Blavatnik Awards UK – Blavatnik Family Foundation

Nominations for the 2024 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK is Open Until 24th May 2023

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Christine Ongsueng

The nomination period for the 2024 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK is open until 24th May 2023. Institution nominators should submit their nominations through blavatnikuk.smapply.io/. Please contact the Blavatnik Awards team (blavatnikawardsuk@nyas.org) with any questions about nominations. The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom celebrate the past accomplishments and future potential of the UK’s most innovative young faculty-rank (academic staff) scientists and engineers working in the three disciplinary categories of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry. Every year, one nominee in each category will be named a Blavatnik Awards in the UK Laureate and awarded £100,000 in unrestricted funds, with two Blavatnik Awards in the UK Finalists in each category both receiving £30,000. […]

Catalysing Change: 9 Young Scientists Transforming Our World

Posted on February 28, 2023 (March 3, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Can we detect dark energy? What new antibiotics and medicines can we make? How does the human immune system respond to HIV and SARS-CoV-2? What are the biggest consequences of the Arctic sea ice melting? If you are interested in the latest advances on these scientific topics and beyond, please join us for this series of short, interactive lectures from the Laureates and Finalists of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom. The sessions are intended for science enthusiasts of all ages — from high schoolers to adults. Located at the historic RSA House in London. Not in London? Join the symposium virtually! Attendance is free and open to the public, but registration is required. […]

Trinity Chemistry Professor Wins Prestigious Research Award

Posted on February 4, 2023 (February 6, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Susan Perkin, a professor of physical chemistry and fellow of Trinity College at Oxford University, has won the 2023 Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom. The award, whose winners receive 100,000 pounds in unrestricted funds, is designed to promote the efforts of the fresh faces in academia within the “Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry.” Perkin’s research, which falls into the lattermost category, concerns the study of ionic fluids—that is electrolytes. […]

Pandemic preparedness: five minutes with . . . Katie Doores

Posted on February 3, 2023 by Christine Ongsueng

Katie Doores, winner of the 2023 UK Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists and its accompanying £100 000 in unrestricted funds, discusses her research on viruses that pass from animals to humans—and preparing for the next pandemic. “In my lab we study different emerging pathogens, particularly viruses that pass from animals to humans. Because the human population potentially is naive to these viruses, they can spread and cause pandemics. What we’re trying to understand is how the interaction between our immune system and viruses leads to production of immunity. […]

Dark energy ‘chameleon trap’ wins £100,000 prize for Nottingham scientist

Posted on January 22, 2023 (February 1, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Ingeniously simple lab experiment led by Prof Clare Burrage recognised by Blavatnik awards. Dark energy is the enigma at the heart of modern physics: the universe is supposed to be awash with the stuff, but it has never been seen and its nature is unknown. When faced with a mystery of such epic proportions, simply eliminating certain options is considered a success. This week such an advance, using an ingeniously simple desktop experiment, was recognised by the prestigious Blavatnik award for young scientists. Prof Clare Burrage, of the University of Nottingham and recipient of the £100,000 prize, said: “We don’t know what dark energy is. It’s the name we give to something we don’t understand so we can start talking about it. And when so little is known, even ruling things out feels like big progress.” […]

Dr Katie Doores receives esteemed Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists

Posted on January 18, 2023 (January 20, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Today, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences announced the recipients of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom. Now in its sixth year, the Awards are the largest unrestricted prize available to UK scientists aged 42 or younger. As a Virologist and Immunologist, Dr Katie Doores studies how the immune system responds to infection to inform the development of vaccines against biomedically important viruses. Through this research she aims to aid our preparedness for potential future pandemics. Specialising in virology, immunology, and glycobiology (the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of carbohydrates), Katie was recognised for paradigm-shifting discoveries in the characterisation of antibody responses to viral infections, including the persistent and acute human infections HIV-1, hantaviruses, phleboviruses, and SARS-CoV-2. […]

Nottingham Professor joins all female winners of prestigious young scientist award

Posted on January 18, 2023 (January 20, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

A Nottingham Professor has been recognised for her research into dark energy in the Universe with a young scientist award from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences. Professor Clare Burrage from the University of Nottingham’s School of Physics and Astronomy has been awarded the Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering. This is the first time in the history of the Blavatnik Awards in the UK that all three Laureates are women scientists.Now in its sixth year, the Awards are the largest unrestricted prize available to UK scientists aged 42 or younger. Internationally recognised among the scientific community, the Blavatnik Awards are instrumental in expanding the engagement and recognition of young scientists, and are providing the support and encouragement needed to drive scientific innovation for the next generation. […]

Two UCL academics named Blavatnik Award finalists for emerging scientific talent

Posted on January 18, 2023 (January 20, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Dr Andrew Saxe (UCL Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit and Sainsbury Wellcome Centre at UCL) and Professor Jade Alglave (UCL Computer Science) are among nine finalists in the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK. As Blavatnik Awards UK Finalists, both Dr Saxe and Professor Alglave will be granted a £30,000 cash prize at an award ceremony next month in Whitehall, London. Dr Saxe and Professor Alglave will also give scientific talks at a free public symposium at The RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) on Wednesday 1st March 2023. The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK are supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and independently administered by the New York Academy of Sciences. […]

Susan Perkin Honoured in Annual Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

Posted on January 18, 2023 (January 20, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

Fellow and Tutor in Chemistry Susan Perkin, has been named Award Laureate in the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK. The award comes in recognition of her experimental work using a custom-built instrument – known as the Surface Force Balance – to determine the properties of fluids. Professor Perkin said: ‘I was amazed and delighted to hear the news of this wonderful award. I look forward to the opportunity it will bring to share my fascination with the microscopic interactions and processes that determine properties of materials all around us.’ The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and administered by the New York Academy of Sciences, celebrate the past accomplishments and future potential of the UK’s most innovative young scientists and engineers. The 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK received 77 nominations from 43 academic and research institutions across the UK. […]

Nine UK-based Scientists Receive the Esteemed Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK

Posted on January 18, 2023 (January 18, 2023) by Christine Ongsueng

18 January 2023—London, UK: Today, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences have announced the recipients of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom. Now in its sixth year, the Awards are the largest unrestricted prize available to UK scientists aged 42 or younger. Internationally recognised among the scientific community, the Blavatnik Awards are instrumental in expanding the engagement and recognition of young scientists, and are providing the support and encouragement needed to drive scientific innovation for the next generation. This year’s Laureates, who will each receive £100,000 in unrestricted funds, are:

Susan Perkin, DPhil (Chemistry)—University of Oxford
Clare Burrage, PhD (Physical Sciences & Engineering)—University of Nottingham
Katie Doores, DPhil (Life Sciences)—King’s College London

It is the first time in the history of the Blavatnik Awards in the UK that all three Laureates are women scientists. […]