British Biophysical Society Awards

The British Biophysical Society awards 4 prizes every two years. We encourage the community to consider nominating researchers for these prestigious awards.

The BBS Kendrew Doctoral Thesis Prize was established in 2019 and will be awarded every two years for an outstanding PhD thesis in biophysics for which the principal work has been carried out in the UK or Ireland and which is awarded by an academic institution (or equivalent) in the UK or Ireland.

The BBS Young Investigator Award was introduced in 2002 to celebrate an outstanding contribution in any area of biophysics made by a young researcher in the UK and Ireland. The award is made every two years. In 2020 the award was renamed the The BBS Louise Johnson Early Career Award.

The BBS Sosei Heptares Prize for Biophysics was endowed in 2018 and will be awarded every two years for substantial contributions to Biophysics or Biophysical Methods by an individual whose principal work has been carried out in the UK or Ireland.

The BBS Elspeth Garman Prize for Public Engagement was established in 2020 and will be awarded every two years from 2022 onwards for sustained excellence in biophysics public engagement in the UK or Ireland.

2024 Kendrew Doctoral Thesis Prize

The 2024 Prize was awarded to Dr Emilie Steinmark, Kings College London (now at the Economist), for her use of novel fluorescence imaging techniques to provide a unique understanding of cellular viscosities and their relationship to biochemical reaction rates. Emilie presented a lecture on her work at the 2024 BBS Biennial Meeting.

2024 Louise Johnson Early Career Award

The 2024 BBS Louise Johnson Early Career Award was presented to Dr Davide Michieletto, University of Edinburgh for outstanding contributions in the fields of soft matter and biophysics. Davide presented a lecture on his work at the 2024 BBS Biennial Meeting.

2024 Elspeth Garman Prize for Public Engagement

The 2024 BBS Elspeth Garman Prize for Public Engagement was awarded to Professor Rivka Isaacson, Kings College London, for her sustained excellence in biophysics public engagement over the past 25 years in the UK and far beyond. Rivka will present a public lecture on her work at the BBS Meeting in 2026.

2024 Sosei Heptares Prize for Biophysics

The 2024 BBS Sosei Heptares Prize for Biophysics was presented to Professor Sergi Garcia-Manyes, Kings College London, in recognition of his work to understand the conformational dynamics of proteins under force, and their role in regulating cellular mechanosensing and mechanotransduction. Sergi presented a lecture on his work at the 2024 BBS Biennial Meeting.