and industry and commerce professions. Dr. Duncan was nominated in the field of neuroscience, and was voted into the Society on March 6th based on his internationally-recognized work on cell transplantation and repair of the central nervous system using stem cells, especially as it relates to multiple sclerosis.

“Having grown up in Scotland and being educated in Edinburgh and Glasgow, this award has a very special meaning for me,” Dr. Duncan said.

Founded in 1783, the Society currently has over 1,280 Ordinary Fellows, 24 Corresponding Fellows and 71 Honorary Fellows. Its Fellowship includes some of the best intellectual talent in academia, the professions and business. The organization facilitates public debate, research programs, educational projects and strategy formulation, all from a diverse and impartial foundation.

Dr. Duncan received both his veterinary and PhD degrees from Glasgow University, in Scotland. In 1996, he became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists. He joined the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine faculty in 1982.