2024 Corday-Morgan Prize Winner

Professor Gonçalo Bernardes, University of Cambridge

Awarded for the design, development and application of targeted therapeutics including small molecule-based RNA degradation and conditional activation of chemotherapeutics.

The Bernardes group bridges the gap between organic chemistry and biology to unlock fundamental biological knowledge and pave the way for the next generation of targeted therapeutics.

In chemistry, the term chemoselectivity refers to the ability of a reagent (a substance or compound that triggers a reaction) to single out a specific chemical group, ignoring other reaction pathways. Organic chemists have exploited this property to develop new catalysts and streamline the chemical synthesis of complex synthetic targets. Chemical biology takes this a step further. The group use this background in organic chemistry to harness the inherent reactivity of functional groups within biological macromolecules like DNA, RNA, and proteins to create biological probes and novel therapeutic agents.

See full profile

 

2024 Corday-Morgan Prize Winner

Professor Matthew Gibson, The University of Manchester

Awarded for transformative contributions in polymer and biomaterials science, particularly for the development of materials to stabilise biologics.

Storing and transporting biological materials is crucial to modern life, from frozen food to the safe delivery of blood transfusions, stem cells, or even organs. Professor Gibson and his team have learned from some of nature’s toughest organisms, which can survive sub-zero temperatures, to develop new materials which can protect biopharmaceuticals against cold stress.

See full profile

 

2024 Corday-Morgan Prize Winner

Professor Marina Kuimova, Imperial College London

Awarded for the development of unique probes and methodologies in fluorescence imaging leading to an understanding of dynamic biological processes in living systems, pertinent to health and disease.

Professor Kuimova obtained her Master’s degree at Moscow State University (Russia) and a doctorate at the University of Nottingham (UK) under the supervision of Professor M W George (in 2006), investigating DNA electron transfer using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy.

See full profile

 

Year Name Institution Citation
2023 Professor Graeme Day University of Southampton  Awarded for pioneering the development of computational methods for guiding the discovery of functional molecular crystals.
2023 Professor Carmen Domene University of Bath Awarded for the use of computational techniques to enhance understanding of fundamental biological processes at the molecular level.
2023 Professor Tomislav Friščić  University of Birmingham Awarded for transformative contributions to the design, fundamental understanding and applications of solid-state materials, and of their mechanochemical and photochemical reactivity.
2023 Professor Richard Layfield University of Sussex  Awarded for pioneering work in lanthanide and uranium chemistry including single-molecule magnetism.
2022 Professor Andrew Dove FRSC University of Birmingham Awarded for seminal contributions to controlling and understanding stereochemistry and degradation in polymeric materials.
2022 Professor Rebecca Goss FRSC University of St Andrews Awarded for pioneering the use of enzymatic halogenation/cross-coupling in C‒H activation.
2021 Professor Matthew Fuchter Imperial College London Awarded for the development of chemistry-led approaches to interrogate function in chemistry, materials and medicine.
2021 Professor Junwang Tang University College London Awarded for the discovery of efficient photocatalysts for clean and renewable fuel synthesis.
2021 Professor Jan Verlet Durham University Awarded for the development and application of novel spectroscopic methods to probe the fundamental physical chemistry underpinning electron-molecule reactions.
2020 Professor Madhavi Krishnan University of Oxford Awarded for the invention of a ‘field free’ trap for confining and manipulating a single colloidal particle or molecule, enabling accurate and precise measurements of molecular charge in aqueous solution.
2020 Professor Rachel O'Reilly University of Birmingham Awarded for creative and comprehensive syntheses of functional, self-assembling polymeric materials.
2020 Professor Edward Tate Imperial College London and the Francis Crick Institute Awarded for contributions to discovery of novel chemical probes, and their application in opening up new understanding of protein modification in living systems, leading to the validation of novel drug targets in cancer and infectious disease.
2019 Professor Roel Dullens University of Oxford Awarded for world-leading research to elucidate definitive experimental answers to fundamental problems in condensed matter science.
2019 Professor Igor Larrosa The University of Manchester Awarded for groundbreaking contributions to C-H activation and decarboxylative cross-couplings in organic chemistry.
2019 Professor Aron Walsh Imperial College London Awarded for outstanding contributions to computational chemistry, in particular, to the study of hybrid organic-inorganic solids.
2018 Professor Erwin Reisner University of Cambridge Awarded for the development of solar-driven catalysis with molecularly engineered semiconductors and semi-artificial photosynthesis.
2018 Professor Oren Scherman University of Cambridge Awarded for ground-breaking discoveries in supramolecular chemistry.
2018 Professor Magdalena Titirici Queen Mary University of London Awarded for the production of low-cost biomass derived nanostructured carbons in water and their impact in renewable energy technologies.
2017 Professor Andrew Goodwin University of Oxford Awarded for his innovative studies of correlated disorder and its role in functional materials.
2017 Professor Eva Hevia University of Strathclyde Awarded for her research on polar organometallic chemistry and in particular important contributions towards air- and moisture-tolerant synthesis.
2017 Professor Tuomas Knowles University of Cambridge Awarded for his fundamental work on the mechanism of amyloid aggregation, including the discovery of the role of secondary nucleation.
2016 Professor Ian Fairlamb University of York Awarded for his fundamental mechanistic work in transition metal catalysis, organometallic chemistry and applied chemical synthesis.
2016 Professor Angelos Michaelides University College London Awarded for the development of computational methods and applications that have significantly advanced understanding of several important chemical systems.
2016 Professor Charlotte Williams Imperial College London Awarded for her work on polymer chemistry and catalysis and in particular recognition for her contributions to the catalytic activation of renewable resources to make polymers and fuels.
2015 Professor Sharon Ashbrook University of St Andrews Awarded for her contribution to the structure of materials combining solid-state NMR spectroscopy and first-principles calculations.
2015 Professor Andrei Khlobystov University of Nottingham Awarded for his pioneering work on carbon nano-containers and nano-reactors leading to new ways of directing molecular assembly and studying chemical reactions.
2015 Professor Stephen Liddle University of Nottingham Awarded for his outstanding contributions to actinide chemistry, including significant advances in our understanding of the bonding, reactivity and magnetism in uranium and thorium compounds in particular.
2014 Professor Milo Shaffer Imperial College London Awarded for the development of transformative new nanocarbon chemistry and applications that can be applied at a practical scale.
2014 Professor David Spring University of Cambridge Awarded for his contributions to chemistry-driven drug discovery through his work in diversity-oriented synthesis and chemical biology.
2014 Professor Molly Stevens Imperial College London Awarded for her research in the field of biomedical materials, especially her development of nanoparticles and diagnostic platforms that can detect biomarkers corresponding to specific disease states such as cancer and infectious disease.
2013 Professor Matthew Gaunt University of Cambridge Awarded for his key advances in enantioselective catalysis, Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization, and pioneering research in the field of Cu catalysis with diaryliodonium salts.
2013 Dr Martin Heeney Imperial College London Awarded for his pioneering research into organic materials synthesis, achieved since moving from industry into successful independent academic career.
2013 Professor Jonathan Reid University of Bristol Awarded for outstanding achievements in the study of physical and chemical properties of aerosol particles.
2012 Professor Polly Arnold University of Edinburgh Awarded for her outstanding contributions to the application of organometallic uranium chemistry to small molecule activation.
2012 Professor Lee Cronin University of Glasgow Awarded for his outstanding work on the self-assembly of inorganic molecules and the engineering of complex systems.
2012 Professor David Smith University of York Awarded for his signigificant contributions to supramolecular and nanoscale chemistry, specifically to: (i) self-assembling gels and other nanomaterials, (ii) Bioactive multivalent dendrons with applications in nanomedicine.
2011 Michaele Hardie University of Leeds Awarded for her significant contributions to the assembly of metal complexes and their crystal engineering.
2011 Fred Manby  University of Bristol Awarded for his contributions to the development of explicitly correlated electronic structure theory, and of electronic structure methods for condensed phases.
2011 Jonathan Nitschke University of Cambridge Awarded for his innovative use of dynamic metal-ligand chemistry to create entirely new functional supramolecular systems in water.
2010 Euan Brechin University of Edinburgh Awarded for the development of new principles for the synthesis of molecular magnetic materials, for the understanding of their magnetic behaviour and for the development of their applications especially in magnetic cooling.
2010 Jason Chin MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Awarded for his pioneering work on genetically encoding the synthesis of novel polymers in cells through the development of methods to incorporate, for example, new amino acids.
2010 Jonathan Steed Durham University Awarded for his outstanding contributions in the fields of supramolecular and structural chemistry.
2009 Andrew Cooper University of Liverpool Awarded for his outstanding contributions to materials chemistry, in particular with porous organic polymers.
2009 Andrew deMello Imperial College London Awarded for his pioneering work in microfluidics, and in the field of nanobioanalytical research.
2009 Duncan Graham University of Strathclyde Awarded for his outstanding and pioneering contributions to nanometrology in support of molecular manipulation and chemical and biological detection systems.
2008 Stephen Faulkner University of Oxford

Awarded for pioneering contributions to the coordination chemistry and spectroscopy of the f-block elements, and for his application of kinetically stable metal complexes in the preparation of more complicated architectures.
2008 Adam Nelson University of Leeds Awarded for his applications of organic chemistry to novel asymmetric synthesis, and to chemical biology through the directed evolution of enzymes.
2008 David Tozer Durham University

Awarded for his outstanding contributions to the development and application of density functional theory.
2007 This Award was not awarded for 2007  

 
2007 This Award was not awarded for 2007  

 
2007 This Award was not awarded for 2007  

 
2006 Professor Neil R Champness University of Nottingham

Distinguished for his work on the control of nanostructures of molecular species on surfaces and his contribution to the topology of network solids.
2006 Professor Timothy J Donohoe University of Oxford

Distinguished for his many exciting contributions to synthetic organic chemistry, including asymmetric hydroxylations, oxidative cyclisation, reduction of aromatic heterocycles and applications to total synthesis.
2006 Dr Jeremy N Harvey University of Bristol

Distinguished for his outstanding computational investigations of spin-forbidden reactions.
2005 Dr Ben G Davis University of Oxford

Distinguished for his contributions to the synthetic chemistry of carbohydrates and to glycobiology.
2005 Professor Helen H Fielding University College London

Distinguished for her innovative and creative use of both experiment and theory to understand and control the dynamics of Rydberg and vibrational wavepackets.
2005 Professor Philip A Gale University of Southampton

Distinguished for his contributions to coordination and supramolecular chemistry, in particular selective anion recognition and sensing.
2004 Dr Stuart C Althorpe University of Nottingham

Distinguished for his original work in the development of new quantum mechanical methods for the study of chemical reaction dynamics.
2004 Professor David W C MacMillan California Institute of Technology

Distinguished for his seminal contributions to asymmetric organocatalysis of carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions, including the Claisen rearrangement, Diels-Alder cycloadditions and Aldol reactions.
2004 Professor James H Naismith University of St Andrews

Distinguished for his contributions to the structures of a number of key enzymes, and to the understanding of their chemistry and biology.
2003 Professor Jonathan P Clayden University of Manchester

Distinguished for his seminal contributions to the synthesis of materials and in particular, for his work on solid state metathesis and atmospheric pressuree chemical vapour deposition.
2003 Professor Mike W George University of Nottingham

Distinguished for his exceptional contributions to experimental studies on reaction intermediates using ultrafast time-resolved vibrational spectroscopy.
2003 Professor Guy C Lloyd-Jones University of Bristol

Distinguished for his work encompassing asymmetric synthesis and catalysis, physical organic chemistry, transition metal chemistry, spectroscopy and mechanistic studies.
2002 Dr Alan Armstrong Imperial College London

Distinguished for his work on catalytic asymmetric epoxidation and the total synthesis of (+)-zaragozic acid C.
2002 Dr Shankar Balasubramanian University of Cambridge

Distinguished for his world-class studies at the interface of chemistry and biology, including the fluorescence resonance energy transfer work on biomolecules, the synthesis and characterisation of nucleic acids including the catalytic region of human telomerase, and the invention of a photochemical linker for application in the field of combinatorial chemistry.
2002 Professor Russell E Morris University of St Andrews

Distinguished for his work on the development of methods of inorganic, organic and organometallic synthesis for the preparation of inorganic/organic hybrid materials with specific reactivity and/or predetermined architectures, especially porous solids (zeolites) and dendrimer materials, and for the development of new crystallographic methods for the determination of their structures.
2002 Professor Stephen D Price University College London

Distinguished for his innovative measurements on the fundamental dynamics of reactions involving doubly charged cations and his development of experiments designed to mimic reactions on interstellar dust grains.
2001 Dr Harry L Anderson University of Oxford

Distinguished for his original work on the design, synthesis and properties of supramolecular systems and functional materials.
2001 Professor Gideon J Davies University of York

Distinguished for his insightful work on the structural and mechanistic basis of enzyme-catalysed glycosyl transfer.
2001 Professor Steve M Howdle University of Nottingham

Distinguished for his innovative applications of supercritical fluids to synthesise polymers and biocompatible materials.
2001 Professor Patrick R Unwin University of Warwick

Distinguished for his development and application of new techniques to study physicochemical processes at liquid/solid, liquid/liquid and liquid/gas interfaces.
2000 Dr Colin D Bain University of Oxford

Distinguished for his spectroscopic studies of liquid/vapour and liquid/solid interfaces.
2000 Professor Matthew J Rosseinsky University of Liverpool

Distinguished for his work in the general area of solid state chemistry and materials, particularly fulleride salts, the synthesis of materials having colossal magnetoresistance and the construction of microporous solids from molecular precursors.
2000 Professor Jonathan M J Williams University of Bath

Distinguished for his contributions to synthetic organic methodology, particularly in the design of ligands for asymmetric catalysis.
1999 Professor Kenneth D M Harris University of Birmingham

Distinguished for his exceptionally versatile contributions to the elucidation of the structure, dynamics and reactivity of organic molecular crystals.
1999 Professor Christopher A Hunter University of Sheffield

Distinguished for his contribution to molecular recognition including quantitative studies of non-covalent molecular interactions expecially between aromatic systems, preparation of non-covalent supramolecular assemblies with novel properties, and studies into the fine structure of duplex nucleic acids.
1999 Dr Mike D Ward University of Bristol

Distinguished for his work in heterocyclic ligand-transition metal coordination chemistry, and particularly for the development of potential molecular wires, luminescent complexes and supramolecular assemblies.
1998 Varinder K Aggarwal  

 
1998 J Paul Attfield  

 
1998 Donald Craig  

 
1997 Dr Ian Manners University of Toronto

Distinguished for his seminal contributions to inorganic and organometallic polymer chemistry, including ingenious use of ring-opening reactions to generate polymers containing both transition metal and main group chain-forming elements.
1997 Dr David E Manolopoulos University of Oxford

Distinguished for his outstanding contributions to understanding the structure and stability of fullerenes, fundamental aspects of chemical dynamics, and the development of computational methods.
1997 Dr Dermot M O'Hare University of Oxford

Distinguished for his outstanding contributions to new intercalation and chalcogenide compounds as superconductors, and for the elegant use of X-ray and neutron diffrection and NMR spectroscopy for their in situ characterisation.
1996 Professor Duncan W Bruce University of Exeter

Distinguished for his innovative multi-disciplinary approach to the synthesis and characterisation of metal-containing liquid crystals with novel properties.
1996 M J Hampden-Smith  

 
1996 Dr Nicholas J Turner University of Edinburgh

Distinguished for his contributions to enzyme-catalysed organic synthesis, and studies of the biosynthesis of carbocyclic nucleoside.
1995 Andrew R Barron  

 
1995 Jeremy G Frey  

 
1995 Gerard F R Parkin  

 
1993-1994 Vernon C Gibson  

 
1993-1994 Nigel S Simpkins  

 
1993-1994 Timothy P Softley  

 
1992 Paul D Beer  

 
1992 Timothy C Gallagher  

 
1992 David E Logan University of Oxford

 
1991 David Gani  

 
1991 Jeremy M Hutson  

 
1991 Professor Stephen Mann University of Bath

 
1990 David Crich  

 
1990 Patrick W Fowler  

 
1990 Ian P Rothwell  

 
1989 Michael N R Ashfold University of Bristol

 
1989 David C Clary University of Cambridge

 
1989 Martin Schroder University of Edinburgh

 
1988 F Geoffrey N Cloke University of Sussex

 
1988 Gareth A Morris University of Manchester

 
1988 Peter J Sarre  

 
1988 Stephen G Withers  

 
1987 John M Newsam  

 
1987 A Guy Orpen  

 
1987 David Parker Durham University

 
1986 Professor Anthony G M Barrett Northwestern University

 
1986 G Christou  

 
1986 Paul R Raithby  

 
1985 William Clegg  

 
1985 Peter P Edwards  

 
1985 Christopher J Moody  

 
1984 N J Cooper  

 
1984 Stephen G Davies  

 
1984 A Harriman  

 
1983 David J Cole-Hamilton  

 
1983 W Jones  

 
1983 William B Motherwell  

 
1982 Anthony K Cheetham University of Oxford

 
1982 Robert H Crabtree Yale University

 
1982 Thomas J Simpson  

 
1981 Christopher M Dobson University of Oxford

 
1981 Brian J Howard  

 
1981 D A Jefferson  

 
1980 Gus Hancock  

 
1980 Selby A R Knox  

 
1980 Steven V Ley  

 
1979 Malcolm H Chisholm  

 
1979 Geraldine A Kenney-Wallace University of Toronto

 
1979 S M Roberts  

 
1978 Philip D Magnus  

 
1978 David M P Mingos University of Oxford

 
1978 George M Sheldrick University of Cambridge

 
1977 Laurence D Barron  

 
1977 B T Golding  

 
1977 J Steven Ogden  

 
1976 Melvyn R Churchill  

 
1976 Roger Grice  

 
1976 Kevin M Smith  

 
1975 Robert J Donovan  

 
1975 J A Osborn  

 
1975 Gerry Pattenden  

 
1974 Laurance D Hall  

 
1974 Brian F G Johnson  

 
1974 A McKillop  

 
1973 Jack E Baldwin Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 
1973 Geoffrey R Luckhurst  

 
1973 John F Nixon  

 
1972 Dr Malcolm L H Green University of Oxford

 
1972 David Husain  

 
1972 P G Sammes  

 
1971 M J Perkins  

 
1971 L F Phillips  

 
1971 P L Timms  

 
1970 Professor A David Buckingham University of Cambridge

 
1970 Donald W Cameron  

 
1970 N B H Jonathan  

 
1969 Peter Day  

 
1969 M Green  

 
1969 Gordon W Kirby  

 
1968 A Fish  

 
1968 Frank McCapra  

 
1968 D H Williams  

 
1967 Dr Alan Carrington University of Cambridge

 
1967 Professor Richard O C Norman University of York

 
1967 Dr John Meurig Thomas University of Wales, Bangor

 
1966 Richard N Dixon  

 
1966 M L E Tobe  

 
1965 Professor John I G Cadogan University of St Andrews

 
1965 R Mason  

 
1964 H M Frey  

 
1964 A Ian Scott  

 
1963 George Sim  

 
1962 Neil Bartlett University of British Columbia

 
1961 Franz Sondheimer Weizmann Institute of Science

 
1960 Dr Robert N Haszeldine University of Cambridge

 
1959 Dr Alan R Battersby University of Manchester

 
1958 Professor Charles Kemball Queen's University Belfast

 
1957 Professor George W Kenner University of Liverpool

 
1956 K W Bagnall  

 
1955 Professor George Porter University of Sheffield

 
1954 Dr Rex E Richards University of Oxford

 
1953 Dr John W Cornforth MRC National Institute for Medical Research

 
1952 Dr James Baddiley Lister Institute of Preventative Medicine

 
1951 Dr Frederick Sanger University of Cambridge

 
1950 Dr Ronald S Nyholm University College London

 
1949 Dr Derek H R Barton Imperial College London

 

 

Prizes & funding

re-thinking recognition thumbnail

Re-thinking recognition: Science prizes for the modern world

This report is the result of an independent review of our recognition programmes. Our aim in commissioning this review was to ensure that our recognition portfolio continues to deliver the maximum impact for chemical scientists, chemistry and society.

→ Find out more

Share