First female University of Nottingham scientist elected Fellow of Royal Society


April 17th, 2019

Professor Liz Sockett of the School of Life Sciences has become the first female University of Nottingham scientist to be elected a fellow of the Royal Society. 

Professor Sockett is one of 50 eminent scientists from across the world to be elected to the prestigious society this year. 

Liz has made her name in the global fight against antibiotic resistance through her work on the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. These bacteria act like living antibiotics as they naturally invade and destroy pathogenic superbugs like Klebsiella, E. coli, and Salmonella, which cause increasingly hard-to-treat infections. 

Reacting to her new fellowship, Professor Sockett said: “I’m very honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. It is recognition of what a fascinating living creature the predatory bacterium Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is, and what amazing details can be discovered by working with diverse colleagues who bring insights, dedication and kindness to work daily.” 

Professor Dame Jessica Corner, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Exchange at the University of Nottingham said: “I am absolutely delighted that Liz Sockett has been awarded this most prestigious scientific honour. It is richly deserved. Liz is one of the University of Nottingham’s leading women scientists, her work into predatory bacteria, showing their anti-pathogen activities and alliances with host’s immune system in killing bacterial infection, is amongst the most exciting in science today and has massive potential for developing new antibacterial systems for human health. It is wonderful that she has been recognised by the Royal Society for her work.” 

Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society, said: “Over the course of the Royal Society’s vast history, it is our Fellowship that has remained a constant thread and the substance from which our purpose has been realised; to use science for the benefit of humanity. This year’s newly elected Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society embody this, being drawn from diverse fields of enquiry—epidemiology, geometry, climatology—at once disparate, but also aligned in their pursuit and contributions of knowledge about the world in which we live, and it is with great honour that I welcome them as Fellows of the Royal Society.” 

Professor Sockett will be formally admitted as a Fellow to the Royal Society at the Admissions Day ceremony in July, when she will sign the Charter Book and the Obligation of the Fellows of the Royal Society.  

To find out more about Liz’s research, listen to BBC Radio 4’s The Life Scientific. 

Tags: ,

One Comment

April 20th, 2019 at 3:55 pm

jason akala

congrats to my girl

Leave a Reply

Other

New UNM Provost and CEO to join university from June 1

Professor David FitzPatrick has been appointed as Interim Provost and CEO, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus. […]

Investment on University Park campus: spring – autumn 2024

The university is making major investments to its estate and infrastructure this Spring, Summer and into […]