The Marjory Stephenson Prize is awarded by the Microbiology Society to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to the discipline of microbiology.
The 2018 Marjory Stephenson Prize of the Microbiology Society will be awarded to Professor Geoffrey L Smith FRS, who is Professor of Pathology and head of the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge. Professor Smith studies poxviruses, including the vaccinia virus. His recent research has focused on the way that the vaccinia virus interacts with human cells and modulates the immune system. These findings have been important to his work on improving vaccinia virus as a vaccine vector.
In 2003, Professor Smith was made a Fellow of the Royal Society and he is Chair of the WHO Advisory Committee for Variola Virus and a Wellcome Trust Principal Research Fellow. From 2003-2007 he was Editor-in-Chief of the Society’s Journal of General Virology.
Professor Smith said of his award: “The award of the Marjory Stephenson Prize is wonderful for all members of our research team (past and present) whose dedication, hard work and admirable achievements are the foundation for this award. So warm thanks and congratulations to you all. Warm thanks too to the Microbiology Society for the award and to the University of Oxford, Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge (twice) for hosting us for the last 32 years.”
The Prize is named after Society founding member and former President Marjory Stephenson. The Prize is awarded to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to the discipline of microbiology. The recipient is awarded £1,000.