Rebecca Fitzgerald elected to Royal Society

Rebecca is among 90 exceptional researchers from across the world to have been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society this year.

Recognised for their invaluable contributions to science, the elected Fellows are leaders in their fields. They include the Nobel laureate, Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier; an Emmy winner, Dr Andrew Fitzgibbons (for his contributions to the 3D camera tracker software “boujou”); and the former Chief Scientific Advisor to the US President, Professor Anthony Fauci.

Drawn from across academia, industry and wider society, the new intake spans disciplines as varied as pioneering treatments for Huntington’s Disease, developing the first algorithm for video streaming, generating new insights into memory formation, and studying the origins and evolution of our universe.

On hearing the news about her election to the Fellowship, Rebecca commented: 

“I am delighted and honoured to be elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society among such esteemed scientists.

The Society’s fundamental purpose, as it has been since its foundation in 1660, is to recognise, promote and support excellence in science and to encourage the development and use of science for the benefit of humanity, and I am thrilled to be able to play a part in this.”

Sir Adrian Smith, President of the Royal Society, said:  “I am pleased to welcome such an outstanding group into the Fellowship of the Royal Society.

“This new cohort have already made significant contributions to our understanding of the world around us and continue to push the boundaries of possibility in academic research and industry.

“From visualising the sharp rise in global temperatures since the industrial revolution to leading the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, their diverse range of expertise is furthering human understanding and helping to address some of our greatest challenges.

“It is an honour to have them join the Fellowship.”

Statistics about this year’s intake of Fellows:

• 30% of this year’s intake of Fellows, Foreign Members and Honorary Fellows are women.
• New Fellows have been elected from 23 UK institutions, including The University of Nottingham, British Antarctic Survey, University of Strathclyde and the Natural History Museum
• They have been elected from countries including Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico and Singapore

The full list of the newly elected Fellows and Foreign Members of the Royal Society is, in alphabetical order:

Professor Simon Aldridge FRS
Professor of Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, University of Oxford

Professor Sir John Aston Kt FRS
Harding Professor of Statistics in Public Life at Statistical Laboratory, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, University of Cambridge

Professor Frances Balkwill OBE FRS
Professor of Cancer Biology, Centre for Tumour Microenvironment, Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London

Dr David Bentley FMedSci FRS
Vice President and Chief Scientist, Illumina Inc

Dr David Bentley FRS
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and Co-Director, RNA Bioscience Initiative, Anschutz Medical School, University of Colorado Denver, USA

Professor Donna Blackmond FRS
John C. Martin Endowed Chair in Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Scripps Research, USA

Professor Sarah-Jayne Blakemore FBA FMedSci FRS
Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge

Professor Helen Blau FRS
Donald E and Delia B Baxter Foundation Professor and Director, Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA

Professor Martin Blunt FREng FRS
Professor of Flow in Porous Media, Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London

Professor Daniel Bradley FRS
Professor of Population Genetics, Trinity College Dublin

Professor Emmanuel Breuillard FRS
Professor of Pure Mathematics, Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford

Sir Philip Campbell FRS
Editor Emeritus, Nature

Professor Brian Cantor CBE FREng FRS
Visiting Professor, Department of Materials, University of Oxford and Professor and Senior Advisor, Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology (BCAST), Brunel University London

Professor Kenneth Carslaw FRS
Professor of Atmospheric Science, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds

Dr Andrew Carter FRS
Programme Leader, Structural Studies Division, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology

Professor Patrick Chinnery FMedSci FRS
Professor of Neurology, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge

Professor Yanick Crow FMedSci FRS
Professor and Programme Leader, MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh and Institute Imagine, Université Paris, France

Professor Barry Dickson FRS
Professorial Research Fellow, Queensland Brain Institute, Australia

Professor Joanna Dunkley OBE FRS
Professor of Physics and Astrophysical Sciences, Departments of Physics and Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, USA

Professor Aled Edwards FRS
Temerty Nexus Chair in Health Innovation and Technology, Structural Genomics Consortium, University of Toronto, Canada

Professor Paul Elliott CBE FMedSci FRS
Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health Medicine, Imperial College London

Dr Alan Evans FRS
Distinguished James McGill Professor of Neurology, Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, McGill University, Canada

Professor Rebecca Fitzgerald OBE FMedSci FRS
Professor of Cancer Prevention and Director, Early Cancer Institute, University of Cambridge

Dr Andrew Fitzgibbon FREng FRS
Engineering Fellow, Graphcore Ltd

Professor Michael Garrett FRS
Sir Bernard Lovell Chair of Astrophysics and Director of Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics (JBCA), Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester

Professor Toby Gee FRS
Professor, Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London

Professor Nigel Goldenfeld FRS
Chancellor's Distinguished Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, University of California San Diego, USA

Professor Anjali Goswami FRS
Research Leader in Evolutionary Biology, Natural History Museum, London and President of the Linnean Society of London

Professor Maria Harrison FRS
William H. Crocker Professor, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research and Adjunct Professor, Cornell University, USA

Professor Richard Hartley FRS
Emeritus Distinguished Professor, Research School of Computer Science, Australian National University, Australia

Professor Laura Herz FRS
Professor of Physics, Department of Physics, University of Oxford

Professor David Hodell FRS
Woodwardian Professor of Geology and Director, Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge and fellow of Clare College

Professor Saskia Hogenhout FRS
Group Leader, John Innes Centre

Sir Peter Horby Kt FMedSci FRS
Moh Family Foundation Professor of Emerging Infections and Global Health, Nuffield Department of Medicine and Director, Pandemic Sciences Institute, University of Oxford

Professor Richard Jardine FREng FRS
Professor of Geomechanics, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, Imperial College Proconsul and Visiting Professor, Zhejiang University, China

Professor Heidi Johansen Berg FRS
Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford

Mr Simon Knowles FRS
CTO and EVP engineering, Graphcore

Professor David Komander FRS
Head, Ubiquitin Signalling Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) and Professor, Department of Medical Biology, University of Melbourne, Australia

Professor Daniela Kühn FRS
Mason Professor of Mathematics, School of Mathematics, University of Birmingham

Professor Eric Lauga FRS
Professor of Applied Mathematics, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge

Professor Chwee Lim FRS
NUS Society Chair Professor, Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore and NUS Society Chair Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore

Professor Duncan Lorimer FRS/
Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Department of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University, USA

Professor Douglas MacFarlane FRS
Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor, School of Chemistry, Monash University, Australia

Professor Barbara Maher FRS
Professor Emerita of Environmental Magnetism, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University

Professor George Malliaras FRS
Prince Philip Professor of Technology, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge

Professor Ivan Marusic FRS
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, University of Melbourne, Australia

Professor Tamsin Mather FRS
Professor of Earth Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford

Professor Stephen McGrath FRS
Discovery Leader in Sustainable Soils and Crops, Rothamsted Research

Professor Patricia Monaghan FRS
Regius Professor of Zoology, School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow

Professor Graham Moore FRS
Director, The John Innes Centre

Professor Francis Nimmo FRS
Professor of Planetary Sciences, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California Santa Cruz, USA

Professor Sarah Otto FRS
Professor, Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Canada

Professor Adrian Owen OBE FRS
Professor in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging, University of Western Ontario, Canada

Professor Lloyd Peck FRS
Science Leader, British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge

Professor José Penadés FRS
Professor of Microbiology, Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology, Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London

Professor Andrew Pollard FMedSci FRS
Ashall Professor of Infection and Immunity, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Disease, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford

Professor Oscar Randal-Williams FRS
Sadleirian Professor of Pure Mathematics, Department of Pure Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, University of Cambridge

Professor Keith Ridgway CBE FREng FRS
Senior Executive – Manufacturing, University of Strathclyde

Professor Tom Rodden FRS
Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Interactive Computing, School of Computer Science, Nottingham University

Professor Stuart Rowan FRS
Barry L MacLean Professor of Molecular Engineering, Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Department of Chemistry, University of Chicago, USA and Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division, Argonne National Laboratory, USA

Mr Simon Segars FRS
Former CEO, Arm Holdings PLC. Board member Dolby Labs Inc, Vodafone Group PLC, Edge Impulse Inc, and Board Chair, Silicon Quantum Computing Pty

Professor Yang Shi FRS
Professor of Epigenetics and Member, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, University of Oxford

Professor Lorraine Symington FRS
Harold S Ginsberg Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University, USA

Professor Sarah Tabrizi FRS
Professor of Clinical Neurology and Neurogenetics, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London

Professor Patrick Unwin FRS
Professor of Chemistry and Head, Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick

Professor Mihaela van der Schaar FRS
John Humphrey Plummer Professor of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine, Departments of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Engineering and Medicine, University of Cambridge
 

Professor Bart Vanhaesebroeck FRS
Professor of Cell Signalling, Research Department of Oncology, Cancer Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London

Professor Glynn Winskel FRS
Professor of Computer and Information Science, University of Strathclyde

 Professor William Wisden FMedSci FRS
Chair of Molecular Neuroscience, Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London

Professor Xiaodong Zhang FRS
Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London and The Francis Crick Institute

Honorary Fellowship

Professor Kwame Anthony Appiah FRS

Silver Professor of Philosophy and Law, New York University, USA

 Lord Anthony Hughes FRS

Former Judge, UK Supreme Court

Foreign Membership

 Professor Yakir Aharonov ForMemRS

Distinguished Professor of Theoretical Physics, Institute for Quantum Studies and Faculty of Physics, Schmid College of Science, Chapman University, USA and Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Dr Adriaan Bax ForMemRS

NIH Distinguished Investigator and Chief of the Section of Biophysical NMR Spectroscopy, National Institutes of Health, USA

Professor Rene Bernards ForMemRS

Professor of Molecular Carcinogenesis, Division of Molecuar Carcinogenesis, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Netherlands

 Professor Emily A. Carter ForMemRS

Associate Laboratory Director and Gerhard R Andlinger Professor in Energy and the Environment, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Princeton University, USA

 Professor Emmanuelle Charpentier ForMemRS

Scientific and Managing Director, Max Planck Unit for the Science of Pathogens, Germany

 Professor Patrick Cramer ForMemRS

President, Max Planck Society and Director, Department of Molecular Biology, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Germany

 Professor Ingrid Daubechies ForMemRS

James B Duke Professor, Department of Mathematics and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, USA

 Professor Anthony Fauci ForMemRS

Distinguished University Professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and the McCourt School of Public Policy

 Professor Thomas Henzinger ForMemRS

Professor, Institute of Science and Technology Austria

 Professor Ruth Lehmann ForMemRS

Director and President, Whitehead Institute and Professor, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

 Dr Susana Magallón ForMemRS

Director, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico

 Professor Michael Mann ForMemRS

Presidential Distinguished Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Pennsylvania, and Director, Penn Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media (PCSSM), University of Pennsylvania, USA

 Professor Anthony Movshon ForMemRS

University Professor, and Silver Professor of Neural Science and Psychology, New York University and Professor of Ophthalmology and of Neuroscience and Physiology, and Investigator, Neuroscience Institute, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, USA

 Professor William Nix ForMemRS

Professor Emeritus, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, USA

 Professor Kyoko Nozaki ForMemRS

Professor, Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, Japan

 Professor Jian-Wei Pan ForMemRS

Professor, Department of Modern Physics and Executive Vice President, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), China

 Dr Aviv Regev ForMemRS

Executive Vice President and Global Head, Genentech Research and Early Development, Genentech/Roche, USA

 Professor Ares Rosakis ForMemRS

Theodore von Kármán Professor of Aeronautics and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, USA

 Professor Paul Schulze-Lefert ForMemRS

Director, Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Germany

 Professor Erin Schuman ForMemRS

Director, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany

 Professor Mark H. Thiemens ForMemRS

Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and John Dove Isaacs Endowed Chair in Natural Philosophy for Physical Sciences, University of California San Diego, USA

 Professor Cesar Victora ForMemRS

Emeritus Professor and Director, International Center for Equity in Healths, Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil