ESHG Scientific Programme Committee member Dr Serena Nik-Zainal has been awarded the UK Royal Society’s Francis Crick Medal and Lecture 2022 for ‘enormous contributions to understanding the aetiology of cancers by her analyses of mutation signatures in cancer genomes, which is now being applied to cancer therapy’. The award is made annually in any field in the biological sciences. Preference is given to genetics, molecular biology and neurobiology, the general areas in which Francis Crick worked, and to fundamental theoretical work, which was the hallmark of Crick’s science.
Professor Alexandre Reymond, vice-president of ESHG and chair of the Scientific Programme Committee (SPC) said: “I would like to congratulate Serena on a fantastic achievement. The presentation of this award underlines the chance we have to have some exceptional and dedicated scientists in the SPC, which in turn translates into the excellent science presented at our annual conference.”