Leicester researcher scoops early career award
From left: Dr Michael Biddle and his team Dr Harvinder Virk, Carolyn Jones, and Barbara Ferreira
Research Associate Michael Biddle, from the University of Leicester's Department of Respiratory Sciences, has been awarded an early career award for his work.
The Dorothy Bishop Prize by the UK Reducibility Network (UKRN) celebrates the contributions of early career researchers working to promote open research and improve research culture.
Michael was one of three winners to claim the £500 prize along with a Lego minifigure of Dorothy Bishop (a Doscar).
Michael is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University and Co-Lead of the Only Good Antibodies Community (OGA) and the UK YCharOS site.
His work involves improving the reproducibility of Biomedical research by characterising antibodies and openly sharing the data in collaboration with twelve manufacturing partners.
The OGA community was established in April 2023 to address the antibody reproducibility crisis that affects scientific research and drug development.
It collaborates with researchers, industry leaders, publishers, funders, and patient advocacy groups to increase the availability of high-quality antibodies.
A delighted Michael said: “I am extremely grateful to have my work recognised by the Dorothy Bishop Prize and I would like to thank all our collaborators who have supported the improvement of reproducibility within this field. This wouldn’t be possible without support from the University of Leicester and our funders, the NC3Rs and MRC.”
Lewis Jones and Annayah Prosser also claimed top prize alongside Michael for their work on the evolutionary history of marine biodiversity hotspots and the exploration of qualitative methods missing from open data guidelines.
A spokesperson for the Network said: “Congratulations to all 19 nominees, those shortlisted and the three winners. The Dorothy Bishop Prize is a wonderful opportunity for UKRN to recognize and celebrate early career researchers working within open research and improving research culture.
Dorothy Bishop is a British psychologist specialising in developmental disorders. She is also is active in the field of open Science and research reproducibility and was the first chair of the UK Reproducibility Network.