Formation 1919 Headquarters Charles Darwin House Membership 1,700+ | Type NGO Region served United Kingdom | |
Location 12 Roger Street
London
WC1N 2JU
United Kingdom | ||
The Genetics Society is a British learned society. It was founded by William Bateson in 1919 and therefore is one of the oldest learned societies devoted to genetics. Its membership of over 1700 consists of most of the UK's active professional geneticists, including researchers, teachers and students. Industry and publishing are also represented in the membership.
Contents
- Society publications
- Balfour Lecture
- Genetics Society Medal
- JBS Haldane Lecture
- Mary Lyon Medal
- Sir Kenneth Mather Memorial Prize
- References
It is a registered charity that organises meetings to promote genetics, publishes primary research in genetics and supports students to attend meetings. It sponsors research through fieldwork grants and student bursaries, and promotes the public understanding of genetics.
Society publications
The society publishes the journal Heredity in association with Nature Publishing Group and the journal Genes & Development in association with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press. It also publishes The Genetics Society Newsletter and the Naked Genetics podcast.
Balfour Lecture
The Balfour Lecture, named after the Genetics Society’s first President, is an award to mark the contributions to genetics of an outstanding young investigator. The Balfour Lecturer is elected by the Society’s Committee on the basis of nominations made by any individual member of the Society. The only conditions are that the recipient of the award must normally have less than 10 years’ postdoctoral research experience at the time of nomination, and that any nomination must be made with the consent of the nominee. Those making nominations must be members of the Genetics Society, but there is no requirement for the nominee to be a member, nor is there any restriction on nationality or residence.
Genetics Society Medal
The Genetics Society Medal is an award that recognizes outstanding research contributions to genetics. The Medal recipient, who should still be active in research at the time the Medal is awarded, will be elected annually by the Genetics Society Committee on the basis of nominations made by any individual member of the Society. Those making nominations must be members of the Genetics Society, but there is no requirement for the nominee to be a member, nor any restriction on nationality or residence. Neither current members of the Committee nor those who have retired from office in the past four years may be nominated for the award. The recipient is invited to deliver a lecture at a Genetics Society meeting, where the medal will be awarded, in the year following their election.
JBS Haldane Lecture
The JBS Haldane Lecture, named in honour of the pioneering geneticist and evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane, recognises an individual for outstanding ability to communicate topical subjects in genetics research, widely interpreted, to an interested lay audience. Awards are made annually and are presented at an open lecture given by the awardee.
Mary Lyon Medal
This new award, named after the distinguished geneticist Mary Lyon FRS, was established in 2015 to reward outstanding research in genetics to scientists who are in the middle of their research career.
Sir Kenneth Mather Memorial Prize
The Sir Kenneth Mather Memorial Prize is awarded jointly by The Genetics Society and The University of Birmingham and rewards a student of any UK University or Research Institution who has shown outstanding performance in the area of quantitative or population genetics.