Our emeritus professor, George Salmond has been awarded the Marjory Stephenson Prize for 2025 from the Microbiology Society. Professor Salmond spent his distinguished career studying the molecular genetics of cell division, developing genetic tools to control the growth of bacteria and working on the discovery, analysis and regulation of various antibiotics.
The Prize is awarded to an individual who has made exceptional contributions to the discipline of microbiology. It is named after Marjory Stephenson, a founding member and former president of the Society. When he received the award, Professor Salmond said:
‘Marjory Stephenson had a fantastic impact in the domain of chemical microbiology. She was one of the two women first elected Fellows of the Royal Society – and of course, she had a key role in the early development of the Microbiology Society (Society of General Microbiology) conducting much of her innovative research in the Department of Biochemistry in Cambridge – where I have taught undergraduates in the Marjory Stephenson Seminar Room in the Hopkins Building on Tennis Court Road and built my research team over 26 years. So given this history, this prize is really a very special honour indeed for me.’