Papin Prize results announced
The team from the ISARIC Clinical Characterisation Consortium (ISARIC4C) Outbreak Laboratories at the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow travelled to Nottingham last week to await the results of the prestigious Papin Prizes.
The team from the ISARIC Clinical Characterisation Consortium (ISARIC4C) Outbreak Laboratories at the Universities of Liverpool and Glasgow were shortlisted in a special COVID-19 Recognition category for National Impact, and the winner was announced at the Higher Education Technician Summit (HETS) 2021 on 10 November 2021 at the East Midlands Conference Centre, University of Nottingham.
The Papin Prizes celebrate the achievements of UK technicians in higher education and research. From the very start of the COVID-19 outbreak, technicians, professional staff and graduate students in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Liverpool and the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, stepped forward to support the rapid establishment of two ‘Outbreak Laboratory’ hubs for the UK arm of the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infections Consortium (ISARIC). Eve Wilcock from the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences (IVES) - and a member of the Outbreak Laboratory Team - was also shortlisted for the Newcomer Award for an individual recognition as an individual who has embarked on a technical career within the past 4 years and shown exceptional promise.
The competition was strong, with over two hundred nominations from institutions across the UK. Other shortlisted teams included Keele University, the Lighthouse Lab at the University of Glasgow, the Sanger Institute, and the University of York. The Sequencing Operations Team from the Sanger Institute were named as winners. As runners up, Eve Wilcock received a certificate of high commendation, as did Dr Jane Armstrong (IVES) on behalf of the Outbreak Laboratory Team.
ISARIC4C Chief Investigator Professor Calum Semple said: “80 technical staff, professional services and graduate students stepped up to the challenge of massively scaling up ISARIC’s capacity to receive, process and distribute material to UK investigators.
The UK’s research and development response has been exemplary. Liverpool and Glasgow’s vital role in all this is something we should be really proud of.”
Sue MacFarlane, one of the reception staff in UoL’s Ronald Ross building where much of the Liverpool team’s work took place said; “I’ve never felt so fulfilled. At the start of the lockdown, people were walking out carrying their plants. It was quite scary really. Then the samples started coming in for the Outbreak Lab and I realised how important our job was.”
Dr Jane Armstrong said: “When the first lockdown happened it was an extremely challenging time for both the IVES and GCP Technical Teams, however we immediately got organised to support the ISARIC Outbreak Laboratory in its endeavours.
The way the ISARIC team came together as a community with volunteers, admin staff, project managers, scientists, technicians and others from across the Faculty - and indeed separate Universities - makes us incredibly proud of all involved and what we achieved.”
Eve Wilcock said: "Joining the technical team in the Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology, and Immunology (CIMI) two weeks before national lockdown was like being thrown in the deep end, one blink and I was knee deep in SARS-COV-2 samples and contributing to the immense effort of the ISARIC Outbreak Laboratory.
In under two years I think I've had quite the experience at the University of Liverpool, and I'm proud to say I'm part of the team here."
It was a fantastic achievement for the team to be shortlisted in recognition of the critical role they played in the pandemic, and we would like to say a huge congratulations to each and every one of them.