Royal honour for laboratory’s medical work
A LABORATORY whose researchers have contributed to everything from the treatment of diabetes to greater food security has been awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize.
Over the last 40 years, the team at the University of York’s Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL) has been at the forefront of the study of protein molecules. Its pioneering work has shaped scientific thinking in a number of areas, including the use of insulin. In recognition of its efforts, representatives from the university and YSBL attended a ceremony at Buckingham Palace where they were officially presented with the highest national honour awarded in UK further and higher education.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Charlie Jeffery said: “This award is a fantastic achievement and richly deserved.
“It recognises the excellence and dedication of the YSBL team over more than 40 years.
“The laboratory’s work has had far-reaching impact: the benefits it brings to the global research community include not only its world-renowned methods and discoveries but also the outstanding scientists it has trained.
“To wider society this research contributes to the development of new medicines and also the development of new approaches in the search for novel drugs and therapies in medicine.”
The presentation ceremony was carried out by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall and the prize is unique in the honours system in that the honour is conferred on an institution rather than an individual.
Professor Tony Wilkinson, the current leader of the laboratory, said: “This prize recognises the quality of the work of the many hundreds of scientists who have passed through the laboratory over the past four decades.
“The laboratory continues to evolve and the methods developed at York are used by thousands of scientists around the world across many areas of science and industry.”