Prize Medal

Prize Medal

Awarded annually to an outstanding microbiologist who is a global leader in their field and whose work has had a far-reaching impact beyond the field of microbiology.

The recipient of the Prize Medal will receive £1,000 and be expected to give a lecture based on the work for which the award has been made to a meeting of the Society. The recipient will be encouraged to publish the lecture in one of the Society’s journals, whichever is the most suitable. This decision will be at the discretion of the Editors of the journals.

Key details

Nominations for the Prize are welcomed from any member of the Microbiology Society, regardless of membership period or category. Nominees do not have to be a member of the Society. Nominations for the 2022 Prize are now closed, and nominations for the 2023 Prize will open shortly.

Details of the nomination process, award criteria and administration are available below.

Playlist of Prize Medal videos

The following playlist includes some of the lectures from our previous Prize Medal winners.

Nominations

Nominations for the 2022 Prize are now closed, and nominations for the 2023 Prize will open shortly. Details on the nomination process can be found below.

Nominations process

We welcome nominations of individuals who are global leaders in their field and have made a far-reaching impact beyond the field of microbiology.

The deadline for 2022 nominations has now passed. If you require inspiration for your nomination, please see the example nomination forms available on the Prize Lectures page.

After nominations are received, an appointed Prize Award Panel, chaired by the General Secretary of the Society, will be responsible for presenting a shortlist for the Prize Medal and a recommendation for all other Prize winners to Council for endorsement when they meet in September. The successful recipient will be invited to accept, and the recipient will be formally announced in the Autumn: the 2022 Prize Medal winner will be announced in 2021.

If your nomination was unsuccessful, please remember that we automatically consider all Prize nominations for two further years. If the period expires and the nomination remains unsuccessful, individuals may be nominated again after a one-year period. This is in place to protect the nominee as they may wish to withdraw from the process. The Society office will contact you each year in order to update the nomination.

Award criteria

The Prize Medal recognises the highest-class researchers who had made an impact in microbiology and beyond.

Nominations should include:

  • Evidence of a significant, global impact in microbiology, with demonstrable impact beyond the field.
  • Evidence of mentoring and training others.

Additional information

All supplementary material required by the rules of the award must be provided at the point of nomination. If you foresee any problems meeting the advertised deadline, please contact [email protected].

We welcome nominations from groups of members. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to be put in touch with someone to help.

The Microbiology Society supports equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and asks that members making nominations consider the entire talent pool available. You can find out more about our policy and see our most recent data on the EDI page.

For questions about the Prize Medal, please contact [email protected].