The Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science 20th Anniversary: Celebrating the outstanding mentors who are inspiring the next generation of researchers
The 2025 award recognises Professor Tracy Hussell for lifetime achievement and Professor Andy Radford for mid-career achievement.
London | New York | Berlin, 9 December 2025
The 2025 Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science has been awarded to Professor Tracy Hussell for lifetime achievement and Professor Andy Radford for mid-career achievement. The awards recognise individuals who provide exceptional guidance and support to emerging scientists, fostering a culture of collaboration and excellence. Now in its 20th year, the awards have returned back to where the programme began, with a focus on mentors in the UK, who have made a significant impact on the careers of early-stage researchers.
Lifetime Achievement prize: Professor Tracy Hussell, Director of the Lydia Becker Institute of Immunology and Inflammation, University of Manchester.
As a result of her mentorship, one of her mentees has gone on to be awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship to further develop their independent research programme.
Speaking on her mentorship, her mentees describe her as a visionary guide:
“Tracy has an excellent eye for the bigger picture. [....]. She has pushed me to be ambitious in my research and encouraged me to develop my own collaborations across faculties”
Mid-Career prize: Professor Andy Radford, Professor of Behavioural Ecology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol.
His mentees have gone on to win prestigious awards, including the ZSL Thomas Henry Huxley Award for the best postgraduate thesis in zoology in the UK.
Professor Radford's mentees said of him:
“Andy has consistently been recognised for his supervision, mentorship and investment in both his research group and the wider research community. This culminated in him receiving the Times Higher Education award for the best postgraduate supervisor in the UK, following similar awards at the school and faculty level.[...] This award embodies everything Andy strives to achieve, and I would suggest is his most proud achievement.”
Speaking on the milestone year for the awards, Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature, said:
“For two decades, the Nature Award for Mentoring in Science has shone a spotlight on one of the most vital yet often overlooked pillars of scientific progress: mentorship. Since its inception, this award has celebrated mentors all over the globe whose guidance has shaped countless careers and fostered inclusive, supportive research environments. Their commitment to nurturing talent ensures that innovation thrives and that the next generation of scientists is empowered to tackle the world’s greatest challenges. It is an honour to continue recognising these extraordinary contributions.”
Across the programme, the awards have focused on 18 locations to date, including: Brazil, India, and Singapore. Building on a suite of awards as part of the Nature Awards programme, the Mentoring in Science accolade is a key platform in which to recognise and celebrate the work done by key leaders across disciplines in supporting the next generation of researchers in surfacing and communicating their research for global impact.
More information on these, the current and past awards and winners, can be found here.
1) The award for lifetime achievement in mentoring is open to individuals who were awarded their PhD or Medical Doctorate before 2000.
2) The award for mid-career achievement - awarded jointly between two mentors - is open to individuals who were awarded their PhD or Medical Doctorate in or after 2000.
Each award comes with a cash prize of US$10,000 (which will be shared by the joint winners).
The Nature Awards for Mentoring in Science recognise exceptional mentors who guide and shape the careers of emerging researchers. Each year, the awards focus on a different country or region; in 2025, the spotlight returns to the United Kingdom to celebrate two decades of honouring mentorship in science.
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