LSTM Staff Awards
Celebrating excellence in all sectors of staff life - from academia and public/ community engagement, to communications and collaboration.
The LSTM Staff Awards are held to recognise the hard work, dedication and contributions of staff across LSTM.
The 2025 staff awards ceremony was hosted in May 2025 on our Liverpool campus and joined virtually by colleagues and partners from around the world.
It was an opportunity to celebrate excellence in all sectors of staff life – from academia and education to mentorship and equity.
All LSTM staff were invited to nominate colleagues to any of the Award categories, which are aligned to our values of inclusivity, integrity, partnership and impact.
Read on for more detail about each of our Award winners.
Education Excellence Award - Lucas Cunningham
This award recognised significant commitment to excellence in the delivery and support of teaching and learning, enhancing the learning experience for staff or students.
Lucas was nominated by colleagues for his infectious enthusiasm and passion for science, creating an engaging learning environment for students from all backgrounds. He has made outstanding contributions to Education throughout his time at LSTM, going well beyond the expectations of his research role. His contributions to lectures, practicals, field trips and supervision have benefited many students. He is always willing to make time for students and his expert guidance, support and kindness has been a major factor in so many research projects.
Highly commended: Imri Schattner-Ornan. Imri was Highly Commended for his innovative and effective use of technologies in his teaching.
Culture and Environment Award - Jennifer Lord
This award recognises colleagues who have gone beyond expectations to help transform systems, processes or behaviours or who have acted as a catalyst for change by challenging the status quo to improve the working environment for colleagues and/or students and ensure the highest standards of integrity.
Jennifer was recognised for going above and beyond, dedicating her time and energy to fostering collaboration and facilitating discussions on some of the most pressing issues including the climate crisis and our commitment to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation. This includes launching a dedicated group focused on reducing the school's carbon footprint, particularly through from air travel. Through this initiative, she has developed resources that promote sustainable alternatives. Jennifer also challenged us all to question the status quo with her impassioned, brave and critically important talk at the 125th anniversary celebrations last year. Her leadership, dedication, and ability to inspire collective action are an inspiration to her colleagues.
Citizenship Award - Alessandra Lanfrancotti
This celebrates acts of compassion and kindness within our community and rewards individuals who have gone beyond their job description to promote equity, inclusion and collegial behaviours.
Alessandra was nominated across multiple categories for her embodiment of LSTM's values in both her 'day job' and in the citizenship activities she has invested her time and expertise in. She has provided pastoral support to students from our African partner institutes; she is a beacon of good practice in creating a welcoming and supportive environment for shared learning. In addition her passion and expertise turned the wellbeing garden in Liverpool from an idea to a glorious place for all to enjoy. She continues to support the garden, giving up countless hours of her own time to create a sense of community and increase the biodiversity on our Liverpool estate.
Mentorship Award - Jim Read
This award recognises an individual who has shown an outstanding commitment to mentoring, developing, and supporting others or supporting and empowering typically underrepresented groups.
Jim was commended for his outstanding guidance, leadership, and unwavering support for members of his team. He takes a personal interest in each team member's development, supporting goal setting, encouraging skill enhancement and providing tailored advice. His leadership has empowered his team to excel, instilling confidence and a result-driven mindset.
Highly Commended: Frank Mechan. Frank was Highly Commended for his willingness to help staff and students with problems with statistics, models and experiment planning.
Societal Impact Award - Herpetarium team
This award acknowledges outstanding achievements for initiatives that demonstrate societal impact, including environmental or social initiatives and successful knowledge exchange activities.
The Herpetarium Team were nominated for their work in public engagement, which is helping LSTM's work reaches audiences of millions, across the globe. The team showed a passion for engaging diverse audiences, and supporting LSTM's values and strategic goals whilst advocating for investment and research in this neglected condition that affects the most vulnerable populations globally.
Research Team of the Year Award - Menstrual Health Research Group
This award is made to the research team who has made the greatest contribution to advancing knowledge and/or ensuring that the LSTM's research is embedded into practice.
The Menstrual Health Research Group were nominated for their excellent example of embedding LSTM values by working in partnership to deliver real world impact to underserved populations. The team has worked in partnership with Governments in India and Kenya, tirelessly advocating for measures to address menstrual health disparities and ensure affordable and accessible solutions. The impact of this work is immense and is leading to improvements in women's and girls' health, esteem and is anticipated to improve education and economic outputs.
Highly Commended: REDRESS. REDRESS were Highly Commended for their work on improving mental health support and tackling marginalisation and discrimination in individuals affected by skin NTDs. Their impact stood out and deserves special mention.
Contribution of the Year Award - Enterprise and Innovation Team
The Contribution of the Year Award seeks to recognise an exceptional contribution from an individual or team. It may be in any area of work across the School, whether internally or externally, and will be in recognition of expertise that has brought about a significant positive outcome for LSTM.
The Enterprise and Innovation Team were nominated for their work in translating research outcomes into societal benefits. The team have worked collaboratively internally, nationally and internationally. They have secured three competitive grants in a row from Research England to help turn the brilliant ideas from our researchers into business opportunities that attract investment and further our mission
Highly Commended: Susie Crossman. Susie was Highly Commended for her conscientious support, thoughtful mentoring and unwavering diligence and efficiency.
Partnership of the Year Award - KEMRI
This award celebrates an external partner who has made an outstanding contribution to LSTM's work by enhancing the student experience, research excellence, or staff and student wellbeing.
KEMRI were highlighted for demonstrating excellence and positive outcomes over 20 years of partnership. They were particularly noted for exemplifying LSTM values, supporting strong emerging leaders, and their strong track record of research grant funding which has changed national and international policy and guidelines.
