Wellcome-Beit Prize Fellowships launched to reward outstanding early-career scientists
15 June 2009
The awards replace the Beit Memorial Fellowships for Medical Research, which were originally founded in 1909 by the philanthropist Sir Otto Beit in memory of his brother, Alfred Beit, another notable philanthropist. The assets from Sir Otto's foundation will be transferred to the Wellcome Trust in the autumn to enable the new Fellowships to be established, thus preserving the Beit name and history. The Charity Commission has given its 'in-principle' agreement for the transfer and it is expected that formal approval for this will be finalised over the next few weeks.
The new Wellcome-Beit Prize Fellowships will be awarded annually to the top-scoring early-career scientists interviewed for the Wellcome Trust's Research Career Development Fellowships and Intermediate Clinical Fellowships. The £25 000 prize will be made in addition to the salary and research expenses provided to the fellows and can be used flexibly in support of their research.
Previous recipients of the Beit Memorial Fellowships include six scientists who went on to become Nobel laureates. Among these is double Nobel laureate Sir Fred Sanger, whose work on DNA sequencing was crucial to the Human Genome Project.
"We are delighted to establish the new Wellcome-Beit Prize to continue Sir Otto Beit's illustrious legacy," says Sir Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust. "We hope that recipients of the Prize will further enrich this list of eminent awardees who have made major contributions to medical science."
"We are very grateful to the Wellcome Trust for its generosity in enabling the long-standing history and tradition of the Beit Memorial Fellowships to continue," says Sir Cyril Chantler, Chair of the Board of Trustees, Beit Memorial Fellowships for Medical Research.
The inaugural recipients of the awards will be announced in December 2009.
Images: Sir Otto Beit (left) and Alfred Beit Esq. (right).
Contact
Craig Brierley
Senior Media Officer
Wellcome Trust
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c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
Notes for editors
1. The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing.