Annual School of Life Sciences award winners announced

Howard Elder Award 

Howard Elder Award was endowed by Dr Alison Burt in memory of her father (Dr Howard Elder, a former medical graduate of the University) 39 years ago. The prize is awarded to pre- or post-doctoral researchers in the School who have published an outstanding paper in 2024, or a paper which is in press with a 2024 publication date, in an area related to cancer research. This year the award goes jointly to Abigail Brewer and Jin-Feng Zhao (MRC PPU) for their paper ‘Targeted dephosphorylation of SMAD3 as an approach to impede TGF-b signalling’, that was published in iScience. 

The judging panel commented “the study elegantly illustrates how proximity-induced dephosphorylation could disrupt the oncogenic TGF-beta signalling. Using Crispr technology coupled to cell signalling studies, the authors show that targeted recruitment of phosphatases to SMAD3 lead to signal perturbation downstream of the TGF-beta pathway. This leads to downregulation of TGF-beta induced genes like PAI-1 with a cascading effect on epithelial-mesenchymal transition. There is a clear relevance to cancer research with a potential novel therapeutic strategy that will no doubt be explored in the future.” In their back-to-back complementary study ‘Targeted dephosphorylation of TFEB promotes its nuclear translocation’, transcription of some target genes was achieved by the translocated transcription factor in the absence of the stressors that TFEB normally responds to. These exciting studies establish proof-of-concept for targeted dephosphorylation to modify protein function, potentially offering a novel modality to tackle key phospho-proteins involved in cancer progression and drug resistance. 

Molecular and Cellular Biology Prize 

The Molecular and Cellular Biology Prize is awarded to a postgraduate student or postdoctoral researcher to recognize excellence in basic research carried out in 2024. The joint winners are Marianna Longo and Aniketh Bishnu (MRC PPU) for their paper ‘Opposing roles for AMPK in regulating distinct mitophagy pathways’ published in Molecular Cell. 

Their research revealed that mitophagy, previously seen as a recycling mechanism for dysfunctional mitochondria, is regulated by multiple pathways, including one that targets functional mitochondria. They uncovered how energy stress and the AMPK kinase promote mitophagy of dysfunctional mitochondria while inhibiting that of functional ones. The judging panel felt that this was fundamental work of wide relevance, especially to multiple groups within the School. They noted the complementary expertise and diverse experimental toolkits of the two joint awardees, which resulted in an impressive molecular to physiological interrogation of mitophagy. 

Innovator of the Year 

Innovator of the Year is for any member or team within SLS that demonstrably achieved scientific, technical or commercial innovation that came to fruition in 2024. This years’ winner is Ricardo Moreno Ballesteros (MRC PPU) for his overall contribution to the field of induced proximity medicines. His work developing Bioorthogonal Proximity Inducer (BPI) technology enables generic probe molecules to bind to specific sites on any protein, reducing costly and arduous ligand development. His achievements are all the more notable at such an early career stage in the final year of his PhD: his focused effort over the past year(s) to develop the technology is remarkable, and essential to the advancement of a new therapeutics approach. 

Dean's Professional Services Excellence Award 

Dean's Professional Services Excellence Award is to recognise and celebrate outstanding professional services staff who have made contributions that enable our School’s strategy to deliver in the three areas we focus on – research with impact, learning & teaching, engagement & enterprise. 

The award has been given to Lisa Robertson, Assistant Finance Business Partner. 

The judging panel said “It was very clear from the nomination that without your contributions the School, and in particular the Drug Discovery Unit, would not be able to manage its operations. The financial support you provide is critical. It was recognised by the panel that you take an adaptable and tailored approach, as well having a can-do attitude.” 

People's Award 

The People's Award recognises those in our community who make particularly positive contributions to our culture. 

The individual award goes to Elisa Garcia-Wilson, SLS Sustainability Officer. This is in recognition of the outstanding efforts that have been made by Elisa in advancing the School’s sustainable research (and other) practices. 

The group award goes to the Media Kitchen (Lisa, Karen and Aileen). This team work with our research community with integrity and a can-do attitude that is appreciated by so many. 

Brian Cox Prize for Excellence in Public Engagement with Research 

This award is made to an individual communicator or team of communicators from within the School that have made outstanding contributions to public outreach activities within the last two years. 

Engaged Researcher of the Year is Jonathan Griffin (Plant Sciences). The judging panel stated that Jonathan “has shown a long-standing commitment to undertaking a range of public engagement activities. Jonathan takes care to tailor the engagement to ensure its reach and accessibility and the work detailed in the application showcase this clearly.”