National Postdoc Appreciation Week Awards

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National Postdoc Appreciation Week is celebrated annually to recognise the fantastic work that postdocs and researchers make towards research and academic life. It's a special time to recognise, celebrate and showcase their efforts and them for their time. So, what better way to celebrate than with awards for some of our most outstanding postdocs?

This year, the College of Medicine and Vet Medicine wanted to celebrate the achievements of some of our most dedicated postdocs. They organised the chance for each school within the college, including the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, to nominate postdocs for prizes due to their efforts in:

1. Research Student Supervision/Support - for outstanding contribution to student supervision, training, or support (e.g. teaching or mentorship activities)
2. Citizenship (contribution to the wider community, including Public Engagement) - for outstanding contribution to science communication and/or engaging the public with research OR outstanding contribution to community building and/or enhancement (e.g. committee participation)

There are so many postdocs in the IGC who deserved this recognition and many nominations were received. However, we're now pleased to announce that the award winners are:

Research Supervision and Support - Marta Canel

Marta (Edinburgh Cancer Research) was recognised for her integral role in the Serrels lab. She's provided mentorship, support and advice to all of the lab's PhD students. In addition, she's led in lab organisation, and the recent lab relocation to the IGC, all whilst overseeing orders and finances and conducting her own research.

Citizenship Award - Adelaide Young

Adelaide (MRC Human Genetics Unit) has done a fantastic job of getting the Postdoctoral Society (PODs) up and running again after a brief hiatus during the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite all her hard PODs work, she still makes time to help others! She's always available to provide her advice, support and expertise to other postdocs and to PhD students.

Public Engagement (Joint Winners) - Øyvind Almelid and Jareth Wolfe

Øyvind and Jareth (both MRC Human Genetics Unit) received this award for their public engagement in the DecodeME project. They were central to engaging and listening to the patient and public involvement group. They used the knowledge gained to develop the questionnaire portal from scratch, ensuring it was in line with feedback.

Congratulations to our institute winners on their crucial work, their awards are thoroughly deserved.