2026 RSC Chemistry Biology Interface Prize awarded to team including York Chemistry academic

Posted on Wednesday 17 June 2026

The RSC Chemistry Biology Interface Horizon Prizes recognise significant recent novel discoveries or advances made at the chemistry biology interface. As part of a team led by Professor Paul Denny from Durham and including Professors Jeremy Mottram and Tony Wilkinson from York, the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases has received the 2026 prize for their collaboration underpinning the development of new tools to identify and validate multiple new drug targets for leishmaniasis and Chagas’ disease. 

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) affect more than 1-in-6 people globally (over 1.5 billion people), primarily devastating the world’s poorest populations. Among parasitic infections, leishmaniasis (over 1.7 million new cases annually) and Chagas disease (over 7 million people infected) are surpassed in severity only by malaria and lymphatic filariasis.  Historically, drug discovery for these diseases has been fragmented and underfunded. Current treatments suffer from extreme toxicity, high costs, difficult administration methods, and rising parasite resistance. Furthermore, climate change is now driving the insect vectors of these diseases into new territories, including Southern Europe and the United States. 

The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases brought together more than 500 researchers at 13 institutions from India, Pakistan, South America and the UK, creating a global community delivering scientific advances to combat two of the most serious NTDs, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. The commitment to equitable practice and collaboration allowed the Network to deliver training, opportunity, experience and insight for early career scientists alongside major scientific advances. Through the efforts of the >150 trained young scientists, from endemic countries and the UK, working across the chemistry biology interface the NTD team developed new tools and used these to deliver the identification, and chemical and genetic validation, of multiple new drug targets for these diseases, providing a foundation for the future development of optimized antiparasitic compounds.

One very significant impact of the Network is to establish a new vibrant chemical biology community within the participating regions that is engaging new collaborators who continue to develop this legacy.

Professor Tony Wilkinson commented: “It is very pleasing to be associated with this RSC award which recognises 30 individuals and their research teams across South America, India, Pakistan and the UK (Durham and York).”