A BIOCHEMIST from the University of York has been awarded the prestigious International Prize of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.

Professor Tony Wilkinson has been awarded for his “outstanding work in the field of natural sciences”. Prof Wilkinson, of the Structural Biology Laboratory in York, has collaborated with Dr Imrich Barák of the Slovak Academy of Sciences Institute of Molecular Biology since 1995.

Their work studying systems controlling bacterial development can inform developments in medical science, health care and the food industry.

Professor Wilkinson said: “I have long and happy associations with Slovakia and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and I am delighted to receive this award.”

The academy awards an International Prize annually to a foreign national in recognition of an outstanding contribution to a particular academic field.

Prof Wilkinson will attend a formal ceremony at the Primate’s Palace in Bratislava later this week where he will be presented with his award.