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.
In each of the three categories—Chemistry, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Life Sciences—a jury of leading scientists from across the UK also selected two Finalists, who will each receive £30,000. The 2023 Finalists are:
- Jesko Köhnke, PhD (Chemistry)—University of Glasgow
- Andrew L. Lawrence, DPhil (Chemistry)—The University of Edinburgh
- Jade Alglave, PhD (Physical Sciences & Engineering)—University College London (UCL) and ARM
- James A. Screen, PhD (Physical Sciences & Engineering)—University of Exeter
- Andrew Saxe, PhD (Life Sciences)—University College London (UCL)
- Pontus Skoglund, PhD (Life Sciences)—The Francis Crick Institute
The honourees are recognised for their research, which is already transforming technology and our understanding of the world.
“I am proud to recognise and support these outstanding young scientists,” said Sir Leonard Blavatnik, Founder and Chairman of Access Industries and head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation. “Their pioneering research leads the way for future discoveries that will improve the world and benefit all humankind,” Blavatnik said.
Professor Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences and Chair of the Awards’ Scientific Advisory Council noted, “From our former Academy leaders, eminent academics including Charlotte Friend and Margaret Mead, to other renowned Academy members over the years such as Marie Curie, Barbara McClintock, Rosalyn Yallow and Gertrude Elion, our Academy has always supported the representation and success of women in science. We are accordingly so very proud to see these three women scientists named as the 2023 Laureates. On behalf of the Academy, we are delighted to administer the Blavatnik Awards in the UK in its sixth year and pleased to see new UK institutions represented among this year’s honoured institutions.”
Professor Susan Perkin, a physical chemist from the University of Oxford, has been named the Chemistry Laureate for experiments performed with a custom instrument called a Surface Force Balance (SFB) that enables the study of liquid matter, soft matter, and ionic liquids and their interactions; helping chemists comprehend the mechanical, optical, electrostatic, and dynamic properties of fluids.
Professor Clare Burrage, a cosmologist at the University of Nottingham, was named Laureate in Physical Sciences & Engineering. She studies questions and phenomena around dark energy in the Universe, one of the biggest challenges in modern cosmology. Her research has allowed cosmologists to get one step closer to detecting dark energy, and to revealing its nature for the first time.
Dr Katie Doores, a virologist from King’s College London was named the Life Sciences Laureate. She 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.
The 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK received 77 nominations from 43 academic and research institutions across the UK. The Blavatnik Awards in the UK sit alongside their global counterparts, the Blavatnik National Awards and the Blavatnik Regional Awards in the United States and the Blavatnik Awards in Israel, all of which honour and support exceptional early-career scientists. By the close of 2023, the Blavatnik Awards will have awarded prizes totalling US$15.4 million. About 60 percent of all recipients are immigrants to the country in which they were recognised; honourees hail from 52 countries across six continents, reflecting the Blavatnik Family Foundation’s recognition that important science is a global enterprise.
The 2023 Blavatnik Awards in the UK Laureates and Finalists will be honoured at a black-tie gala dinner and award ceremony at Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, on 28th February 2023; Professor Irene Tracey, the incoming Vice-Chancellor at the University of Oxford, will serve as ceremony presenter. The following day, on 1st March 2023 from 11:00 to 18:00 GMT, the honourees will present their research with a series of short, interactive lectures at a free public symposium at the RSA House located at 8 John Adam St, London. To attend the symposium, click HERE to register.
About the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, established by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in the United States in 2007 and independently administered by the New York Academy of Sciences, began by identifying outstanding regional scientific talent in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The Blavatnik National Awards were first awarded in 2014, and in 2017 the Awards were expanded to honour faculty-rank scientists in the United Kingdom and in Israel. For updates about the Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, please visit www.blavatnikawards.org or follow us on Twitter and Facebook (@BlavatnikAwards).
About the Blavatnik Family Foundation
The Blavatnik Family Foundation is an active supporter of world-renowned educational, scientific, cultural, and charitable institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and throughout the world. The Foundation is headed by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, a global industrialist and philanthropist and the founder and chairman of Access Industries, a privately held industrial group based in the US with broad strategic interests. See more at www.blavatnikfoundation.org.
About the New York Academy of Sciences
The New York of Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that since 1817 has been committed to advancing science for the benefit of society. With more than 20,000 members in 100 countries, the Academy advances scientific and technical knowledge, addresses global challenges with science-based solutions, and sponsors a wide variety of educational initiatives at all levels for STEM and STEM-related fields. The Academy hosts programmes and publishes content in life and physical sciences, social sciences, nutrition, artificial intelligence, computer science, and sustainability. The Academy also provides professional and educational resources for researchers across all phases of their careers. Please visit us online at www.nyas.org.
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