Stephen O'Rahilly


Sir Stephen Patrick O'Rahilly is an Irish-British physician and scientist known for his research into the molecular pathogenesis of human obesity, insulin resistance and related metabolic and endocrine disorders.

Education

O'Rahilly was born in Dublin, Ireland and educated at Beneavin College. He attended University College Dublin to study medicine

Research

O'Rahilly undertook research into Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance at the University of Oxford and Harvard Medical School, before joining the University of Cambridge where he is a Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine, Director of the University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories, Director of the MRC Metabolic Diseases Unit and co-director of the Wellcome Trust-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science. He is also the scientific Director of the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Associate Faculty at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and honorary consultant physician at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge. He is a professorial fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Awards and honours

O'Rahilly was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1999, the Royal Society in 2003. His nomination reads: O'Rahilly became a Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences, in the US in 2011. He was awarded the Heinrich Wieland Prize in 2002, the InBev-Baillet Latour Health Prize in 2010 and the Debrecen Award for Molecular Medicine in 2014. He delivered the 2016 Harveian Oration at the Royal College of Physicians of London.
O'Rahilly was knighted in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to medical research.
In 2019, O'Rahilly was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. He was also awarded the Banting Medal for his contributions towards diabetes research by the American Diabetes Association in the same year.

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.