4 November 2019
Tom Baden, a professor of neuroscience at University of Sussex, UK, and elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, has become the first winner of the Nature Research Awards for Driving Global Impact. Established in partnership with Tencent, the Awards for Driving Global Impact aim to recognise early career researchers whose work has made, or has the potential to make, a positive impact on society. The 2019 awards focus on brain science.
Baden’s research on zebrafish and mice showed that eyes have greater computational powers than people previously thought. His research demonstrated that the retina is not a passive recording device: the signals it sends to the brain are in fact highly processed with the 'ganglion cells', found in the retina, transmitting the image presented to it in a highly interpreted form. With information packaged into simpler representations before being sent to the brain, the transmission of information is highly efficient.
The Nature Research Awards for Driving Global Impact encourage early career researchers to think critically about, and to plan for, the potential impacts of their work. The judging panel, chaired by Nature Editor-in-Chief Magdalena Skipper, includes relevant Nature Research editors, and independent experts. The judging process consists of three main phases, with scoring criteria covering scientific achievements, the potential scientific and societal impact of research. The awards will offer a prize of USD 30,000 to one winner.