Prize Lectures

Each year, the Microbiology Society awards six Prize Lectures in recognition of significant contributions to microbiology. All members are invited to nominate an outstanding microbiologist for a Microbiology Society Prize.

What are the Prize Lectures?

How do I express interest?

The Microbiology Society Prize Lectures and Outreach Prize are awarded in recognition of significant contributions to microbiology and acknowledge the excellence within the microbiology community, the potential of microbiology research and champion the contributions made by microbiologists, and their work in addressing global challenges. This includes our newly launched Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Prize for which we will be seeking nominations for the first time this year.
 
Our Prize Lectures are always some of the most popular sessions at Annual Conference – we are proud that each one acknowledges something unique and showcases the rich diversity of the microbiology community.
 
We appreciate that completing the prize nomination process involves a significant commitment of time and effort and so to try and support the process better this year we are opening an expression of interest stage to enable members to highlight potential nominees before building towards a full nomination later.
 
Note that the expressions of interest stage is intended to make the early stages of the process more accessible, but is not a requirement for submitting a nomination. You may submit a full nomination directly once the forms are made available in March 2024. We are also considering other ways to make the nominations process more accessible, including allowing nominations in audio or video format. More information will follow soon, please contact [email protected] if you would like to enquire about using one of these methods.
 
If you have a colleague, peer or friend in mind who you think would be an excellent candidate for one of our Prize Lectures, please submit an expression of interest via e-mail to [email protected]. Your expression of interest should contain the information listed below including a short paragraph detailing the prospective candidate’s suitability for your chosen Prize Lecture as per that Prize’s criteria. The Prizes Office can then follow up with you to help populate a full nomination for consideration by the Prizes Panel as the formal process begins next year.
 
  • Name of nominator
  • Contact details of nominator
  • Name of candidate
  • Prize intending to nominate for
  • Summary of suitability for the prize against the criteria (approx. 200 words)
Please note: nominations that are unsuccessful may be automatically reconsidered the following year (for a maximum of three years total) unless withdrawn by the nominators or nominee. If you have previously submitted a nomination which is due to roll over, you do not need to submit an expression of interest or complete a new nomination form. If you are unsure whether your nomination has been rolled over for reconsideration in 2024, please contact the Prizes Office.
 

How do I make a nomination?

To nominate someone for a Prize Lecture, please visit the relevant Prize Lecture page to find out more about its remit, judging criteria and past winners of the Prize. You will also be able to download the nomination form on this page.

After you’ve read the form to determine what to include, you and your fellow nominator should contact the person you’d like to nominate so that you can work with them. Nominators should be members of the Society, but the candidate does not have to be one. We have provided example nomination forms to demonstrate the level of detail required for nominations. Please note that all of the example nomination forms provided belong to previously successful Prize winners.

If would like to be put in touch with a second nominator, or would like to talk through your ideas for a nomination, you can contact the Microbiology Society Prizes team for support via email at [email protected].

Marjory Stephenson Prize Lecture: example nomination

 

Peter Wildy Prize Lecture: example nomination

 

Prize Medal: example nomination

 

Translational Microbiology Prize Lecture: example nomination

 

When you, your fellow nominator and the nominee are satisfied with the completed nomination form, please submit it via email to [email protected]. Please include the name of the Prize Lecture in the subject line.

What happens to my nomination after submission?

Checks and Balances

After the deadline, we review nominations and check membership details of nominators. We also review the nominations and decide if a deadline extension is required due to a lack of diversity of nominations.

When we have received sufficient nominations, we check them for subject area (virus, prokaryote, eukaryote) and institution, and a panel is convened to have fair representation across all Society Divisions. The institution of nominees is considered to exclude institutional conflicts of interest for the panel.

Reviewing nominations

Prize award panel members review and rank nominations in isolation against the advertised guidance and Prize Lecture rules. The individual rankings are then returned to the office, collated and recirculated ahead of an in-person meeting to discuss the results.

At the start of the meeting, an unconscious bias refresher is made to remind panellists of the importance of sound decision-making.

The panel reaches a consensus and makes recommendations to Council, which are discussed and accepted at its September meeting.

Notification

Successful nominees are contacted with a letter from the Chief Executive. Successful nominators are notified when the nominee has accepted the award and the obligation to give a lecture at the relevant Annual Conference.

Unsuccessful nominators are contacted and advised that their nomination will be considered again according to the rules advertised on the relevant Prize Lecture page. They will also be advised if their nomination was received for the wrong prize and encouraged to resubmit appropriately. It is up to the nominator to notify the nominee.

The Prize Award Panel

All Prize Lecture nominations are considered by a panel of members, chaired by the Society’s General Secretary. Each year, we ask for volunteers from the membership to participate in the Prize Award Panel, to consider a shortlist for the Prize Medal and a recommendation for all other Prize winners for Council to accept when they meet in September. Members of the Prize Award Panel serve a one-year term, during which time they are not eligible to nominate or be nominated.

Prize Lecture rules

The rules for all Prize Lectures are the same and are listed below. If you have any questions regarding the Prize nominations process, please contact [email protected].

  1. Prizes are awarded on the conditions that the work comprising the subject matter of the nomination has been conducted in good faith and to the highest professional and ethical standards, and that all information and documentation in support of the same, and in support of any nomination in connection with the same, are true, factual and not misleading. The Society reserves the right to withdraw any prize awarded if the Society considers any of the aforementioned conditions not to have been satisfied or if the Society, in its absolute discretion, considers that withdrawing any prize awarded, would be in the best interests of the Society and/or the integrity of the prize in question.
  2. All Prizes are awarded annually.
  3. Nominations should be made by any two members of the Society, regardless of membership period or category. The nominee need not be a member of the Society.
  4. Nominations may require accompanying documentation; please see individual Prize pages for requirements. Nominations will only be considered if all documentation is received before the advertised deadline.
  5. Recipients of Prizes may not be nominated for the same Prize Lecture on a subsequent occasion, however unsuccessful nominees will automatically be considered for a further two 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. This does not apply to the Fleming Prize, as nominations will be reconsidered for the entire duration of the candidate’s eligibility, after this period they would be ineligible.
  6. Prize winners will be expected to present a lecture based on their work at the following Microbiology Society Annual Conference. Expenses of the Prize Lecturer will be paid by the Society. Prize winners should contact the Society at their earliest convenience should circumstances change, resulting in conference attendance no longer being possible.
  7. At the discretion of the Editors of the Society’s journals, Prize recipients may be encouraged to publish the lecture in a suitable journal.
  8. A discrete travel bursary shall be provided to successful nominators of all Prizes to enable them to attend the Prize Lecture of their successful nominee in recognition of their efforts.
  9. Unless otherwise stipulated by the criteria, there shall be no restriction by means of age, nationality, geography or gender of those eligible for Microbiology Society Prizes. As our data show that 45% of our members are women and 55% are men, we expect that where activities are drawing from our community, those involved will show fair gender representation. In order to inform you of the wider composition of the community, we have also provided data on the proportion of the membership which identifies as from a minority ethnic group, and those who disclose a known disability or impairment.
  10. The decision of the Prizes Award Panel is final.
  11. The Prizes Office will not accept incomplete nomination forms.