| Alastair Compston | |
| Birth Date: | 1948 1, df=yes |
| Field: | Neurology |
| Education: | Rugby School |
| Thesis Title: | Multiple Sclerosis and the HLA System |
| Thesis Url: | http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.451996 |
| Thesis Year: | 1978 |
David Alastair Standish Compston (born 23 January 1948) is a British neurologist. He is an emeritus professor of neurology in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Cambridge and an emeritus fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.[1] [2]
Compston was educated at Rugby School followed by the medical school of Middlesex Hospital, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree. He completed his PhD on multiple sclerosis and the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) system at the University of London graduating in 1978.[3]
Compston's research focuses on the clinical science of human demyelinating disease including the discovery of genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis and the introduction of alemtuzumab.[4] [5] [6]
Compston was formerly Professor of Neurology at the University of Wales, president of the European Neurological Society and the Association of British Neurologists, and editor of the journal Brain.[7]
Compston's work has been recognised by prizes including the Charcot Award; the K-J Zülch Prize; the World Federation of Neurology Medal; the John Dystel Prize; the Richard and Mary Cave Award of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain; the Hughlings Jackson Medal; the Galen Medal; and the Association of British Neurologists Medal.
Compston was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2016[8] and appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to multiple-sclerosis treatment. He was elected a fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences of Germany and the National Academy of Medicine of the United States.