Dr Vilaiwan Fernandes wins 2025 Lister Prize for early years of running research group

Dr Vil Fernandes, Principal Research Fellow in the UCL Research Department of Cell & Developmental Biology, awards are aimed at younger researchers in the early years of running their own groups, to whom receipt of the prize would make a significant difference in their work

We have just heard that one of the eight 2025 Lister Prize winners is our Vilaiwan Fernandes, Principal Research Fellow. The Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine reports that it "received a large number of high quality applications this year, and as a result we have decided to award the Lister Prize to eight outstanding scientists. We are delighted to welcome these remarkable researchers to the Lister community and we look forward to supporting their work in the years to come".

The Lister Institute’s competitive research prizes give young scientists the opportunity to develop their potential through flexible funding over a five-year period. 

Our Head of Research Department, Sandip Patel, remarked: "Many congratulations to Vil Fernandes who has received a Lister Prize. This is a significant honour that recognises researchers in the early years of running their own groups. Vil adds this prize to a number of other accolades.Well done, Vil!"

Speaking to the Lister Institute, Vil said: “Winning the Lister Prize is a tremendous honour that gives me the freedom to pursue an entirely new direction in my research. It will enable my lab to apply developmental neurobiology insights to the challenge of direct neuronal reprogramming. Beyond this critical support for high-risk, high-reward science, I’m especially grateful to join a community of creative researchers tackling fundamental questions in biology.”

Congratulations indeed to Vilaiwan Fernandes!  Please see here for the full announcement and more info on Vil's work

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