2024 Awards

Our Awards aim to recognise the essential role research staff (postdocs and fellows) have in ensuring that Imperial is a leading research and educational institution. The Awards and Celebration event, originally scheduled for Friday 21 June, has been postponed and will now take place early in the Autumn. All nominations received so far remain valid and we look forward to announcing a new date to celebrate our outstanding community shortly. 

Please make your nominations via the Nominations for the Postdoc and Fellows Development Centre Research Staff Awards form.

Aligning with the Imperial Talent aspect of the strategy around nurturing the next generation of leaders, the 2023/24 PFDC Awards are:

  • Creating a Positive Research Environment (Research Staff, individual)
  • Supporting Research Staff and Students (Research Staff, individual)
  • PFDC Reps Team Award (Reps Team)
  • Postdoc and Fellows Champion Award (Champions) – new for 2024

Awards for 2024

Research Staff - Environment

Creating a Positive Research Environment

Many research staff members at Imperial are actively involved in creating and maintaining a supportive, fair, and inclusive research environment. Examples include: organising seminar series for researchers of all levels to showcase their work; contributing to policy development aimed at improving the research environment; coordinating networking and development events; contributing to and organising activities that help to promote an environment that allows researchers to thrive in their careers.

Criteria for this award - nominees should have:

  • Carried out exceptional work within, above or beyond the examples outlined in the Reps core areas of responsibility
  • Provided support or advice to an individual which has had a significant impact

Any member of the research staff can be nominated for this category, including those in the Reps Network. Nominations can be received from anyone who works closely with the nominee, regardless of their role.

Please make your nominations via the Nominations for the ECRI Research Staff Awards form.

Research Staff - People

Supporting Research Staff and Students

Being a supportive colleague, particularly to new researchers and students, can help to retain outstanding talent within the research sector.

Research staff regularly set time aside to support other researchers and students through activities such as: formal and informal mentoring; providing wellbeing advice and support; providing guidance on navigating Higher Education to students; helping others to progress in their careers and enhance their wellbeing.

Examples of practices meriting this award:

  • Carried out exceptional work within, above or beyond the examples outlined in the Reps core areas of responsibility
  • Provided support or advice to an individual which has had a significant impact

All research staff can be nominated for this category, including members of the Reps Network. Nominations can be received from anyone who works closely with the nominee, regardless of their role. Candidates may not nominate themselves.

Please make your nominations via the Nominations for the ECRI Research Staff Awards form.

Team

Postdoc and Fellows Reps Team Award 

To qualify for the Team Award of £250 the team must normally achieve the following over the academic year:

  • Make an outstanding contribution to postdoc and fellow life as a result of team work
  • Establish an engaged community within their department as a result of team work

Teams are invited to submit self-nominations for the Team Award. In addition to addressing the criteria and including evidence of the impact of their activities, the nomination should also include a brief supporting statement from their departmental Postdoc Champion, seconded by the Head of Department. 

Please make your nominations via the Nominations for the ECRI Research Staff Awards form.

Champions

Postdoc and Fellows Champion Award

Champions play a key role in the research environment for postdocs and fellows in their department. They ensure that the Postdoc and Fellows voice is heard, work with Reps to support events, networking and other opportunities, provide advice, and engage with other Champions to share good practices. Examples of practices meriting this award:

  • Exceptional work within, above or beyond the Champions core areas of responsibility
  • Individual support or advice to a postdoc or fellow which has had a significant impact

Please note there is no monetary prize for the Champions Award.

Nominations for the Champion Award can come from Postdoc and Fellows Reps, Heads of Department individual postdocs and fellows or Reps teams. Candidates may not nominate themselves.

Please make your nominations via the Nominations for the ECRI Research Staff Awards form.


2023 Awardees

Award categories

Creating a positive research environment

The 2023 winner of the Creating a positive research environment award category was: 

  • Othman Almusaimi, Chemical Engineering

The 2023 finalists of the Creating a positive research environment award category were: 

  • Lucia Lombardi, Chemical Engineering
  • Alexis Barr, Institute of Clinical Sciences

Many research staff members at Imperial are actively involved in creating and maintaining a supportive, fair, and inclusive research environment. Examples include: 

  • organising seminar series for researchers of all levels to showcase their work; 
  • contributing to policy development aimed at improving the research environment; 
  • coordinating networking and development events; 
  • contributing to and organising activities that help to promote an environment that allows researchers to thrive in their careers. 

All research staff can be nominated for this category, including members of the Reps Network. Nominations can be received from anyone who works closely with the nominee, regardless of the role. 

Supporting research staff and students

The winners of the 2023 Supporting research staff and students award category were: 

  • Nina Moderau, Surgery & Cancer
  • Francesco Leofante, Computing

The finalist of the 2023 Supporting research staff and students award category was: 

  • Yubing Hu, Chemical Engineering

Being a supportive colleague, particularly to new researchers and students, can help to retain outstanding talent within the research sector.  

Research staff regularly set time aside to support other researchers and students through activities such as: 

  • formal and informal mentoring; 
  • providing wellbeing advice and support; 
  • providing guidance on navigating Higher Education to students; 
  • helping others to progress in their careers and enhance their wellbeing. 

All research staff can be nominated for this category, including members of the Reps Network. Nominations can be received from anyone who works closely with the nominee, regardless of the role.  

The Postdoc and Fellows Reps Team Award

The winner of the 2023 The Postdoc and Fellows Reps Team Award was:

  • The Department of Chemistry

The finalists of the 2023 The Postdoc and Fellows Reps Team Award were:

  • The Department of Chemical Engineering
  • The Imperial Academic Writing Sessions - Organising team

To qualify for the Team Award, the team must achieve the following over the academic year:

  • Make an outstanding contribution to postdoc/fellows life as a result of teamwork
  • Establish an engaged community within their department as a result of teamwork

Teams are invited to submit self-nominations for the Team Award. In addition to addressing the criteria and including evidence of the impact of their activities, the nomination should also include a brief supporting statement from their departmental Postdoc Champion, seconded by the Head of Department.

The winners of each category received a prize of £250 and a certificate. The certificates were handed out by the Provost Professor Ian Walmsley during the Awards ceremony. 

66 nominations were submitted across the two individual categories, which resulted in the following 20 individuals being put forward for an award:

  • Othman Almusaimi, Chemical Engineering
  • Daan Arroo, Materials
  • Semra Bakkaloglu, Chemical Engineering
  • Alexis Barr, Institute of Clinical Sciences
  • Victoria Burmester, Brain Sciences
  • Jeremy Cohen, Computing
  • Fabio De Sousa Ribeiro, Computing
  • Jose Antonio Duran Mota, Bioengineering
  • Clement Favier, Bioengineering
  • Sean Giblin, NHLI
  • Magdalena Gierula, Immunology and Inflammation
  • Jimmie Gmaz, Bioengenering
  • Laura Gonzalez-Macia, Bioengineering
  • Yubing Hu, Chemical Engineering
  • Heather Jackson, Infectious Disease
  • Leila Janani, School of Public Health
  • Francesco Leofante, Computing
  • Lucia Lombardi, Chemical Engineering
  • Nina Moderau, Surgery and Cancer
  • Julianna Panidi, Chemistry