A senior leader who has worked to embed diversity and inclusion across The Pirbright Institute has been recognised with a national award.
Professor John Hammond, Director of Research, was presented with the British Society for Immunology (BSI) Diversity and Inclusion Award 2025 at a ceremony at The Royal Society in London.
The award recognises longstanding work by Professor Hammond to ensure diversity and inclusion is enshrined in the Institute’s culture and runs through the organisation from the laboratory bench to the boardroom.
“I was very surprised and honoured to receive this award from the BSI,” said Professor Hammond. “To me it represents many years of work by lots of us to promote an open culture that has allowed us to make measurable progress towards improving the working experience for everyone and allowing everyone to succeed. There will always be ways we can improve, but national recognition for Pirbright’s efforts and successes is a fantastic achievement.”
The BSI Immunology Awards celebrate exceptional individuals and teams driving progress in immunology and making a lasting impact, recognising those enabling immunology to thrive, and furthering BSI’s mission to provide sector-leading support to immunologists from all levels and sectors.
BSI Chief Executive, Dr Doug Brown, said: “This year's BSI Immunology Awards Ceremony was a celebration of extraordinary immunologists working across a variety of areas. The awardees have gone above and beyond in advancing our field, and we are proud to represent such an ambitious, talented, and vibrant community. Congratulations to the winners and thank you for being a continuous inspiration to your peers."
The BSI Diversity and Inclusion Award judges were Dr Donald Palmer, Royal Veterinary College, joint winner of the BSI Diversity and Inclusion Award in 2023; Tomi Akingbade, University of Cambridge, joint winner of the BSI Diversity and Inclusion Award in 2023, and Dr Simone Cuff, Cardiff University.
The Pirbright Institute champions equality, diversity, and inclusion, fostering a supportive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to groundbreaking scientific research. For more information, visit our EDI webpage.
