LMB Director Jan Löwe announced the 2025 recipients of the Perutz Student Prize, Joan A. Steitz Postdoc Prize and Eileen Southgate Staff Prize
To mark the end of the annual LMB Lab Symposium, LMB Director announced the 2025 recipients of the Perutz Student Prize, Joan A. Steitz Postdoc Prize and Eileen Southgate Staff Prize. The prizes are supported by the Max Perutz Fund, a charity established in 1980 in honour of LMB co-founder Max Perutz, which promotes education and research in molecular biology and other related biomedical sciences.
Perutz Student Prize
The Perutz Student Prize is the oldest of the three LMB prizes, having been first awarded in 1984. It is given to LMB students who have published outstanding research. The 2025 recipients are Claudia De Miguel and Luca Schwarz.
Claudia De Miguel, working in Anne Bertolotti’s group, has elucidated the mechanism by which the integrated stress response (ISR) is terminated. The ISR is a key pathway that maintains cellular homeostasis and has broad significance in health and disease. Although this pathway has been studied for five decades, Claudia’s outstanding work has only now discovered its shutdown mechanism.
Luca Schwarz, a PhD student working with Marta Shahbazi, is investigating a key question in human development, why it is that the placenta can tolerate aneuploidies – abnormal chromosome numbers – while the rest of the embryo cannot. Luca has produced exciting trophoblast organoids from human blastocysts, making 3D tissues containing cell types of the placenta. Luca’s work lays the foundations of further research in this important area.
Joan A. Steitz Postdoc Prize
The Joan A. Steitz Postdoc Prize, which receives additional support from Royalty Pharma through donation to the Max Perutz Fund, is awarded annually to outstanding postdocs who have held their positions at the LMB for fewer than six years. This year’s winners are Tom Dendooven, Sofia Lövestam, Katerina Naydenova and Tomke Stürner.
Tom Dendooven has made outstanding contributions to our understanding of how large cellular machinery controls eukaryotic cell division. In David Barford’s and Matteo Allegretti’s groups, Tom elucidated mechanisms of chromosome segregation by the inner kinetochore, microtubule nucleation by gamma-tubulin ring complexes, and more recently, the function of the head-to-tail coupling apparatus in human sperm cells—revealing long-awaited insights into male fertility. His work pushed the boundaries of what is possible with in situ cryo-electron tomography methods.
Sofia Lövestam, working with Sjors Scheres and Michel Goedert, conducted groundbreaking work using phosphomimetic mutants of tau protein. Combining twelve such mutations promoted the formation of filaments that have the fold found in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. This achievement marks a true milestone for the field and will enable much further work, including the development of better animal models of the disease.
Katerina Naydenova, working in Felix Randow’s group, revealed how cytosol-adapted bacteria evade LPS ubiquitylation. Combining elegant biochemistry with structural biology, she discovered how Shigella deploys an E3 ligase to disable RNF213, showing the importance of non-protein ubiquitylation. Katerina also worked on the antiviral enzyme ZNFX1, uncovering two non-canonical E3 ligase domains. Her bold and incisive work has opened new avenues in ubiquitin biology and innate immunity.
Tomke Stürner’s beautiful work in Greg Jefferis’ group has significantly advanced our understanding of the neurobiology of walking by an animal. She described and investigated the role of 1300 neurons that connect the brain with the nerve cord of the fruit fly. Tomke discovered how leg muscles are controlled, how their movements are coordinated and how the brain controls movements and behaviours. The work reveals many principles and exemplifies the increasing power of connectomics.
Eileen Southgate Prize
As a signatory of the Technician Commitment, the LMB has pledged to raise the visibility of support staff whose work underpins all aspects of LMB research. To this end, the Eileen Southgate Staff Prize is given to recognise people who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and made exceptional contributions to the LMB. The 2025 awardees are Ian Elbrow, Pam Gallacher, Jessica McCool and Alison Turnock.
Ian Elbrow, a member of the LMB’s Stores team, has been recognised for his engaging friendliness and the positive energy he brings to colleagues on his daily mail round or when refilling liquid nitrogen dewars. Colleagues have likened Ian to ‘walking sunshine’ and ‘Father Christmas without the sleigh’. Ian’s genuine warmth and kindness uplifts everyone’s mood. Ian makes a real difference, and he contributes to a positive and welcoming atmosphere at the LMB.
Pam Gallacher, HR Support Assistant in the Scientific Operations team, regularly goes above and beyond her job role to help colleagues across the LMB, ensuring everyone continues to receive the support they need. Pam recently supported the HR Team to review the complicated processes related to the adoption of a new integrated platform for managing key business operations. Pam also helps with the organisation of many of the LMB’s social activities. Pam’s generosity and her ‘can do’ attitude is truly appreciated.
Jessica McCool, a member of the Biological Services Group, is recognised for her strong commitment to the wellbeing of her team and colleagues, as well as the highest standards of animal welfare. Jessica is always looking for ways to make improvements to the working environment for her team and the lives of the animals she works with. Jessica is commended for her outstanding dedication to both her team and animals.
Alison Turnock is the Divisional Administrator for the Cell Biology Division, who appreciate both the professional and personal support she provides them with. Alison also provides varied support to the LMB’s other Divisions, as well as helping colleagues on a personal level through her role as a Mental Health First Aider and a trained coach. Alison embodies the definition of ‘going the extra mile’, taking on responsibilities and providing support for matters that fall outside her role.
Further references
Max Perutz Fund
Previous Perutz Student Prize Winners
Previous Postdoc Prize Winners
Previous Eileen Southgate Prize Winners