Professors Robin Lovell-Badge and Cathy Warwick recognised in New Year's Honours

Leading figures in reproductive science and medicine have been recognised in the UK's New Year's Honours list 2018, including two experts who have previously written for BioNews - Professors Robin Lovell-Badge (see BioNews 781 and 799) and Cathy Warwick (see BioNews 738).

Professor Lovell-Badge - who has been awarded a CBE 'for services to genetics, stem cell research and the public understanding of science' - is group leader in stem cell biology and developmental genetics at the Francis Crick Institute in London. In 1990 his laboratory discovered Sry, one of the key genes responsible for sex determination in humans and in most other mammals. Sex determination remains a major focus of Professor Lovell-Badge's current research.

He is also active in policy, regulation and public debate concerning genetics, stem cells and human embryo research. In recent years he has played an especially prominent role in relation to genome editing, mitochondrial donation, in vitro derived gametes and synthetic human entities with embryo-like features (SHEEFs). As discussed elsewhere on BioNews this week, he gave a presentation on SHEEFs at the most recent annual conference of the Progress Educational Trust (the charity that publishes BioNews).

Professor Cathy Warwick - who has been made a dame 'for services to midwifery', having previously been awarded a CBE in 2006 'for services to healthcare' - is the outgoing chief executive of the Royal College of Midwives, and is also chair of trustees at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.

Other honours for services to widwifery this year include an OBE for Wendy Matthews (of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust) and MBEs for Dr Tracey Cooper (of Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust) and Verena Wallace (of the Northern Ireland Executive's Department of Health).