- The Philip Leverhulme Prize worth £100,000 was awarded to Dr Alison Wright for her research in the field of evolutionary genetics
- The £100,000 prize will be used to further Dr Wright’s research into answering fundamental questions in biology about the genes that produce male and female traits and how they evolve
- The Leverhulme Trust awards £3 million each year to 30 outstanding early career researchers across the UK whose work attracts international recognition
Dr Alison Wright, from the University of Sheffield’s School of Biosciences, has been awarded a prestigious £100,000 prize by the Leverhulme Trust to further her promising career in evolutionary biology.
Dr Alison Wright, a Lecturer and former NERC Independent Research Fellow at the University of Sheffield’s School of Biosciences, was chosen in the Leverhulme Trust’s ‘Biological Sciences’ category for being an exceptional early career researcher whose work has attracted international recognition.
Dr Wright will use the prize to answer fundamental questions in biology about the genes that produce male and female traits in the animal kingdom, and how they evolve.
Specifically, the prize money will allow Dr Wright’s team to conduct a series of new experiments using cutting-edge genetic sequencing technologies to study the genes in stalk-eyed flies and their function.
Male stalk-eyed flies often have highly elaborate eye stalks, with an eye span greater than their body length, which they use to signal to females and attract mates. In turn, females have a strong preference for males with long eye-stalks. It is hoped the research will provide new insight into the genes that produce these male exaggerated structures and female preferences, and how they evolve across organisms.
Dr Wright said: “I am extremely honoured to receive this prize and excited about the research it will allow me to pursue.
“This research will provide new understanding of how and why males and females across the animal kingdom often look and behave very differently. Sex differences affect a broad range of traits, including form, physiology, health, ageing and behaviour, and so this research has key implications for multiple areas of biology.”
Dr Wright was nominated for the prize by Professor Jon Slate, and Professor Rob Freckleton, Head of the University’s School of Biosciences.
Professor of Evolutionary Genetics, Jon Slate, said: "Alison's work on the evolution of sex, sex chromosomes and sexual selection is world-leading. She takes highly creative approaches, combined with cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology, to tackle some of the biggest questions in evolutionary biology.
“She is highly-deserving of this prestigious award. Alison is a marvellous colleague and it is a pleasure to work with her.”
Dr Wright teaches a number of undergraduate and postgraduate modules at the University of Sheffield and has received several international awards for her research into evolutionary biology, including the Balfour Lecture (2021, Genetics Society), Jasper Loftus-Hills Young Investigator Award (2017, American Society of Naturalists), Certificate of Commendation (2016, Zoological Society of London) and SSE Presidents’ Award for Outstanding Dissertation Paper in Evolution (2015, Society for the Study of Evolution). To date, she has published 39 papers in a range of top academic journals and is currently an Associate Editor for the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust, said: “In its twenty-second year, this scheme continues to attract applications from exceptionally high calibre researchers. The Leverhulme Trust is thrilled to award prizes to academics undertaking work on an impressive range of topics, from plant evolution to the history of capitalism, family law to theoretical statistics, and the philosophy of science to human trafficking. We are very proud to support these researchers through the next stage of their careers. Selecting the winners gets tougher each year, and we are incredibly grateful to the reviewers and panel members who help us in our decision-making.”
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