{"id":52185,"date":"2026-07-16T13:29:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T13:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/?p=52185"},"modified":"2026-07-20T13:54:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T13:54:58","slug":"the-john-kendrew-award-a-legacy-of-scientific-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/blog\/2026\/07\/the-john-kendrew-award-a-legacy-of-scientific-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"The John Kendrew Award: a Legacy of Scientific Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"embl-grid\"><div><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div><!--[vf\/content]-->\n<div class=\"vf-content\">\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For almost two decades, the EMBL Alumni John Kendrew Award has celebrated scientists and communicators who demonstrate that scientific excellence extends beyond discovery alone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Named after Sir John Kendrew, EMBL&#8217;s founding Director General, the award recognises former EMBL fellows who have combined outstanding research with a commitment to communication, collaboration, and engagement with society. Yet the reflections of past recipients reveal that the award represents something deeper than professional recognition.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Recognition beyond research<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Giovanni Frazzetto, joint inaugural recipient of the award alongside Antonio Giraldez in 2008, believes the honour was about far more than personal achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Among my several initial emotions was especially a sense of belonging to a family, since EMBL had been the cradle for my spirit as a scholar,&#8221; he says. &#8220;The award has served as an internal reminder of the recognition of interdisciplinarity in addressing questions that science shares with art, the social sciences, and the humanities, and it has given me confidence to believe in such an approach and carry it with me wherever I go.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same commitment to connecting science with society is reflected in the experience of Giorgia Guglielmi, who became the first recipient to be recognised specifically for science journalism. When she received the award in 2020, she was building her career as a freelance science journalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It sent a strong signal that communicating science in a rigorous and independent way really matters,&#8221; she says. &#8220;I hope the award will continue to recognize people who bring rigour, curiosity, and courage to their work.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"vf-embed vf-embed--16x9 | vf-u-margin__bottom--400\"\n>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NL0tGHcSlhk\" frameborder=\"0\" controls allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A catalyst for independent careers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For many recipients, the award arrived at a defining moment in their careers, providing recognition that helped accelerate their scientific ambitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Melina Schuh remembers being both excited and surprised when she learned she had received the award in 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;The award came at a very important moment early in my independent career. I think it gave visibility and momentum to some of the work that we were doing on mammalian oocytes and chromosome segregation, and it also strengthened my connection to the EMBL community.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, as Director at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Schuh continues to lead pioneering research aimed at improving reproductive medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For some, the impact was even more tangible. Simone Weyand, who shared the 2012 award with Gaspar J\u00e9kely, credits the recognition as a major factor in securing a prestigious Sir Henry Dale Fellowship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I was both immensely excited and honoured, particularly because the area of research I performed for my work was X-ray crystallography, and it followed in the pioneering footsteps of John Kendrew.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Carrying forward John Kendrew&#8217;s legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For structural biologists, the connection to Sir John Kendrew carries particular significance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tanmay Bharat, who received the award in 2019, is now based at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where Kendrew carried out his pioneering work on the structure of myoglobin. Receiving an award bearing Kendrew&#8217;s name therefore held special meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reflecting on EMBL, Bharat describes it as &#8220;an Eden of science where the possibilities are endless. EMBL will always have a very dear place in my heart.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>An enduring EMBL community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the strongest theme running through the recipients&#8217; reflections is the enduring sense of belonging to the EMBL community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Gaspar J\u00e9kely, now Professor of Molecular Organismal Biology at Heidelberg University and co-recipient of the 2012 award, describes his years at EMBL as a defining period in both his scientific and personal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;I have lifelong friends and I have been collaborating ever since I left EMBL. It is the best place to do research in Europe.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The award remains a powerful expression of Sir John Kendrew&#8217;s founding vision\u2014recognising those who push the boundaries of science while remaining deeply connected to the broader human context in which science takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Irma Querques, honoured in 2025, reflections compliment that vision:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It represents much more than recognition of my research. It celebrates the spirit of curiosity, collaboration, and scientific freedom that I first experienced at EMBL. If there&#8217;s one message I&#8217;d like to share, it&#8217;s this: curiosity is the beginning of every discovery. Have the courage to follow it, even when it takes you somewhere completely unexpected.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/community\/recognitions\/the-john-kendrew-award\/\">Applications for the 2027 John Kendrew Award are open now<\/a>. If you were a member of the EMBL International PhD Programme (EIPP) or a postdoctoral fellow who left EMBL between 2019-24 you can apply today.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For almost two decades, the EMBL Alumni John Kendrew Award has celebrated scientists and communicators who demonstrate that scientific excellence extends beyond discovery alone. Named after Sir John Kendrew, EMBL&#8217;s founding Director General, the award recognises former EMBL fellows who have&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":52241,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5292],"embl_taxonomy":[],"class_list":["post-52185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-alumni"],"acf":[],"embl_taxonomy_terms":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/KendrewGallery.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52185"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52331,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52185\/revisions\/52331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52185"},{"taxonomy":"embl_taxonomy","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/about\/info\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/embl_taxonomy?post=52185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}