Professor Maxie Roessler of Imperial College London’s Department of Chemistry has been named a Laureate of the 2026 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists in the United Kingdom, one of the country’s most prestigious and competitive honours for early-career researchers.
The Blavatnik Awards celebrate ground-breaking scientific advances, recognising exceptional research achievements by UK scientists across the Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Physical Sciences & Engineering.
This year’s Laureates were announced at a gala ceremony held in London, where this year’s Laureates were awarded an unrestricted £100,000 prize in recognition of research already transforming scientific understanding and enabling new technologies. The ceremony was hosted by Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, and brought together leaders from across academia and industry.
Professor Roessler’s research focuses on spectroscopy and electron transfer in complex biological systems. She is recognised this year for pioneering work that addresses one of the most fundamental challenges in chemistry and biology: how cells harness highly reactive electrons to drive essential biological processes. Energy production, photosynthesis and even cellular ageing all rely on extraordinarily rapid electron transfers that have long been difficult to observe and analyse. Professor Roessler has developed innovative techniques using advanced electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, enabling scientists to capture and study these fleeting, previously elusive states.
