Sir Stephen Patrick O'Rahilly (born 1 April 1958) is an Irish-British physician and scientist known for his research into the molecular

pathogenesis Pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes from Greek πάθος ''pat ...

of human

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

insulin resistance Insulin resistance (IR) is a pathological condition in which cells fail to respond normally to the hormone insulin. Insulin is a hormone that facilitates the transport of glucose from blood into cells, thereby reducing blood glucose (blood suga ...

and related metabolic and

endocrine The endocrine system is a messenger system comprising feedback loops of the hormones released by internal glands of an organism directly into the circulatory system, regulating distant target organs. In vertebrates, the hypothalamus is the ...

disorders.

Education

O'Rahilly was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, IrelandEllen Ruppel Shell
Fat Genes

Discover Magazine ''Discover'' is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Publishing since 2010. History Founding ''Discover'' was created primarily through the efforts of ''Time'' mag ...

, 1 May 2000 and educated at Beneavin College. He attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

to study medicine.

Research

O'Rahilly undertook research into Type 2

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and insulin resistance at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

and

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...

, before joining the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

where he is a Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine, Director of the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science-Metabolic Research Laboratories, Director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit and co-director of the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science. He is also the scientific Director of the

National Institute for Health and Care Research The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is the British government’s major funder of Clinical research, clinical, public health, Social care in England, social care and translational research. With a budget of over £1.2 bil ...

(NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Associate Faculty at the

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute The Wellcome Sanger Institute, previously known as The Sanger Centre and Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, is a non-profit British genomics and genetics research institute, primarily funded by the Wellcome Trust. It is located on the Wellcome Ge ...

and honorary consultant physician at

Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical ...

, Cambridge. He is a professorial fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. Notable Cambridge scientists with whom O'Rahilly has shared paper authorship include

Krishna Chatterjee Vengalil Krishna Kumar Chatterjee is a Professor of Endocrinology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Churchill College, Cambridge. He is also the director of the Cambridge Clinical Research Centre which ...

David Dunger David Dunger (died 20 July 2021) was a British paediatric endocrinologist and chair of paediatrics at the University of Cambridge. Dunger was most notable for research into three areas, pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes and its complications, p ...

Sadaf Farooqi Ismaa Sadaf Farooqi is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research fellow in Clinical Science, professor of Metabolism and Medicine at the University of Cambridge and a consultant physician at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, UK. Education Farooqi w ...

, Nita Forouhi, Antonio Vidal-Puig,

Nick Wareham Nicholas J. Wareham is a British epidemiologist who researches obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic disorders. He is director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit and co-director of the Institute of Metabolic Science at the University of Cambridge. He i ...

, and Giles Yeo,

Awards and honours

O'Rahilly was elected to the

Academy of Medical Sciences The Academy of Medical Sciences is an organisation established in the UK in 1998. It is one of the four UK National Academies, the others being the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society. Its mission is to ad ...

in 1999, the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

in 2003. His nomination reads: O'Rahilly became a Foreign Associate of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

, in the US in 2011. He was awarded the

Heinrich Wieland Prize The Heinrich Wieland Prize is awarded annually by the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation for outstanding research on biologically active molecules and systems in the areas of chemistry, biochemistry and physiology as well as their clinical importance. ...

Heinrich Wieland Prize
in 2002, the

InBev-Baillet Latour Health Prize The Artois-Baillet Latour Foundation is a Belgian non-profit organization which was founded on 1 March 1974. History The foundation was born by the initiative of Count Alfred de Baillet Latour, who was the Director of the Artois Breweries in L ...

in 2010 and the

Debrecen Award for Molecular Medicine The Debrecen Award for Molecular Medicine was established in 2003. With the award the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Debrecen, Hungary aims to recognize extraordinary achievements in the field of biomedicine. Nominees are expected to have ...

in 2014. He delivered the 2016

Harveian Oration The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feas ...

at the

Royal College of Physicians of London The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

. O'Rahilly was knighted in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to medical research. In 2017 he became a member of the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural i ...

. In 2018, he was made an Honorary Doctor of RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Dublin. In 2019, O'Rahilly was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the

Learned Society of Wales The Learned Society of Wales (Welsh: Cymdeithas Ddysgedig Cymru) is a learned society and charity that exists to "celebrate, recognise, preserve, protect and encourage excellence in all of the scholarly disciplines", and to serve the Welsh natio ...

(LSW). He was also awarded the Banting Medal for his contributions towards diabetes research by the

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes (including type 1 diabetes, ...

in the same year. O'Rahilly was awarded the Croonian Medal in 2011 by the Royal College of Physicians. He was awarded it again, by the Royal Society in 2022, this time jointly with

and they presented their lecture at the

in 2022.

Personal life

O’Rahilly lives in Cambridge, England with his wife, journalist Philippa Lamb, and his stepson Felix Lamb. He was married to Suzy Oakes from 1990 until her death in 2011. He holds dual Irish and British citizenship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ORahilly, Stephen 1958 births Living people People from County Dublin Irish diabetologists Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences (United Kingdom) Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Pathologists Fellows of the Royal Society NIHR Senior Investigators Irish expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century Irish medical doctors 21st-century Irish medical doctors 20th-century British medical doctors 21st-century British medical doctors Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Alumni of University College Dublin Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland Members of the Royal Irish Academy