Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year Competition

The Microbiology Society awards a prize to a member presenting a poster or offered paper at the Society's Annual Conference or Irish Division meeting. The prize recognises and rewards excellence in science communication by a member who is either a postgraduate student, or a postdoctoral researcher within two years of gaining their PhD.

The Competition comprises two stages: the first stage takes place at the Annual Conference or relevant Irish Division meeting. Eligible entrant presentations are judged by members of the Society’s Divisions before two finalists from each Division are chosen. The second stage, the finals, takes place at the AGM and Society Showcase each year.

Finalists are invited to present their research, and a judging panel decides on the winner and two runners up.

How to enter

Find out about this year's Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year competition below.

 

Preparation for the finals

Finalists are notified in early summer if they have been selected and invited to give a presentation at the final at our Annual General Meeting and Society Showcase.

The presentations are judged by a panel, chaired by the Chair of the Sustainability Committee and comprising Division members. The award criteria can be found in the section below.

The winner and two runners up are chosen and the following awards are made.

1st Prize: £500

2nd Prize: £200

3rd Prize: £100

All finalists will also receive a year's free Society membership.

Award criteria

Selection stage

Ahead of the Society's Annual Conference or Irish Division meeting, the competition judges will receive a list of the eligible entrants and the times of their poster, or oral presentation. Poster entrants are also identified in the abstract book for the reference of all delegates.

During the event, competition judges will assess poster and oral presentations against the following criteria:

• Scientific content and structure of presentation
• Defence of presentation
• Delivery and visual aids (oral presentations only)
• Layout (poster presentations only)

Following the event, the competition judges will collate their entrant assessments and work together to shortlist two finalists per Division.

Finalists are notified by May if they have been selected and invited to give a presentation at the final at our Society Showcase each year.

Finals

The final will take place at the Society’s Showcase and Annual General Meeting each year, and each finalist will deliver a 10-minute oral presentation on their research and there will be an additional 5 minutes for questions.

The presentations are judged by a panel of Division members which is chaired by the Chair of the Sustainability Committee. The presentation judging criteria can be found in the document below.

Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiology of the Year Competition: Finalist judging form

Previous winners:

2022:

1st Prize: Aisling Brady, Imperial College London, UK
2nd Prize: Ailish McCafferty, University of Leeds, UK
3rd Prize: Zihan Zhu, University of Oxford, UK

2021:

1st Prize: Emma Banks, University of Nottingham, UK
2nd Prize: Danielle Nader, Royal College of Surgeons, Ireland
3rd Prize: Mary Turley, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

2020:

1st Prize: Aisling Towell, from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland 
2nd Prize: Thomas O’Brien, University of Cambridge, UK
3rd Prize: Emily Warman, University of Birmingham UK

2019

1st Prize: Davis Laundon, Marine Biological Association, University of East Anglia, UK
2nd Prize: Sarah Worsley, University of East Anglia, UK
3rd Prize: Michaela Conley, University of Glasgow, UK

2018

1st Prize: Courtney Kousser, University of Birmingham, UK
2nd Prize: Rute Maria Pinto, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK
3rd Prize: Stephen Dolan, University of Cambridge, UK

2017

1st Prize: Daniel Hurdiss, University of Leeds, UK
2nd Prize: Andrew O'Connor, University College Dublin, Ireland
3rd Prize: Rebecca Hall, University of York, UK

2016

1st Prize: Lindsay Broadbent, Queen's University Belfast, UK
2nd Prize: Mariya Goncheva, The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, UK
Joint 3rd Prize: Andrew Frey, University of Sheffield, UK; Ethan Morgan, University of Leeds, UK

2015

1st Prize: Joseph Kirk, University of Sheffield, UK
2nd Prize: Samantha Chui Sang Lee, National University Ireland, Ireland
3rd Prize: Christopher Miller, University of Kent, UK

2014

1st Prize: Ali Hussein,  University of Bath, UK
2nd Prize: Maitreyi Shivkumar, University of Cambridge, UK
3rd Prize: Lauren Ames, University of Exeter, UK

2013

1st Prize: Sophie Schumann, University of Leeds, UK
2nd Prize: Alyson Murray, University College Dublin, Ireland
3rd Prize: Aline Tabib-Salazar, University of Sussex, UK

2012

1st Prize: Lucy Thorne, Imperial College London, UK
2nd Prize: Rebecca Handley, Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK
3rd Prize: Elaine Waters, University College Dublin, Ireland