Two Nigerians among 12 honored with New England Biolabs’ Passion in Science Awards

New England Biolabs has announced the winners of its fourth Passion in Science Awards, recognising scientists for their innovative work that extends beyond traditional scientific research to make a significant impact in various fields such as arts, humanitarian service, environmental stewardship, and science mentorship.

Among the 12 awardees are two Nigerians, Samuel Ogunshola and Adewunmi Akingbola.

The award ceremony is set to take place on October 9th and 10th, 2024, at NEB’s headquarters in Ipswich, MA, where recipients from around the world will receive their awards, share their personal stories of success, and engage in discussions and brainstorming sessions with the NEB community.

“Our 2024 Passion in Science Awards recipients truly embody the values which have been embraced by NEB for the past five decades – passion, humility, and being genuine,” said Salvatore Russello, Chief Executive Officer at NEB. “We’re honored to recognize the creativity and accomplishments of those who apply science to enrich and serve others beyond the traditional definition of scientific success.” says organisers.

Full List of Passion in Science Awardees:

Science Mentorship and Advocacy Award

Rogelio Hernandez Lopez (Stanford University, CA, USA): Co-founder of the Clubes de Ciencia Program, which hosts hands-on STEM workshops for high school and college students in Latin America. To date, the program has hosted 19,000 students in nine countries.

Anne Madden (The Microbe Institute, ME, USA): Founder of the Microbe Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to fostering microbial discovery for a better tomorrow through participatory art, research, and education projects.

Samuel Ogunsola (University of Manitoba, Canada): Founder of Shaping African Women in STEM (SWIS Africa), an initiative aiming to celebrate, promote, and shape women in STEM in Africa. To date, the program has organized 10 training programs with over 1,000 women participating.

Alyssa Paparella (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, MD, USA): Launched Disabled in STEM, a program that connects individuals with disabilities across STEM fields with mentors. To date, the program has connected 380 individuals.

Don Spratt (Clark University, MA, USA): Launched the ClarkU STEM Outreach Program, which provides an opportunity for underrepresented groups to be exposed to and inspired to pursue careers in STEM.

Environmental Stewardship Award

Jim Chadwick (University of Oxford, UK): Conducted a study to raise awareness among research scientists about their energy usage and its impact, tackling the issue from a grassroots level. He also established a community allotment and wildflower garden at the institute to improve the mental health of graduate students.

Martin Farley (UK Research and Innovation, UK): Founder of the LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) program, which helps laboratories conserve plastics, water, energy, and other resources. He is also a lifelong advocate of sustainability.

Humanitarian Duty Award

Adewunmi Akingbola (King’s College, Cambridge, UK): Founder of HealthDrive Nigeria, which combats viral hepatitis in Nigeria through awareness, free hepatitis B surface antigen and HCV antibody tests, and subsidized vaccinations for underserved communities. To date, the program has screened more than 15,000 and vaccinated over 10,000 individuals.

Dylan Pillai (University of Calgary, Canada): Founder of the LAMPREG project, which has screened over 2,500 women for malaria using LAMP technology to determine whether asymptomatic malaria detection improves pregnancy outcomes.

Arts and Creativity Award

Ji Hyun (Sally) Kong (Brooklyn, NY, USA): Creator of “Mitos – Handweaving My Ancestral DNA,” a data physicalization project of handwoven patterns generated from the artist’s own mitochondrial DNA sequence.

Sam Siljee (Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, New Zealand): Developed “The Sound of Science,” a new method of engaging with mass spectrometry data by converting the data into sound.

Michael Weiner (Abbratech, CT, USA): Creates DNA (and other scientific) artwork using recycled microtiter plates.

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