Biosciences Success at the Celebrating Excellence Awards

Cardiff University's first Celebrating Excellence Awards ceremony took place on 23 October 2012. The school of Biosciences was very well represented with three members of staff receiving awards.

The Celebrating Excellence Awards represent the University's appreciation of staff who have demonstrated an outstanding commitment and contribution, and who are recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty.  The awards were designed to be open and inclusive with 11 categories of award plus 2 trust fund prizes, facilitating the recognition of a variety of achievements by our incredibly diverse staff. Any member of staff could nominate any other member/group of staff for an award.

From the School of Biosciences, Dr Emyr Lloyd-Evans was awarded a Rising Star Award, recognising the successful acquisition of sizeable research funding and the significant growth of his research group in the short time that he has been in the School of Biosciences. As his nominator summed up, "In the space of just 20 months, Emyr has proven he is capable of obtaining funding, establishing and running his own research laboratory and projects, establishing major collaborative links and publishing in major journals as an independent scientist".

Dr Elizabeth Chadwick received an award in the Exceptional Enhancement of the Student Experience category. Dr Chadwick heads the internationally recognised Cardiff University Otter Project, a research and monitoring project run collaboratively with the Environment Agency. Core to Dr Chadwick's work is the application of research-led teaching, increasing the employability of undergraduate students and fostering the career development of young researchers. Multiple staff contributed to Dr Chadwick's nomination and they say they are "in awe of the silent dedication of Dr Chadwick.  We all benefit enormously from her work but most importantly she creates a fruitful and happy working environment for all".

Dr Karen Reed was awarded an Outstanding Contribution to Innovation and Engagement award. Dr Reed, a research associate investigating the critical molecular events that contribute to the initiation, establishment and progression of cancer, is a registered STEM ambassador and has developed an engagement project titled "Cells, Genes, Mutations and Cancer". This project allows hands-on exploration of research methods and techniques whilst developing scientific understanding surrounding cancer development.  Dr Reed's nominator explained "Karen's many contributions to public engagement often go beyond the remit of her job and are always highly effective in generating a positive image of Cardiff University".

A special mention was also given to the School of Biosciences during the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Contribution to the University. Although not the winner of the award, the School of Biosciences were mentioned for achieving the most dramatic improvement in the comparative tables with others in the same subject code, having gone up 45 places to the position of 3/63.

Commenting on these awards, the Director of the School of Biosciences Professor Ole Petersen FRS, said: "It was a great pleasure for me to attend the University's first 'Celebrating Excellence Awards', as the School featured so prominently. The very well deserved awards to Elizabeth Chadwick, Emyr Lloyd-Evans and Karen Reed highlight a wide spectrum of important achievements in the School, representative of the many activities that are necessary for the creation of a top-rated teaching and research environment. It was also pleasing to see that the School received a 'Special Mention' in the Vice-Chancellor's Awards, as one of the top 5 Schools at the University for NSS results."