Higgins and Wade-Martins Labs Awarded Gold LEAF Awards for Sustainability Efforts
Higgins and Wade-Martins Labs Awarded Gold LEAF Awards for Sustainability Efforts
Two research groups at the Kavli Institute have been recognised for their outstanding commitment to laboratory sustainability, each receiving a Gold LEAF Award under the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF).
LEAF is a framework used across research institutions to help laboratories reduce waste, energy use, and environmental impact through structured actions – with Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels of achievement.
The Higgins Group (Department of Biochemistry) was awarded Gold in recognition of exemplary actions taken to improve sustainable practices in the lab.
Professor Matt Higgins said:
“Biomedical research uses a lot of resources, particularly disposable plastics and energy. Led by lab manager Hannah Ivison and lab sustainability champion Alex Cook, we have been thinking together about how we can reduce this. We are minimising use through planning experiments properly, re-using where possible and recycling where routes exist. Thanks to everyone in the lab for getting involved. There are still things that we can do, but we are delighted to receive this LEAF recognition for the steps that we have already taken.”
A second Gold LEAF Award went to the Lab of Molecular Neurodegeneration, led by Professor Richard Wade-Martins, for the third consecutive year. This award reflects the team’s sustained dedication to sustainable lab practices. Special thanks to Feodora Bertherat for the extra work and commitment she brings to making this possible.
Congratulations to both teams – and particular thanks to Hannah Ivison and Feodora Bertherat for their leadership in driving sustainability forward within the Kavli labs.
Since April 2021, Oxford University's KAVLI Institute for Nanoscience Discovery is proudly serving as a hub for research groups from seven different departments spanning both the medical and physical sciences, including Professor Matt Higgins' group from the Department of Biochemistry and Professor Richard Wade-Martins' group from the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics.
