Two Merton Fellows elected to the Royal Society

Two Merton Fellows have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society:

• Merton's Tutor in Organic Chemistry Professor Véronique Gouverneur has become a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her pioneering work in fluorine chemistry for applications in medicine.
  Professor Gouverneur has been at Oxford since 1998, having previously been a postdoctoral fellow at the Scripps Research Institute, USA, and Maître de Conférence at the Université Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France.
  
  Véronique said:
   

  "I am deeply humbled and grateful because this election is a unique acknowledgement of our science. It recognises all the incredibly hard work, creativity and perseverance of my students and postdocs since my appointment in Oxford in 1998, as well as the support I have received from the Chemistry Department and Merton College."

• Supernumerary Fellow Anant Parekh, who is Professor of Physiology at Oxford's Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, has joined the Society's Fellowship having received several awards for his research into how cells communicate with one another to control biological functions such as secretion, energy production and gene expression.
  
  Anant said:
   

  "It is of course both humbling and a great honour to be elected to the Royal Society. However, nothing occurs in a vacuum and this really reflects the wonderful mentors I have had at key stages in my career, the support from the Department and Colleges over many years and the excellent young scientists who have worked and continue to work in my group, without whom this election would not have been possible."