Professor Ronan O'Carroll has received the award of Academician of the Academy of Social Sciences, in recognition of the quality of his work in the field of health psychology.
Professor O’Carroll, Professor of Psychology at the University of Stirling, was judged worthy of the conferment of the award following nomination by the British Psychological Society, which had peer-reviewed the standing and impact of his work.
Typically, the distinguished award is conferred only when nominated individuals are at least at mid-career level, with significant achievements to their name, and where an individual has contributed to social science more broadly than the normal demands of his or her job. This contribution can be within the area of thought leadership, practitioner applications or policy development.
Professor O’Carroll, whose current research interests are concerned with improving patient adherence to medication and increasing the number of people who register on the UK Organ Donor Register, said: “I am honoured to receive this prestigious award from the Academy and I’m grateful that the work we’ve been carrying out here at Stirling has been recognised.”
He added: “Hopefully the conferment of this award can help to highlight the importance of behavioural medical research in the United Kingdom.”
The Academy of Social Sciences is composed of over 700 Individual Academicians and 43 Learned Societies. Academicians are distinguished scholars and practitioners from academia and the public and private sectors.
All newly conferred Academicians, including Professor O’Carroll, have been invited to an official presentation of the of the award by the President of the Academy, Professor Sir Howard Newby AcSS, at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting in London in July 2012.