Anne Osbourn OBE FRS has been elected as an international member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the United States’ highest honours. Her discovery that biosynthetic pathways are organised in clusters in plant genomes like ‘beads on a string’ has accelerated the ability to find new biological pathways and chemistries for potential medicine and useful compound development.

Diane Saunders OBE has been decorated for her outstanding scientific achievements and dedication to women in STEM. In 2022, Diane received the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award and Lecture in recognition of her long-term achievements in plant pathology. The following year, she was awarded the British Society for Plant Pathology (BSPP) RKS Wood Prize, and in 2024 was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours.

In recognition of his group’s innovative research, Tung Le was awarded the highly prized Lister fellowship, which will allow new lines of investigation that may benefit antibiotic discovery. His research group studies Streptomyces, soil bacteria which are the source of most clinically used antibiotics. Exploring the genomic and functional diversity of Streptomyces is crucial to fully unlocking their potential.

Professors Graham Moore, Director, and Saskia Hogenhout, group leader, have been elected as Fellows of the Royal Society. Graham has made outstanding contributions to wheat research, which have provided insight into the pairing and crossover control between related wheat chromosomes. Saskia has pioneered research on the functional characterisation of virulence factors from non-culturable bacteria and interactions of sap-feeding insect vectors with plants.

This award recognises Martin Howard’s pioneering work in applying concepts from statistical physics to molecular biology. His group has helped to unlock diverse biological questions around cell memory systems, cell size control and spatiotemporal protein patterning. He has also introduced physics-based thinking to biologists.

This prestigious award honours outstanding early-career scientists. Philippa’s celebrated research focuses on firstly, how genes are switched on and off in wheat’s complex genome, and secondly, improving the nutritional content of wheat, especially iron and zinc.

Three John Innes Centre researchers have been elected as members of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) since 2022. Professor Anne Osbourn was elected in 2022, Professor Saskia Hogenhout the following year, and in 2024 Professor Martin Howard was elected.

Additionally, Dr Susan Schlimpert was accepted into the EMBO Young Investigator Programme in 2022, which supports outstanding early career group leaders.