Max Perutz Science Writing Award 2010
10 September 2010
Nicola Harris from the Northern Institute of Cancer Research at Newcastle University has won the 2010 Max Perutz Science Writing Award for her article Wanted: Dead or Alive. In it, she gave a very personal account of her research into why people respond differently to cancer drugs, and painted a vivid picture of what it’s like to be a scientist.
As part of the first prize, Nicola’s winning article was published in the Guardian newspaper on Tuesday 7 September.
Image: 2010 Max Perutz Science Writing Award winner, Nicola Harris, with MRC chief executive Sir Leszek Borysiewicz
The 2010 Max Perutz competition received a record number of entries from some of the UK’s brightest PhD students, all eager to explain their research to a non-scientific audience. The winner, chosen from a shortlist of 12 essays, was announced at an awards ceremony in London on 25 August. During the evening, representatives from across the science community had the opportunity to meet the shortlisted entrants and congratulate them on their success in the competition.
The event was particularly poignant as it was Sir Leszek Borysiewicz’s last official engagement as MRC chief executive before leaving to take up his new position as vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge. On presenting the award, Sir Leszek said:
Nicola’s essay personalised the science, and her enthusiasm for her research really shone through. The essay was a very well structured example of lay writing which gave the reader credit for being intelligent.
A runner-up prize was awarded to James Nicholas Sleigh of the MRC Functional Genomics Unit in Oxford, and there were special commendations for articles by Sam Gibbons-Frendo from the MRC Centre for Neurodegeneration Research in London, and Neil Rajan from the Institute of Human Genetics in Newcastle.
Image: 2010 Max Perutz shortlisted entrants with Sir Leszek Borysiewicz
The distinguished judging panel of professional scientists and writers comprised Sir Leszek; the Guardian’s science and environment correspondent Alok Jha; author and broadcaster Dr Alice Roberts; head of the MRC Centre, Cambridge Dr Megan Davies; and last year’s winner Dr Jacqueline Maybin.
Now in its 13th year, the Max Perutz Award encourages MRC-funded PhD students to communicate their research to a wider audience, asking them to describe the importance and excitement of their project in only 800 words. The award is named in honour of one of the UK’s most outstanding scientists and communicators, Professor Max Perutz.
Image: Professor Robin Perutz, son of the late Max Perutz
Max, who died in 2002, was a world-renowned researcher, Nobel laureate and former head of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Max was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work using X-ray crystallography to study the structures of globular proteins. Max was also a keen and talented communicator and inspired countless students to share their research using everyday language to the people whose lives are improved by their work.
During the awards ceremony, Max’s son, Professor Robin Perutz, spoke warmly about his late father’s passion for communicating his research to the public, recalling Max’s reliance on family members to critique his writing.
Since the Max Perutz competition started in 1998, hundreds of students have submitted entries and taken their first steps in science communication.
