Reuben Fellow Receives Prestigious Irish Presidential Award

Prof. Teresa Lambe OBE, receives her award from Irish President Michael D. Higgins

The Reuben Fellow, Prof. Teresa Lambe OBE, Professor of Vaccinology & Immunology and Calleva Head of Vaccine Immunology at the Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, has recently been awarded the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad for 2022 by Irish President Michael D. Higgins at a ceremony in Áras an Uachtaráin.

Prof. Lambe joined the list of 10 recipients of the Award, which is awarded across a variety of categories including Art, Culture and Sport and, in the case of Prof. Lambe, Science, Technology and Innovation. The Presidential Distinguished Service Award, first awarded in 2012 was one of the outcomes which followed the 2011 Global Irish Economic Forum, and was established by the Irish government as a means to recognise the contribution of members of the Irish diaspora.

Prof Lambe was awarded the prize in her recognition of her significant and on-going contribution to vaccine research; perhaps most notably Prof. Lambe and her team started developing a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020 which is now more commonly known globally as the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. It has been licensed in more than 170 countries and has becoming a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19.

Prof. Lambe said, "I am honoured to receive this recognition from my home country. I am hugely proud of the team behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine – a team that continues to work tirelessly on vaccines against outbreak diseases, including Ebolaviruses in Uganda".

For further information please see the University of Oxford.