University of Birmingham honours its academics at the Founders' Awards

The University of Birmingham has announced the winners of its 2026 Founders' Awards for Excellence, which celebrate world-leading research, teaching and innovation.

As well as four annual awards, this year saw the presentation of the University's Medal of Honour, given for exceptional and sustained contributions. Exceptionally, two people received the medal in 2026.

Medal of Honour

Professor Paul Moss, Deputy Head of the College of Medicine and Health and Professor of Haematology, has advanced understanding of immune therapies, the control of viruses in transplant patients, the immune system's attack on tumours, and infectious disease. He pioneered the use of T cells targeted at the CMV virus in transplant patients, and led the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium during the Covid-19 pandemic, shaping the national understanding of how the immune system responds to the virus.

Professor Karen Guldberg, Head of the School of Education, Professor of Autism Studies and Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research, has spent more than 20 years leading research, policy and practice that has changed how neurodivergent children and young people are understood, taught and supported. She led the development of the Autism Education Trust framework, which has informed national training programmes reaching more than 400,000 educators.

The annual awards

• Florence Price Award for Outstanding Early-Career Academic: Dr Sophie Pain, Assistant Professor in Sustainable Materials, whose work uses atomic-scale manufacturing techniques so that solar panels can be fully taken apart and recycled at the end of their lives.
• Joseph Chamberlain Award for Educational Advancement: Professor Julia Myatt, Academic Director of Sustainability Education, who has led the embedding of sustainability across courses. Her programmes have involved more than a thousand students in practical sustainability projects.
• Josiah Mason Award for Academic Advancement: Professor Karen Yeung, Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow in Law, Ethics and Informatics, a pioneer of law and technology whose research on algorithmic regulation and "hypernudge" systems has shaped international debate on artificial intelligence.
• Rose Sidgwick Award for External Engagement and Impact: Professor Richard Butler, on behalf of the Palaeobiology research group, whose fossil research reaches audiences around the world and shapes policy on fossil heritage.

Named after Birmingham figures

The awards are named after people who shaped the city and the University. Joseph Chamberlain, the Victorian Mayor of Birmingham, led the campaign to found the University, which received its royal charter in 1900. Josiah Mason was the industrialist who founded Mason Science College, from which the University grew. Rose Sidgwick was one of the University's first women lecturers. Florence Price was a pioneering African American composer.

"Going from strength to strength"

The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adam Tickell, said: "Named after some of our city's most influential figures, these awards display some of the best research and education our university has to offer. All the nominees and winners demonstrate why Birmingham is going from strength to strength."

The winners were celebrated with the University's Chancellor, Sandie Okoro. The awards follow a strong run for the University, which is 97th in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2027 and has risen to 14th in the Guardian University Guide 2027.