Oxford researchers honoured in Royal Society of Chemistry 2026 Prizes.
University of Oxford chemists have been recognised in the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)’s 2026 Prizes. These prestigious awards celebrate exceptional achievements and significant contributions across the chemical sciences.
The Royal Society of Chemistry Prizes celebrate exceptional achievements and significant contributions across the chemical sciences. Image credit: quantic69, Getty Images.
Professor Yimon Aye, from the University of Oxford’s Department of Chemistry, has been named winner of a RSC Corday-Morgan Mid-Career Prize for Chemistry. This recognises her pioneering contributions in the development of live-cell-based tools able to elucidate, reprogramme and chemically manipulate biological signalling mechanisms.
The Corday-Morgan Mid-Career Prize for Chemistry is one of the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Research & Innovation Prizes, given in celebration of exceptional people advancing the chemical sciences across industry and academia.
Professor Aye leads a major research programme on a subtle form of cellular communication and decision-making triggered by natural reactive, or electrophilic, small-molecule signals, which they term precision electrophile signalling. These innate electrophiles, when paired with their protein targets, act as sentinels that enable cells to mount rapid stress responses and survive challenging conditions.
Because these molecules are highly reactive and often modify proteins without enzyme control, it is difficult to distinguish intended signalling from off-target effects. The Aye laboratory has pioneered methods for mapping these chemical signalling events in cultured cells and whole organisms with a level of biological context and control previously out of reach. These advances have important implications for drug development and for understanding a range of stress-related diseases.
“I feel humbled to receive what is unexpected news for us, as it is also our team’s first UK-based honour; and as always I feel an enormous sense of gratitude for the dedicated efforts of numerous former/present team members that altogether make possible such wider recognitions for our laboratory.”
Dr Helen Pain, CEO of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: ‘I extend my warmest congratulations to Professor Aye. Winning an RSC Prize is a remarkable achievement. You join the ranks of a star-studded roster stretching back over 150 years, including several dozen who went on to win Nobel Prizes. Our winners are exceptional role models for our communities, and we’re so pleased to be celebrating such an extraordinary cohort this year.’
Horizon Prize awarded for advancements in organometallic chemistry
University of Oxford researchers were also recognised in the Dalton Horizon Prize, awarded for significant recent novel discoveries or advances made in the field of inorganic chemistry. This year, the prize went to Team SNOM for their development of Solid-state Molecular OrganoMetallic (SMOM) chemistry, a methodology that offers a new way for chemists to approach the synthesis, stabilisation and catalytic use of highly reactive transition metal complexes.
Traditionally, organometallic chemistry is performed in solution. However, solvents can cause problems by competing with weak ligands, such as alkanes, triggering decomposition or causing complexes to aggregate. The team has developed methods that bypass solvents entirely by using single-crystal to single-crystal solid–gas reactivity. As they put it, ‘if the problem is the solvent, the solution is to remove the solvent.’
“I am very pleased to see SMOM recognised in this way. For me, it is especially meaningful to have been part of this team during my postdoctoral time in Oxford. Looking back now, I appreciate even more that period and the collective effort behind this recognition.”
Dr Helen Pain, CEO of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said: ‘The purpose of the Horizon Prizes is to recognise those who are pioneering new techniques, technologies, innovations and discoveries. They are a reflection of the worldwide impact and importance of the chemical sciences, and the ways in which individuals across the spectrum of chemistry-related roles, professions and sectors can come together and contribute their expertise to solving global problems.’
The team comprises scientists from University of Oxford, University of York, Heriot-Watt University and University of St Andrews.
Full details about the 2026 RSC Prizes can be found on the RSC website.
For more information about this story or republishing this content, please contact [email protected]
