/ Medals and awards

Buchanan Medal

This medal is awarded for distinguished contributions to the biomedical sciences

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The award

The Buchanan Medal is awarded for distinguished contributions to the biomedical sciences. The award was created from a fund to the memory of the physician George Buchanan FRS (PDF), former Chief Medical Officer of the UK, and was first awarded in 1897. The medal is of silver gilt, is awarded annually and is accompanied by a gift of £2,000.

Eligibility

The Buchanan medal is open to UK/Commonwealth/Republic of Ireland citizens or those who have been residents for three or more years. There are no restrictions on career stage and nominations will remain valid and shall be considered by the award selection committee throughout three nomination cycles. Teams or groups may now be nominated for this award.

Nominations are closed

Nominations will reopen in November 2024.

2023 winner

  • Professor Hagan Bayley FRS

    Professor Hagan Bayley FRS

    The Buchanan Medal 2023 is awarded to Professor Hagan Bayley FRS for helping pioneer the founding Oxford Nanopore Technology, the hugely successful biotech company.

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    Past winners

    • Hagan Bayley
      Awarded in 2023

      Professor Hagan Bayley FRS

      For helping pioneer the founding Oxford Nanopore Technology, the hugely successful biotech company.
    • Richard Moxon
      Awarded in 2022

      Professor Richard Moxon FMedSci FRS

      For helping pioneer the field of molecular microbiology; discovering contingency loci in bacteria that facilitate rapid evolution under selection and making key contributions to the development of meningitis vaccines.
    • Anne Ferguson-Smith
      Awarded in 2021

      Professor Anne Ferguson-Smith FMedSci FRS

      For her pioneering work in epigenetics, her interdisciplinary work on genomic imprinting, the interplay between the genome and epigenome, and how genetic and environmental influences affect development and human diseases.
    • Doug Turnbull
      Awarded in 2020

      Sir Doug Turnbull FMedSci FRS

      For outstanding contributions to biomedicine particularly in relation to mitochondrial disease, including the development of a method to prevent their transmission.