I am honoured that my group’s research has been recognized with this award. It is a testament to the hard work of my lab team both past and present.”
Dr Katie Doores
18 January 2023
Dr Katie Doores receives esteemed Blavatnik Award for Young Scientists
Katie is one of three Blavatnik Laureates, winning the Life Sciences category for her research which aims to improve our preparedness for future pandemics.
Today, the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences announced the recipients of the 2023 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom. Now in its sixth year, the Awards are the largest unrestricted prize available to UK scientists aged 42 or younger.
As a Virologist and Immunologist, Dr Katie Doores studies how the immune system responds to infection to inform the development of vaccines against biomedically important viruses. Through this research she aims to aid our preparedness for potential future pandemics.
Specialising in virology, immunology, and glycobiology (the study of the structure, biosynthesis, and biology of carbohydrates), Katie was recognised for paradigm-shifting discoveries in the characterisation of antibody responses to viral infections, including the persistent and acute human infections HIV-1, hantaviruses, phleboviruses, and SARS-CoV-2.
Dr Doores is one of three scientists who will each receive £100,000 in unrestricted funds. It is the first time in the history of the Blavatnik Awards in the UK that all three Laureates are women scientists.
Professor Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences and Chair of the Awards’ Scientific Advisory Council noted, "From our former Academy leaders, eminent academics including Charlotte Friend and Margaret Mead, to other renowned Academy members over the years such as Marie Curie, Barbara McClintock, Rosalyn Yallow and Gertrude Elion, our Academy has always supported the representation and success of women in science. We are accordingly so very proud to see these three women scientists named as the 2023 Laureates. On behalf of the Academy, we are delighted to administer the Blavatnik Awards in the UK in its sixth year and pleased to see new UK institutions represented among this year’s honoured institutions.”
Internationally recognised among the scientific community, the Blavatnik Awards are instrumental in expanding the engagement and recognition of young scientists and are providing the support and encouragement needed to drive scientific innovation for the next generation. Laureates and finalists were selected by a jury of leading scientists from across the UK.
I am proud to recognise and support these outstanding young scientists. Their pioneering research leads the way for future discoveries that will improve the world and benefit all humankind."
Sir Leonard Blavatnik, Founder and Chairman of Access Industries and head of the Blavatnik Family Foundation
The 2023 Blavatnik Awards in the UK Laureates and Finalists will be honoured at a black-tie gala dinner and award ceremony at Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, on 28th February 2023. The following day, on 1st March 2023 from 11:00 to 18:00 GMT, the honourees will present their research with a series of short, interactive lectures at a free public symposium at the RSA House located at 8 John Adam St, London.
Read more about Katie’s research into how long COVID-19 antibodies remain in the body after infection and her other achievements relating to this research.
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Professor of Viral Immunology