Last evening at a celebratory event in London, Professor Dame Molly Stevens received the 2023 Novo Nordisk Prize for her pioneering work in innovative bioengineering approaches to pursue the vision of solving key problems in regenerative medicine and biosensing. The Prize is awarded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and honours active scientists who have made outstanding contributions to advance medical science to benefit people’s lives. The Prize is accompanied by DKK 5 million.
Molly Stevens commented: “Imagine a world where diseases such as cancer, malaria and heart failure could be detected as simply, quickly and cheaply as pregnancy is today. We are harnessing the power of nanomaterials to make this dream a reality. This work is inherently interdisciplinary, and I would like to thank my team and colleagues – a diverse cast of materials scientists, engineers, chemists, biologists, physicists and surgeons. Everything we have achieved is a result of this fantastic team-based effort.”
Jørgen Frøkiær, Chair of the Novo Nordisk Prize Committee, said: “Molly Stevens has made pioneering discoveries in bioengineering to develop innovative materials-based solutions across regenerative medicine, biosensing and therapeutics. She focuses on difficult problems that, if successfully addressed, will have great clinical impact. Her legacy already comprises a great number of students and researchers who have benefitted from her guidance and who have achieved independent faculty positions at highly reputed universities, been appointed by industry or become entrepreneurs by establishing spin-out companies.”