Faculty success at 2025 University Staff Awards

The University's Staff Awards were a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the talent, dedication and creativity of our colleagues and to recognise the exceptional work and innovations taking place across our Faculty.

Faculty winners

Evans Memorial Professional Services Award 

Individual winner: Vikki Hegarty, School of Dentistry

Health, Safety and Wellbeing Award

Individual winner: Jo Middleton, ILCAMS Safety & Regulatory Compliance Coordinator

Noted for her approachability and dedication, Jo goes above and beyond to ensure safety across the William Henry Duncan Building, supporting and training staff, postgraduates and undergraduates. Jo's expertise in setting up effective processes to ensure a safe working environment has resulted in many workflows being adopted across the University.  

Innovation of the Year  

Team winner: The Dementia Inequalities Game Team, Department of Primary Care and Mental Health 

Inspirational Leader of the Year

Winner: Dr Eva Caamano Gutierrez, Liverpool Shared Research Facilities

Eva, Co-Director of the Computational Biology Facility, has demonstrated exemplary leadership, securing £519K in Medical Research Council funding to advance data science applications at the University and across the North West. She steadfastly upholds the Researcher Development Concordat, fostering staff development, fellowship and leadership training, and is deeply committed to promoting equality, diversity, and inclusion within the Facility.

Lecturer of the Year

Winner: Dr Pete Bridge, School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing 

Pete’s teaching focuses on collaboration, inclusivity, and innovation, equipping students with essential teamwork and problem-solving skills. His initiatives include transforming the Year 1 Radiation Physics module through gamification and creative group tasks like LEGO building and "Keep Talking and Write" workshops. These approaches improve student creativity, engagement, and time management - aligning with the University’s 2031 Strategy. 

Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement

Individual winner: Laura Winters, Research and Impact Directorate 

Laura leads an outstanding public engagement programme, supporting hundreds of staff and students and enabling over 50,000 people to engage with University research. She has developed flagship initiatives including Meet the Scientists and launched Liverpool’s first Pint of Science in 2017. She has also created various training activities and established the HLS Public Engagement Grants to support innovative outreach.

Team winner: Young Voices, Big Ideas (for C-GULL), Public Health, Policies and Systems

Led by Dr Emilia Trapasso and Dr Rebecca Geary from the Health Inequalities Policy Research group, the project engaged school groups across the Liverpool City Region. Young Voices, Big Ideas used arts-based methods and LEGO Serious Play to gather children's thoughts on Liverpool’s future, showcased in an exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool which reached over 70,000 visitors. The project demonstrated the effectiveness of arts and play-based methods in engaging young people, laying the groundwork for future researchers using art, culture, and heritage to reach diverse audiences.

Partnership of the Year

Winner: The MicroAge II Team, Department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science

The MicroAge II Team has built a powerful portfolio of partnerships to explore muscle loss in space and its parallels with age-related muscle loss on Earth. Initially funded by the UK Space Agency (UKSA), the team later partnered with Kayser Space Ltd to conduct experiments on the International Space Station (ISS). The team has expanded internationally, collaborating with ESA, NASA, Airbus, and the University of Michigan, securing £5M in funding and planning three launches in 2026/27.

Technicians Award for Excellence

Individual winner: Jan Brett, Technology, Infrastructure and Environment Directorate 

Jan plays a strategic role in the Faculty, leading initiatives such as the Technician Commitment, the Research Technical Professional Career Pathway, and the Technical Network. She spearheaded the University's support for T-Levels, contributing to a National Apprenticeship and Skills Award nomination. Externally, Jan serves on the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) executive board.

Volunteer of the Year

Team winner: #TeamFHLS Charity Fundraising Team 

Coordinated by Cath McNamara, #TeamFHLS set a goal to raise £10,000 for the Liverpool Women's Hospital Charity’s Bereavement Suite Appeal. Cath and the team organised and participated in 12 events throughout the year, including abseiling at Anfield, a Faculty bake off, quizzes, the Liverpool Women’s Strictly Ballroom event, the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge, and the first all-University Sports Day. Their creativity and dedication resulted in a record-breaking £12,653 being raised.

Faculty commended individuals and teams 

Apprentice of the Year

• Dr Tamzin Furtado, Department of Livestock and One Health, Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences

David Ellams Award for Outstanding Contribution Award

• Commended team: Tiye Frierson and Dr Jenna Kenyani for the HLS Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Project 

Evans Memorial Professional Services Award

• Commended individual: Victoria Harmon, Liverpool Shared Research Facilities
• Commended team: Technology, Infrastructure and Environment Directorate Team

Health, Safety and Wellbeing Award 

• Commended team: Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology health and safety team
• Commended team: Technology, Infrastructure and Environment Directorate

Innovation of the Year

• Commended team: School of Biosciences TEL and Assessment 

Inspirational Leader of the Year

• Commended individual: Cath McNamara, Postgraduate Directorate.

Lecturer of the Year

• Commended individual: Dr Maria Limniou, Department of Psychology, Institute of Population Health

Outstanding Contribution to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University

• Commended team: HLS Athena Swan teams coordinated by Laura Davies and Sally Middleton 

Outstanding Contribution to Public Engagement

• Commended individual: Morgan Brett, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
• Commended team: Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology Public Engagement Working Group led by by Dr Nordine Helassa
• Commended team: HLS Athena Swan Submission Team led by Professor Judy Coulson

Outstanding Contribution to Sustainability Award

• Commended individual: Dr Sandra Pereira Cachinho, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology
• Commended individual: Professor Paula Williamson, Department of Health Data Science Institute of Population Health
• Commended team: The HLS Ultra-Low Temperature Freezer Project, Liverpool Shared Research Facilities

Leonard Award for Outstanding Student Experience

• Commended team: LivIPL Interprofessional Learning Podcast Team (Rebecca Jopson, Daniel Blair and Dr Pete Bridge, School of Allied Health Professions and Nursing

Technicians Award for Excellence

• Commended team: Liverpool University Biobank

Unsung Hero Award

• Commended individual: Nicola Cosgrove, School of Medicine
• Commended individual: Dr Marie Phelan, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology

Volunteer of the Year

• Commended individual: Dr Euan McDonnell, Liverpool Shared Research Facilities

The full list and details of all the winners and commended colleagues have been published on the Staff Awards intranet site. Full photos from the evening are now available here (Staff log-in may be required). (Pictures by Gareth Jones).