PPIE Initiatives
Awards
Our Director presents annual prizes at our Institute retreat to recognise contributions to work with public, patient and community groups. Previous winners are listed below.
| Year | Prize |
Awardees |
Director's remarks |
| 2025 |
Commitment |
Gloria Yang and Danielle Daft |
For their joint efforts setting up and running the new PPIE panel for the CRUK Haematological Malignancies programme. |
| Commitment | Sara Pensa |
For her commitment to carefully considered and meaningful involvement with her project working on pharmaceutical alternatives to preventative surgery in people with hereditary risk of breast cancer. |
|
| 2024 | Commitment | Kirsty Ferguson | For commitment to engaging people with lived experience with research, particularly with childhood cancer patients, families, charities and healthcare professionals. |
| Innovation | Niakan Group and Sinha Group | For Cambridge Reproduction and the Niakan Group’s extensive work connecting public opinion and dialogue into their project to develop guidelines for the use of stem cell-based embryo models in research; for the Sinha Group’s project working to kickstart dialogue with people with experience of heart failure and organ transplantation. | |
| 2023 | Commitment | Emily Calderbank | For exceptional participation in our public and patient engagement programme over many years. |
| Innovation | Nicola Wilson | For an innovative and inclusive approach to a seed fund project co-creating engagement activities with community groups. | |
| Partners | Bob Bragger, Naomi Clements-Brod, Deborah Katznelson, Richard Milne | For enabling valued interactions with patient and community groups. | |
| 2022 | Commitment | Roger Barker and Khalil Rawji | For their long-term commitments to public and patient engagement at all levels. Awarded jointly. |
| Innovation | Zilbauer Lab | For forging new connections with paediatric patients living with IBD and their families. | |
| 2021 | Commitment | Shaline Fazal | For outstanding contribution to work with patient and community groups, and ongoing support to create an engaged research culture at the Institute. |
| Innovation |
Mariana Quiroga Londoño |
For new and novel approaches to engagement over the past year, including launching the Code for a Change platform and participating in the Unknown Unknowns project. | |
| Partners | Anna Brownsted, David Cain, Harold Offeh, Julie Stevens | For enabling exceptional interactions with patient and community groups, as valued partners to our Institute public engagement team. | |
| 2020 | Personal |
Oluwaseun Ogundele |
For digital engagement and content creation with #BlackGirlInScience. |
| Project |
Franklin Group |
For Harold Offeh's A Pattern for Progress project | |
| 2019 | Personal |
Green Group |
For contributions to LifeLab in Peterborough. |
| Project |
Cedric Ghevaert |
For their charity concert in Newmarket. | |
| 2018 | Personal | Justyna Rak |
For contributions to almost every Institute engagement event this year, particularly with the stem cell robots and in their local area. |
| Project | Dan Bode and Tim Lohoff |
For Regenerator, our stem cell brew developed in partnership with Moonshine Brewery, now touring local venues. |
Seed funding
For almost a decade, we have been fortunate to offer public engagement seed funding to support staff and students in developing new ways of engaging the public with stem cell research. Institute members and affiliates who have received £500 to £2000 for seed fund projects include:
| Project | Year | Awardees | Group |
| Parasite Island | 2024 | Maria Duque-Correa | Duque-Correa |
| Hereditary breast cancer prevention | 2024 | Sara Pensa | Khaled |
| You, Me and Us | 2023 | Kirsty Ferguson | Philpott |
| Stem cell based embryo models | 2023 | Kathy Niakan and Christina Rozeik | Niakan* |
| Patient and student engagement | 2023 | Jaana Bagri, Rebecca McDonald and Matthew McLoughlin | Huntly, Ghevaert, Vassilliou |
| Understanding barriers to STEM careers | 2022 | Myriam Haltalli, Oluwaseun Ogundele and Nicola Wilson | Göttgens and Hendrich |
| What would you become? | 2022 | Nicola Wilson | Göttgens |
| Code for a Change | 2021 | Mariana Quiroga Londoño | Göttgens |
| Girl Guides STEM day | 2020 | June Park | Lee |
| Cord blood consultation | 2020 | Emily Calderbank | Laurenti |
| Patient-led conference | 2020 | Alan Warren | Warren* |
| #blackgirlinscience | 2019 | Oluwaseun Ogundele | Hendrich |
| 4L Rally, Morocco | 2019 | Marion Perrin and Dan Bode | Vallier and Kent |
| Stem Cell Exchanges | 2017 | Mariana Alves and Katie Tremble | Silva |
| Stem cell brew | 2017 | Dan Bode and Tim Lohoff | Wellcome PhD programme |
| Stem cell robots | 2015 | Elisa Laurenti | Laurenti |
* Affiliate lab groups.