New Year Honours 2026 acknowledge RSB Fellows

Four of the Royal Society of Biology's Fellows have been recognised in the 2026 New Year Honours list for work spanning feline veterinary medicine to cancer research. The award acknowledges the achievements and service of extraordinary people across the United Kingdom.

The following RSB Fellows have been honoured in 2026:

• Professor Dame Lorna Dawson DBE FRSE FRSB FRSGS FRSA
• Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore OBE FRSB
• Professor Martin Humphries OBE FMedSci FRSB
• Professor Paul Workman OBE FRS FMedSci FRSB

Professor Dame Lorna Dawson DBE FRSE FRSB FRSGS FRSA, Head of the Centre for Forensic Soil Science, James Hutton Institute, has been made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to innovations in soil and forensic science.

Professor Dame Dawson said: "I am deeply honoured and humbled. My expertise lies at the intersection of multiple disciplines — soil science, biology, law, geology, geography, and chemistry — making it an exciting and dynamic field to work in. The transdisciplinary nature of this research, and its potential to impact the criminal justice system, is only beginning to be fully realised. From applying non-human biology to advancing single-cell discrimination and DNA sequencing, these developments are opening new frontiers.

I am deeply grateful to the many institutions and organisations, including the Royal Society of Biology, with whom I have the privilege to collaborate. Together, we strive to ensure that research outcomes are influential, impactful, and widely accessible."

Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore OBE FRSB, Feline Veterinary Surgeon at The University of Edinburgh and Member of The Feline Infectious Peritonitis Advisory Group, was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to Feline Veterinary Medicine.

Professor Gunn-Moore said: "The University of Edinburgh has been my academic home for almost 40 years. I first joined as a student in 1985, was appointed only the second Lecturer in Feline Medicine in the UK in 1998, and became Chair of Feline Medicine in 2006. There are still only three Professors of Feline Medicine worldwide – myself, Séverine Tasker, and Karen Perry, both former University of Edinburgh Hospital for Small Animals residents.

This reflects the exceptional support the University of Edinburgh has given to feline medicine, culminating in the first OBE awarded in this field. The University can be very proud of its legacy. I am personally extremely grateful to the staff and students who have supported me over so many years."

Professor Martin Humphries OBE FMedSci FRSB, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Manchester, was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to bioscience.

Professor Humphries said: "The life of an academic is a wonderful blend of ego and altruism – in my case, the ego is fed by a drive to push forward our knowledge of biology, while the altruism is fed by providing an environment within which other egos can thrive. I am indebted to the numerous talented people who have worked in my lab for their contributions to our discoveries – they have played a vital role. I also thank those who have variously helped me construct science buildings, establish leadership schemes, build research facilities and, most important of all, recruit and manage staff of the highest calibre. I am delighted to receive this honour on their behalf.”

Professor Paul Workman OBE FRS FMedSci FRSB, previously Chief Executive and President of the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), has been awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire for services to cancer research.

Professor Workman said: "I feel very proud to receive this national recognition and I would like to acknowledge the fantastic contributions of a great number of people, both in my personal and collaborative scientific teams, and in the ICR more generally. I would also like to thank my family for their unending support throughout my career.

It takes many different people and organisations – including trainees, technical staff, colleagues, academic and commercial collaborators, funders, donors, and partner institutions, as well as patients and their families – to discover and develop new cancer medicines, and I’m humbled to be honoured in this way for my contributions.”

If you, or a member you know, has been also been honoured this year, please contact the RSB at membership@rsb.org.uk