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Background
Following the passing of one of the great developmental biologists, Lewis Wolpert, the BSDB committee has launched a new annual medal in his honour. Lewis was well known for his ability to distill our subject’s most engaging and fundamental problems into concise and well-grounded core concepts of Biology. This led to vastly important contributions to research in our field, but also to the communication of its problems to a broader audience. Through teaching, popular science writing and acting as a spokesperson for Science as a whole, Lewis inspired many of us into the deeper study of Developmental Biology. Therefore, annual ‘Wolpert medal’ will be presented to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and communication of Developmental Biology.
We have been incredibly fortunate to have the Scientist and Artist, Steph Nowotarski design the Lewis medal. In designing the Wolpert medal, we wanted to include various different model organisms that Lewis worked with through his career, including Hydra, chick limbs and sea urchins. At the centre is an image of Hydra as they represent the concepts of continual regeneration and renewal, and it is our best teachers and communicators that bring about the constant regeneration and renewal of our field.
To learn more of Lewis’ life and work, please read this Obituary by Jim Smith. Read more of Lewis’ impact on the BSDB here. Please also engage in an upcoming lecture series in his memory, hosted by UCL.
Wolpert Medallist 2025: Pleasantine Mill (University of Edinburgh)
Prof. Mill has demonstrated exceptional initiative and leadership by keeping the global cilia community connected. Her efforts since the early 2020 lockdowns have kept lines of scientific communication open and fostered collaborations amongst a global community of researchers.
She has organised over 50 UK Cilia Network e-symposia which ran weekly during the peak of the pandemic lockdowns and now run quarterly. Given the importance of cilia in developmental processes, the e-symposia bring together a global and diverse network of developmental biologists and other scientists working on all aspects of cilia.
A major focus of the cilia e-symposia is to provide a platform and exposure to graduate students, ECRs and junior PIs. Her stewardship during the pandemic promoted scientific communication during challenging times for junior researchers and kept us all going.
Prof. Mill has over 20 years of experience as a Developmental Geneticist. Throughout this time, she has advocated and campaigned for more funding for the study of rare developmental ciliopathies.
She is on the Scientific Advisory Board for Ciliopathy Alliance and Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD) Research (UK Patient Charities), member of the leadership team for the UK Cilia Network and the MRCs Congenital Anomalies Cluster. Through her many leadership roles, she has directed her efforts to promote research on rare developmental diseases. Her group has also undertaken important public engagement activities including the PCD Awareness Day in 2018 and PCD Family Day 2019.
Prof. Mill’s drive in her field of modeling rare developmental disorders and her passion for equitable science has inspired a diverse generation of new cell and developmental biologists, including us. As minority scientists with fledgling independent groups, we have both especially benefited from the platforms she created for research conducted by junior PIs. We are certain, like us, she has inspired countless other emerging developmental biologists.
For these and many other reasons, we feel strongly that Prof. Mill is fully deserving of a Wolpert Medal in recognition of her heroic efforts to promote equitable and open scientific communication and for inspiring a new wave of developmental biologists.
Previous Winners:
2024: Sally Lowell (University of Edniburgh)
2023: Jonathan Slack (University of Bath)
2022: Andreas Prokop (University of Manchester)
2021: Jamie Davies (University of Edinburgh)
Who we are looking for
Through the WOLPERT medal, the BSDB aims to acknowledge individuals that stand out in enthusing the next generation of developmental biologists or that communicate to raise awareness or teach in any other way topics of our discipline in front of any audience. Nominees are usually outstanding developmental biologists who have made a significant contribution to teaching and communication of UK developmental biology.
Nominations for the Wolpert Medal
(agreed by the BSDB committee)
DEADLINE
29th of August each Year.
PROCEDURE
Formal nominations should be made to the BSDB Awards Officer (awards@bsdb.org) by the closing deadline each year but can be received at any time.
NOMINEE
Must be BSDB member.
NOMINATORS
One proposer and one seconder (both must be BSDB members).
NOMINATION DOCUMENTS
One single A4 page long statement of support in PDF format jointly signed by the proposer and seconder stating why the nominee is suitable for the medal.
VOTING
All members on the BSDB committee vote and a simple majority is sufficient to determine the winner. The Wolpert medal winner will be determined at the BSDB committee meeting in December each year.
NOMINATION ROLL-OVER
Nominations for the Wolpert medal will be considered for a total of 3 consecutive years following the date of nomination unless otherwise indicated in the nomination or if the nomination is successful. Eligibility criteria still apply when nomination is rolled over. Nominators can update the nomination if they wish to do so, but this is not a requirement.
ADDITIONAL POST-AWARD INFORMATION
The winner will receive the Wolpert Medal at the following BSDB Spring Meeting, where the medal will be presented by the Chair. The winner will be sponsored by the BSDB to perform a small series of presentations at different locations within the UK (usually 2-3 trips).
The BSDB will cover Wolpert Medal trip related expenses of up to £1000 for two individual visits to UK institutions (up to a maximum of £1500 for more than two UK visits). The BSDB is committed to sustainability and expects Wolpert medallists to travel by rail within the UK for the BSDB sponsored trips.