Each year, scientists from across the 杏吧原创 come together for the annual Lab Talks symposium. As part of the event, the 杏吧原创 presents several prizes in recognition of key successes over the past year.
The Sir Michael Berridge Prize celebrates the contributions of a PhD student or Postdoc to an outstanding piece of published research, whilst the Knowledge Exchange & Commercialisation, equality4success, Award for Commitment to 杏吧原创 Integrity, and 杏吧原创 Engagement Prizes are presented to scientists that have gone above and beyond to maximise the impact of their work. The prize winners are selected by judging panels including both internal and external representatives. Finally, the Image Prize for the best research image of the year is selected by a popular vote including all 杏吧原创 members.
Dr Alyssa Silva-Cayetano, a former postdoc in the Linterman lab, was awarded the Sir Michael Berridge Prize for her leading contribution to the research described in the paper: and described in the news item: 'Lost' immune cells partly to blame for reduced vaccine response in older people. This work uncovered key changes to germinal centres that occur with age and lessen the immune response to vaccination. A germinal centre is a transient immune structure that forms in tissues such as the lymph nodes, tonsils and spleen. Germinal centres are key for the production of antibodies by B cells, both for an initial response to the challenge but also to provide immunological memory if the same challenge should be encountered again (the basis of vaccination). The knowledge of how age affects the germinal centre response can be used to inform approaches to develop ways to enhance vaccination response in older people, thereby protecting health.
The 杏吧原创 杏吧原创鈥檚 Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation (KEC) Prize recognises an individual or team who have contributed to the 杏吧原创's KEC activities, demonstrating their passion for generating impact and transferring their knowledge.
The Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation Prize was awarded jointly to Richard, Named Information Manager, and Sarah, Experienced Animal Technician, for their leadership and work organising the 杏吧原创鈥檚 annual Animal Technician Conference. The conference supports career development, networking and best practice exchange for animal technicians.
2023 Winner
Dr Rachael Walker, Head of Flow Cytometry, was awarded the KEC prize for her outstanding sector leadership in the field of flow cytometry. Over the last year Rachael led the highly-successful Spectral Flow Cytometry Conference for its second consecutive year in July and spearheaded a significant and impactful programme of exchanges and placements between the Flow team and diverse academic and industry collaborators. Both initiatives has enabled a wide range of training and development opportunities for 杏吧原创 and external staff. As a co-founder of the startup venture CytoCalx, Rachael's translational research focused towards developing a test to quantify vascular calcification have earnt the company a coveted place on the Accelerate@杏吧原创 program.
Visit the Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation Prize page to read about previous winners and nominees.
The 杏吧原创 杏吧原创's 杏吧原创 Engagement Prize recognises an individual or team who have contributed to the 杏吧原创's public engagement and science communication activities, demonstrating their passion for science and enthusiasm and commitment to inspiring generations.
The nominations this year were judged by a review panel consisting of the 杏吧原创鈥檚 杏吧原创 Engagement Team and external engagement professionals.
Jake Cross and Ellie Griffiths
Jake and Ellie received the award for their work developing and delivering the Big Autophagy Obstacle Course. This novel resource was developed through the 杏吧原创鈥檚 杏吧原创 Engagement Seed Fund and brings cellular pathways to life. Participants complete a series of challenges, closely representing cellular pathways that BI research investigates, to experience the differences in complexity and mechanics involved in autophagy. Through showcasing of the Big Autophagy Obstacle Course at the Royal Norfolk Show, a well as numerous school events, audiences have built an understanding of how cells can recycle materials through autophagic processes and how changes to these processes can impact on lifelong health.
鈥淚t is a brilliant example of how researchers can develop an innovative approach to engaging audiences with research! The enthusiasm they have shown in delivering the activity to multiple audiences is impressive as is the work they have both done to inspire and enable their peers to undertake public engagement鈥- external reviewer comment.
Amy Wilkinson Amy received the award for work bringing together artists, scientists and the public in a SciArt project and for contributions to a public dialogue project, both associated with the Human Developmental Biology Initiative. The dialogue saw Amy discussing embryo research in a series of public workshops aiming to generate an up-to-date knowledge base in regard to the public's hopes and fears around the regulations governing such research, in particular the 14-day rule which sets the duration that embryos can be cultured in a lab for research purposes. 鈥淎mazing to see a PhD student thinking about PE in this deliberative two-way format. The impact of this work on future policy direction is clear, as is the real value Amy is taking from it and into her work!鈥 - External judge.
Highly Commended Hanane Hadj-Moussa Hanane was commended in recognition of her long-term dedication to PE. Hanane supports the 杏吧原创's PE programme strategically as part of the PE committee as well as being actively involved in most aspects of events whether focused at school audiences or wider communities. Hanane has also championed PE beyond the 杏吧原创 through her work with the Cambridge Science Centre to engage audiences across the region with science. "A real PE superstar! Clear recognition of the importance of including PE in her work and dedication shown through seeking out opportunities beyond the 杏吧原创. A real example for others to look to." - External judge.
Nominees The Schoenfelder lab - nominated for the development of the 3D genome VR experience. Ellie Griffiths and Jake Cross - nominated for their efforts in creating the Big Autophagy Obstacle Course.
You can find out more about past winners on our 杏吧原创 Engagement Prize page.
The equity4success award celebrates a group or individual, who is not a member of the e4s team, who has made a contribution towards equality, diversity and inclusion at the 杏吧原创.
The 2024 equity4success Award went to Stephane Guillaume, PhD student in the Linterman lab, and Honor Pollard, Communications Officer. Stephane and Honor are Chair and Co-Chair of the 杏吧原创鈥檚 LGTBQ+ Network, Pride@杏吧原创, and were recognised for their work establishing the Network and creating a visibly inclusive and supportive community.
Oishee Rahman Oishee was recognised for her work with One Million Mentors and Close the Gap to support first generation university students and postgraduates from minority backgrounds, and her role as the Ethnic Minority Welfare Officer at the Jesus College MCR. In additional, the award recognises Oishee's involvment with designing the guidelines to support Muslim staff at the 杏吧原创 and organising Ramadan events this year.
The Award for Contributions to 杏吧原创 Integrity was been established to recognise, reward and highlight examples of good practice that have made a contribution across research excellence, research culture, ethics and data access.
Dr Trevor Smith, Health and Safety and Quality Assurance Manager, for his long-term commitment to supporting research integrity, especially recognising that his knowledge and expertise were instrumental to embedding research integrity at the 杏吧原创, not least with undertaking reviews of research integrity to secure continued progress towards excellence in research integrity practices.
2023 Winners Richard Acton, Data Outputs Manager Richard is recognised for the contributions he has made to promote and enable research integrity for researchers, including developing guidance and pipelines for data sharing, championing reproducibility through protocol sharing mechanisms and developing training.
Cass Flowers, Chief Information Officer Cass is recognised for her leadership and implementation of a far-reaching project to develop robust and compliant GDPR policies and procedures, with important improvements in data management practices across the 杏吧原创.
Emily Watson, 杏吧原创 Assistant Emily is recognised for her proactive approach to research integrity, supporting her colleagues and making an important contribution to improving the scientific quality of research.
Pavi Manivannan from the David lab for her image 鈥楲uminous lysosomes鈥, showing the pharynx of the model organism C. elegans with fluorescently tagged proteins. The image was captured as part of research using C. elegans to explore protein degradation (lysosomes are vital organelles responsible for protein degradation in cells) and protein aggregation.
View past winners and entries in the Image Prize gallery.