Marjory Stephenson Prize Lecture
Established in 1953, the award is named after Marjory Stephenson, a member of the inaugural committee of the Society for General Microbiology (now the Microbiology Society) and its second President, (1947-1948). Since the award was instituted, 20 microbiologists have been awarded the Marjory Stephenson Prize and many of them have gone on to achieve distinguished careers and honours.
The recipient of the Prize Lecture will receive £1,000 and be expected to give a lecture based on the work for which the award has been made at the Society's Annual Conference. The recipient will be strongly encouraged to publish the lecture in one of the Society’s journals, whichever is the most suitable. This decision will be at the discretion of the Editors of the journals.
Nominations for the 2026 Prize will open in early 2025. Details of the nomination process, award criteria and administration can be found below.
Marjory Stephenson Prize Lecture Nomination Form 2024.docx
Key details
Nominations for the Prize are welcome from any member of the Microbiology Society, regardless of membership period or category. Nominees do not have to be a members of the Society.
Successful nominees and awardees will be notified by the end of November. Each Prize winner is also awarded £1,000.
Details of the nomination process, award criteria and administration are available below.
Previous winners of the Marjory Stephenson Prize Lecture
Visit our YouTube channel playlist to watch previous Prize Lectures.
Nominations process
We welcome nominations of individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the discipline of microbiology.
If you require inspiration for your nomination, please see the example nomination forms, from previous successful nominations, available on the Prize Lectures page.
After nominations are received, an appointed Prize Award Panel, chaired by the General Secretary of the Society, will be responsible for presenting a shortlist for the Prize Medal and a recommendation for all other Prize winners to Council for acceptance when they meet in September. The successful recipient will be invited to accept, and the recipient will be formally announced in Autumn.
If your nomination was unsuccessful, please remember that we automatically consider all Prize nominations for two further 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. The Society office will contact you each year in order to update the nomination.
Award criteria
The Marjory Stephenson Prize recognises those who have made a sustained outstanding contribution to microbiology.
Nominations should include:
- Evidence of a sustained contribution to microbiology – i.e. over a period of years/decades.
- Evidence of significant advances in their field particularly translational or cross-disciplinary work.
- Evidence of mentoring and training others.
Additional information
All supplementary material required by the rules of the award must be provided at the point of nomination. If you foresee any problems meeting the advertised deadline, please contact [email protected].
We welcome nominations from groups of members. Please contact [email protected] if you would like to be put in touch with someone to help.
The Microbiology Society supports equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and asks that members making nominations consider the entire talent pool available. You can find out more about our policy and see our most recent data on the EDI page.
For questions about the Marjory Stephenson Prize, please contact [email protected].
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Marjory Stephenson Prize Winners
Since the award was instituted, 20 microbiologists have been awarded the Marjory Stephenson Prize. Find out more about what winning the Prize meant to them.
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Marjory Stephenson: a short history
Established in 1953, this award is named after Marjory Stephenson, Co-Founder and second President of the Microbiology Society. Learn more about her here.