University of Ulster academic Dr 
Victor Gault has been named recipient of the Rising Star Award by the internationally acclaimed European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD).
This latest accolade for Dr Gault’s innovative research in the field of diabetes builds upon his established international recognition for his work on gut hormones. Dr Gault received an open funding grant from DRWF for his work back in 2007.
A lecturer in Biomedical Sciences and a member of the Diabetes Research Group and Biomedical Sciences Research Institute at the Coleraine campus, Dr Gault was previously named Diabetes UK Young Investigator, and awarded a University of Ulster Distinguished Research Fellowship in 2005.
The prestigious Rising Star award recognises his overall contribution to European diabetes research and, in particular, his research into understanding the physiological roles of the gut hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) which regulates a number of important metabolic processes. Dr Gault and his research colleagues at Ulster are helping unravel these complex underlying mechanisms in order to establish new treatment strategies for type 2 diabetes.
The Rising Star award is presented annually to individuals who have consistently pursued a well-defined, logical and innovative research line. It will be presented to Dr Gault at a special Lecture Symposium during the 45th EASD conference in Vienna this autumn.
Dr Gault says he was both delighted and honoured when he heard about the Rising Star award.
‘I am very grateful for the funding I received from DRWF which has helped facilitate part of this work and enabled the characterisation of mini-PEGylated GIP compounds which may provide a future therapeutic option for the treatment of type 2 diabetes’.