Dr Hansong Ma of the Wellcome Trust/ Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute has received a £100,000 Philip Leverhulme Prize from the Leverhulme Trust.
The Philip Leverhulme Prize is awarded by the Leverhulme Trust to recognise "the achievement of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition and whose future career is exceptionally promising".
Dr Hansong Ma (at far right in photo), one of five winners in the Biological Sciences category, said: "I feel very honoured and privileged to receive the prestigious Philip Leverhulme Prize. This recognition increases the visibility of our research". Dr Ma uses fruit flies, Drosophila, to study the genetics of mitochondrial DNA in evolution and disease, which is providing insights into human longevity, fertility and disease, including mitochondrial diseases.
Philip Leverhulme Prizes have been awarded annually since 2001 in commemoration of the contribution to the work of the Trust made by Philip Leverhulme, the Third Viscount Leverhulme and grandson of William Hesketh Lever, the founder of the Trust. The prize scheme makes up to thirty awards of £100,000 each year, across a range of academic disciplines.