First female scientist to win top award

Pharmaceutical Award celebrates independent research - <em>News</em>

Tuesday 1 August 2007
By Colin Smith

When Dr Molly Stevens     received congratulatory emails from the scientific community, the immense honour of winning the prestigious Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain’s 2006 Conference Science Medal really hit home.

Dr Stevens, from Imperial College’s Department of Materials, was recognised for her work in regenerative medicine, nanotechnology and tissue transplantation. It is the first time in the 40-year history of the award that a female scientist has been given the honour. A fact relayed to her, via email, by other female scientists.

“It was quite a competitive field so I am really pleased to have won the award. I think it is an important milestone for women in the field, “she said.

The Conference Science Medal is awarded annually to a scientist, in industry or academia, with a proven track record of independent research and whose published work shows outstanding promise.

Dr Stevens is developing nanomaterials for bio sensing of disease related proteins. Molly and her team of chemists, cell biologists, surgeons, engineers, materials scientists and computer modellers are devising a portable kit which, in the future, could instantly detect the early presence of cancer related enzymes or HIV.

She is also working on self assembling nanomaterials to help bones and cartilage quickly repair. The application of this technology is particularly important in areas where the body currently does not repair itself, for instance, after tumour removal.

This is not the first time that Dr Stevens has been recognised for her outstanding achievements. In the past she beat stiff competition to receive the prestigious Phillip Leverhulme Prize for Engineering. She’s also been named in the internationally acclaimed Technology Review’s TR 100 list of the world’s top young innovators.

However, Dr Stevens’ main concern is her work not the prizes it gains her.

“The multidisciplinary nature of pharmaceutical science and its focus on healthcare is an important driving force for me in my work. I look forward to highlighting some of the research I have done in regenerative medicine and on new nanomaterials for biosensing when I receive my award.”

Dr Stevens’ award will be presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference on Wednesday 12 September 2007 where she will also give lecture about her work.