The awards recognise scientific advances by UK researchers across life sciences, chemical sciences, and physical sciences and engineering.
Dr Pinilla, this year’s winner in the physical sciences and engineering category, investigates how planets form from discs of dust and gas around young stars.
Her work has uncovered “pressure bumps” that trap dust and allow planets to form. Using telescopes and computer models, she shows where planets are forming and how water and life’s building blocks reach them, revealing how planetary systems like our own begin.
Dr Pinilla said: “It is an incredible honour to be a laureate in the Blavatnik Awards. It acknowledges the collective efforts of the planet formation and exoplanet communities. It also serves as an inspiration for the next generation of women in STEM, particularly in developing countries – such as Colombia, where I am from – where women in STEM remain highly underrepresented. I am very thankful for all the opportunities and support I have received throughout my career.”
Now in its ninth year, each Blavatnik Awards laureate receives an unrestricted £100,000 (US$135,000) prize, while the remaining six finalists are awarded £30,000 (US$40,400) each.
Dr Booth is a finalist in the chemical sciences category. He is one of nine finalists selected from a pool of 91 nominees representing 46 academic and research institutions across the UK.
His research focuses on nucleic acids - molecules that carry genetic information. Dr Booth and his team engineer nucleic acids that respond to light and magnetic fields, enabling remote control of genetic activity, smart drug delivery, and biological computing. His team’s discoveries are opening new, safer approaches to developing powerful nucleic acid-based therapies.
Dr Booth said: “It is such an honour to be recognised with this Blavatnik Award for my group’s work to unlock new ways to use DNA molecules for biological and medical applications. It’s a privilege to work with the amazing scientists in my group every day.”
The Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the UK are supported by the Blavatnik Family Foundation and independently administered by The New York Academy of Sciences.
Links
- Dr Paola Pinilla’s academic profile
- Mullard Space Science Laboratory at UCL
- Dr Michael Booth’s academic profile
- UCL Chemistry
- UCL Mathematical & Physical Sciences
- UCL News story – ‘Synthetic cells could be a new way to deliver drugs in the body’
- UCL News story – ‘Lives of planet-forming discs revealed’
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- Dr Paola Pinilla and Dr Michael Booth