05/07/2023
Key points:
Dr Rachael Walker, Head of the Institute’s Flow Cytometry facility, has received national recognition for her contribution to knowledge exchange. Rachael was announced as the recipient of the Papin Prize in the category recognising contributions to knowledge exchange at the 2023 UK Higher Education Technicians Summit, held on Tuesday 4th July at the University of Warwick.
Reflecting on the award, Rachael said: “It was such a pleasure to attend the Summit and an honour to be recognised for this award amongst so many incredible individuals. The Papin Prizes recognise individuals but I have to say that this award reflects the achievements of my whole team so I must thank them for their expert contributions, dedication and support.”
The Higher Education Technicians Summit (HETS23) is the UK’s largest conference for technicians working in higher education and research. The Papin Prizes celebrate the achievements of technicians and recognise the best technical talent across the UK. There are ten categories of award and the full list of winners can be found in the Midlands Innovation news announcement. The 62 shortlisted nominees were announced on 1st June.
Rachael joined the Institute in 2012 and under her leadership the facility has gone from strength to strength, becoming one of the foremost facilities in Europe. In addition to leading the Institute’s Flow Cytometry facility Rachael delivers training for both academic and commercial users of flow cytometry, and the whole team are active in national and international efforts to build and share flow cytometry expertise. The team organises an annual flow cytometry symposium for the UK community, Rachael sits on the Council for the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC) and was previously a co-chair of the Membership Services Committee. She is the Chair of the Cambridge Cytometry Club, co-founder and secretary of flowcytometryUK and a member of the Royal Microscopical Society Cytometry Section. Alongside Rachael, deputy facility manager Dr Christopher Hall became an ISAC SRL Emerging Leader in 2019.
Rachael is also co-founder of CytoCalx, a start-up venture aiming to develop a cost-effective and sensitive blood test to quantify vascular calcification. The venture is developing its approach as part of the Accelerate@Babraham programme this year.
Rachael’s nomination from her flow cytometry colleagues notes her passion and effort in promoting new flow cytometric technologies and techniques, her leadership in the adoption of full spectrum cytometry and her shaping of flow cytometry training to develop the skills of cytometry users.
Dr Simon Cook, Institute Director and previous Head of Knowledge Exchange, said: “I’m delighted but not surprised that Rachael’s outstanding contributions to knowledge exchange have been recognised with a Papin Prize. I don’t know how she does it but creating opportunities to collaborate comes as naturally to Rachael as breathing, which isn’t to say that she doesn’t put a huge amount of effort into her endeavours. She is an inspiration to many and we’re proud to have such an asset leading and developing our flow cytometry expertise at the Institute. Congratulations Rachael and the wider team!”.
Communications team contact: Dr Louisa Wood, Head of Communications, louisa.wood@babraham.ac.uk
Main image description Dr Rachael Walker, Head of Flow Cytometry at the Babraham Institute and 2023 Papin Prize winner for Knowledge Exchange.
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05 July 2023