Best of CASE Europe Region Award
 

Institution: University of Cambridge

Title of entry: A Cambridge researcher followed his curiosity - and rewrote science.

About this entry: In October 2024 Jacqueline published an article on the University of Cambridge website to highlight the extraordinary career of Professor Azim Surani, a world-class researcher in the University's Gurdon Laboratory.

2024 marked the 40th anniversary of Professor Surani's discovery of a scientific processes called genomic imprinting, a key step in early mammalian development. He transformed understanding of the different contributions of maternal and paternal genes to development in mammals, and how these genes are regulated. The resulting field of epigenetics has now exploded - with wide-ranging potential from treating human diseases to saving endangered species.

The purpose of this in-depth profile is to put a human face to ground-breaking science, and inspire others to follow in Professor Surani's footsteps. It demonstrates how following curiosity can lead to unexpected discoveries that ultimately make a positive impact in the world.

The piece simplifies complex science to make it accessible to a public audience. It is presented as if the scientist is speaking directly to the reader. In reality Jacqueline spent many hours interviewing Professor Surani before drafting the text; condensing a whole career into a single article was no easy feat. For Professor Surani this was a very different way of presenting his work, and many follow-up conversations were necessary to reach agreement on what went in, and what was left out. Ultimately both parties were very pleased with the result.