Prof Robert Millar, Director of the Centre for Neuroendocrinology at the University of Pretoria, has been honoured with a Kwame Nkrumah Award for Scientific Achievement by the African Union in the category of Life and Earth Sciences at the Continental level. This is the highest level of the awards programme, which also recognises young scientists at a national level and women scientists at a regional level.

The prize carries a grant of US$100 000.

“I am deeply honoured by the African Union’s award which recognises the importance of our ongoing scientific research to improve lives all over the continent and in the training of young African scientists. The gathering of the heads of all African states was immensely impressive and underlines the potential to harness Africa’s science talent and make the continent a global player in research and I pledge my commitment to this endeavour. My group will continue to look for new and more effective treatments for diseases which lead to considerable suffering and pain,” said Prof Millar.

Prof Millar’s research is in the field of neuroendocrinology, where he has specialised in peptide regulators of reproductive hormones. He pioneered the discovery of the Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) prohormone, novel GnRH structures, and the first cloning of the GnRH I and GnRH II receptors. He has participated in and led a number of programmes developing GnRH analogues for use in a wide range of clinical pathologies.

His research has contributed to the development of the primary treatment for prostate cancer, the sole treatment for precocious puberty and treatments for hormone-dependent diseases in women such as endometriosis, as well as in vitro fertilisation.

He was the recipient of a National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) Lifetime Achiever Award during 2013 to an individual for his outstanding contribution to Science, Engineering, Technology and Innovation (SETI) during his lifetime. In 2017 he received the Platinum Medal of the Medical Research Council and the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship and Gold Medal. Prof Millar is a Fellow of the Royal Society (Edinburgh), a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and a Fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). He has published 450 articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals (cited over 20 000 times) and has an H-index of over 70. Prof Millar is also an NRF A-rated scientist.