Congratulations to Meredith James and Francesco Muntoni who each received a Muscular Dystrophy UK President’s Award on 19 February.

MDUK says the awards: “recognise heroes within the muscle wasting and weakening community who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference.” There were six awards in total, recognising success in fundraising, caring, volunteering, community engagement and research as well as the Richard Attenborough Award for Outstanding Achievement.

It was that Outstanding Achievement Award that was presented to Professor Francesco Muntoni for his ongoing work in the field. Meredith James received the Early Career Scientist of the Year award and Valeria Di Leo, who is also a WMS member, was Highly Commended in the same category.

MDUK Chief Executive, Catherine Woodhead, said: “Congratulations to everyone for winning one of Muscular Dystrophy UK President’s Awards. We received lots of strong nominations – making the judging process harder than ever. Our deepest thanks to our President, Gabby Logan, for presenting the awards to our worthy winners at the fantastic event. It was a beautiful evening and lovely to be able to recognise people who give their all to making a difference for those living with a muscle wasting and weakening condition.”