Mark Troll Student Prize
To honour the memory of Mark Troll, we’ll be giving out the annual Mark Troll Student Prize, intending to encourage young scientist early in their career to engage in adventurous research and the dissemination of knowledge. The award consists of a £1000 cash prize as well as £2000 funding for international conferences or internships to be used within 2 years.
Mark Troll received his BA from Amherst College, and his PhD from the University of California, San Diego where he studied the physical chemistry of DNA. In a career spanning industry and academia, he worked in Polaroid’s research division, Hewlett Packard and Agilent Research Laboratories and the University of Washington where he used his deep knowledge of chemistry and optics in areas ranging from photopolymers and holography to fiber optics, single molecule fluorescence detection and nanopore sequencing technologies. He worked at the LMB from 2014-2025, and the prize commemorates the sense of curiosity and intellectual generosity that Mark displayed in his engagement with students.
Eligibility
Postgraduate students (MPhil or PhD) attending the LMB International Student Symposium. Candidates should have spent fewer than four years on their PhD (up to 2 years for MPhils).
Selection process
Oral presentations are selected by the LMB Student Symposium committee based on the abstracts submitted. A sub-committee that includes students from the LMB and the International Joint organising Institution is responsible for selecting presenters. Students selected for a student talk will be considered by the Mark Troll Prize committee. This includes a Chair (LMB Director of Studies), two representatives of the LMB Student Symposium committee (one LMB and one Joint Institution member) and two senior scientists drawn from the invited speaker list and/or Cambridge scientific circle.
Criteria
The recipients of the prize are selected based on the scientific quality and significance of the work as well as clarity and engaging communication during the presentation.
Other Prizes
In addition to the Mark Troll Student Prize we are also awarding the best 3-minute thesis presentation as well as the best poster presentation. The award for the best 3-minute thesis presentation is kindly sponsored by Constructive.bio and is valued at £200. The prize for the best poster presentation is sponsored by the MRC LMB and valued at £200 as well.
