Nexxus Scotland

Unsung science heroine enjoys moment in the limelight

11 March 2010

A laboratory manager who has helped to establish a centre of research excellence for research and encouraged hundreds of young scientists has received a prestigious award.

Dr Sharon Hannah, a senior laboratory manager at the University of Edinburgh, is the only person in Scotland and one of 10 people in the UK to receive the Royal Society Hauksbee Award which recognises unsung heroes in the scientific field.

The awards from the UK’s national academy of science acknowledge those in roles that support science, technology, engineering and maths.

They are named in honour of Francis Hauksbee, who was Isaac Newton’s laboratory assistant at the Royal Society and are being made as part of the Society’s 350th anniversary celebrations.

Dr Hannah, who has worked at the University of Edinburgh for more than 10 years, is the senior laboratory manager at Queen’s Medical Research Institute, where 600 researchers are based, as well as senior laboratory manager for the Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research within the Institute.

Dr Hannah played a major role in setting up the University’s Queen’s Medical Research Institute, working with designers, architects, technical teams and researchers and applying for funding to open the building within a two-year time frame.

The £50 million Institute, which opened in 2005 and is sited next to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, brings together three centres looking at cardiovascular disease, reproductive biology and inflammation, with the aim of fostering collaboration between scientists.

Dr Hannah has also been instrumental in building the careers of young scientists, providing practical advice as well as ensuring the submission of essential grants for research projects.

She has also overseen the building of a £20 million Clinical Research Imaging Centre, based at the Queen’s Medical Research Institute. The centre, to be opened later on this year, includes a full range of scanners to improve the diagnosis and understanding of disease.

Dr Hannah said: “I am delighted to receive this award, which is truly an honour. I have the privilege to work with many great people, often behind the scenes, and the award is very much a reflection of the unique team work which takes place within the University and Medical Research Council units.”
Other recipients of the Hauksbee Award include laboratory technicians, teachers and teaching assistants. The awards were given at a reception at the Royal Society in London last night (WED, 10 March), where recipients received engraved medals, scrolls and £500.

Professor Sir John Savill, head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Sharon is the quintessential ‘unsung heroine’ of a world-class clinical science operation at the University. She is incredibly supportive of young researchers, providing advice on practical problems, and has also been instrumental in creating a collaborative research environment. The Hauksbee Award seems to have been designed to provide her with an opportunity to receive the recognition she so obviously merits.”

Professor Carol Robinson, Fellow of the Royal Society, who chaired the Hauksbee Awards Committee which selected the recipients, said: “Many laboratories and science classrooms could not operate but for the dedication and skill of individuals working behind the scenes. These people are devoted to their fields and inspire all around them.”

For more information please contact Tara Womersley, University of Edinburgh Press and PR office, T: 0131 650 9836, M: 07791 355804 E: Tara.Womersley@ed.ac.uk or Nicola Kane, Royal Society Press office, T: 0207 451 2508 or E: Nicola.kane@royalsociety.org  

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