Pembroke graduate Reid Alderson awarded NDM Overall graduate prize for his DPhil research

NEWS |

Congratulations to Pembroke graduate, Reid Alderson (DPhil Biomedical Sciences: NIH-OU, 2014) who was recently awarded the NDM Overall graduate prize for his DPhil research on the 12th November.

Every year, the Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM) recognizes current or recently graduated students on the basis of their research impact and output. Research in the NDM encompasses the following themes:  Cancer Biology, Genomic Medicine, Immunology & Infections Diseases, Physiology & Molecular Biology, Protein Science & Structural Biology, and Tropical Medicine & Global Health. This year, of the eligible 253 graduate students (330 total), the top prize winner was Reid Alderson, a DPhil student from Pembroke College enrolled in the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-OxCam programme. Notably, one of Reid’s DPhil supervisors is Professor Andrew Baldwin of Pembroke College.

Reid was awarded the Overall Graduate Prize for his DPhil research that led to eight published articles in the laboratories of Professor Andrew Baldwin and Professor Justin Benesch (University College) at Oxford and Dr. Ad Bax at the NIH. Reid’s research focused on two fundamental aspects in biochemistry: understanding the molecular mechanisms of protein folding and the function and dysfunction of molecular chaperones, a class of proteins that help other proteins fold into their specific three-dimensional structures. Research from Reid, Professor Baldwin, Professor Benesch, and Dr. Bax has been featured in journals such as Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of the American Chemical Society, and Nature Communications, among others, and highlighted in the magazine Chemical & Engineering News and endorsed by the website F1000 Prime.

We caught up with Reid on his recent award:

“I am honored to be recognized by the Nuffield Department of Medicine (NDM) for my graduate research. I am especially thankful to NDM, the NIH-OxCam program, and Pembroke College for their support and for creating nurturing academic environments in which young scientists can develop skills necessary for their future careers.”