CEM Emerging Investigator in Protein and Peptide Science Award

• Nominees should be an early-career scientist, typically with no more than 10 years of full-time equivalent professional experience.
• This should be experience gained as part of a scientific career excluding time spent in full-time education. Time spent as a postgraduate student should not be included e.g. Masters, PhD. Time spent as a post-doctoral researcher should be included.
• Nominators will be asked to provide details of the nominee's professional experience, in relation to the above criteria (see below). The Prize Committee will consider this information in relation to the eligibility criteria.
• Career breaks will be taken into consideration, and applications are particularly encouraged from those whose career has spanned a break due to caring responsibilities or personal circumstances e.g. a period of parental/adoption leave, family commitments, illness, or other exceptional circumstances.
• Members of the PPSG prize committee are not eligible to apply.
• Nominees must be members of the RSC PPSG Interest Group.
• Self-nominations are permitted and encouraged, and the prize is open to nominees based in the UK or internationally.

Please email the following information to Dr Corinne Kay (Secretary, PPSG)

• Nominee’s name and contact details.
• An up-to-date CV for the nominee (no longer than one A4 side, 11pt text). This should include a summary of their education and career, and a maximum of 5 relevant publications or patents.
• Brief details (up to 150 words) of the nominee's professional experience, in relation to the career stage-related eligibility criteria detailed above. Please include details of any career breaks or periods of absence that you feel that the judging committee should consider.
• A short citation describing what the prize should be awarded for. This must be no longer than 250 characters (including spaces) and no longer than one sentence.
• A supporting statement (up to 750 words) addressing the nominee’s contributions to protein and peptide science.
• A statement (up to 100 words) describing how the nominee has contributed more broadly to the scientific community. 
• Please do not submit any additional information or references as these will not be considered.
• Presentation Confirmation: Nominees must confirm by the same date that, if selected, they will attend the PPSG ESRM on 1 July 2026 to receive their award and give the keynote lecture. While we aim for in-person presentations, we can arrange a hybrid option if travel is not possible due to personal circumstances.
• Closing date for nominations 6 February 2026, 17:00 GMT.

PPSG reserves the right to rescind any prize if there are reasonable grounds to do so. All nominators/nominees will be asked to confirm that to the best of their knowledge there is no impediment, relating to professional conduct, to their nominee receiving this prize. All prize winners will be asked to sign the RSC’s Code of Conduct Declaration for Recognition.  

Our selection committee will base their evaluations on the overall quality of relevant contributions and achievements by nominees, in relation to the selection criteria listed below. 

The scientific content of any supporting publications, as described in the supporting statement, is much more important than publication metrics or the identity of the journal in which it is published. 

The selection committee will consider the following aspects of nominations for this prize: 

• Originality of research
• Impact of research
• Quality of publications and/or patents and/or software
• Innovation
• Professional standing
• Demonstrated leadership and independence
• Collaborations and teamwork
• Other indicators of esteem indicated by the nominator

The committee will give greater priority to recent work; supporting statements should focus on the nominee's more recent achievements. 

In an instance where multiple nominees are judged equally meritorious in relation to the above criteria, judging panels have the flexibility to use information provided by the nominator on the nominee’s broader contribution to the chemistry community as an additional criterion. 

Examples of relevant contributions could include, but are not limited to: 

• Involvement with Royal Society of Chemistry member groups/networks
• Teaching/demonstrating
• Effective mentorship
• Service on boards,committeesor panels
• Leadership in the scientific community
• Peer-reviewer
• Promotion of diversity and inclusion
• Advocacy for chemistry
• Public engagement and outreach

The current members of the PPSG committee can be found on the Protein and Peptide Science Group page here