19 May 2022
Oliver Pybus, vice-principal for research and innovation, has become a Royal Society fellow, while Joanne Webster, chair of parasitic diseases, has joined The Academy of Medical Sciences.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Joanne Webster and Oliver Pybus.
Two professors from the RVC are celebrating their election as fellows to prestigious organisations.
Oliver Pybus, vice-principal for research and innovation, has been elected as a fellow of The Royal Society, while Joanne Webster, chair of parasitic diseases, has become a fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences.
Prof Pybus has become a fellow of The Royal Society for his outstanding contribution to excellence in science, and is one of just a few RVC staff members to have been awarded the honour.
His work has been recognised for its development of and contributions to the field of phylodynamics, which aims to understand how evolutionary and ecological processes interact in natural populations.
Throughout his career, Prof Pybus has developed tools for inferring population dynamics from gene sequences, and showed how analysis of pathogen genomes can provide new empirical insights into virus epidemic history, transmission dynamics and molecular adaptation.
Prof Webster joins The Academy of Medical Sciences for her contributions to the advancement of biomedical and health research, which has combined research with direct disease control activities across humans and animals.
She is only the second person from the RVC to receive the honour, and was awarded for demonstrating her longstanding commitment to science and the betterment of society.
Prof Webster said: “I am truly honoured and humbled to have been elected as a fellow of The Academy of Medical Sciences – such a prestigious award for medical scientists, across both human clinical and veterinary medicine. I feel this is undoubtedly one of the proudest moments, achievements and, indeed, recognitions in my career to date – and I could not be happier.”
And Prof Pybus said: “It is a great honour to be elected a Royal Society fellow, and humbling to join scientists past and present who inspired and influenced me as a student.
“I hope to use my position to better support and mentor the researchers of the future. Modern science is a team effort, and I am deeply grateful to my collaborators and colleagues, without whom my work would not have been possible.”
