Professor Katie Hampson has been awarded the 2026 Plowright Prize for her research into infectious diseases of animals.

The award celebrates efforts to combat infectious animal diseases.

The winner of the 2026 Plowright Prize has been announced as Katie Hampson, Professor of Disease Ecology and Public Health at the University of Glasgow.

Awarded every two years by veterinary charity RCVS Knowledge, the £100,000 prize celebrates individuals in Europe or the Commonwealth for their contribution to the control, management or eradication of infectious animal diseases.

Judges praised Professor Hampson for her landmark research aimed at ending dog-mediated rabies. Throughout her career, she has pioneered a contact-tracing study tracking rabies transmission in a population of 80,000 dogs and built a “One Health” community active in rabies surveillance and control.

Professor Hampson’s work has also involved training students and early-career scientists across Africa, Asia and Latin America. Her research contributed to the ‘zero-by-30’ strategy and informed Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s inclusion of rabies in its 2021-2025 investment strategy.

Commenting on her achievement, Professor Hampson said she will use the funding to accelerate progress towards rabies elimination.

“I am truly delighted to be awarded the Plowright Prize. I am excited about being able to leverage the award to support communities directly affected by rabies and to mobilise action on dog vaccination,” she said.

“I hope the prize will accelerate progress towards rabies elimination. The funding will support operationalisation of transboundary One Health plans to sustain and expand rabies-free zones through scaling best practices in East Africa and Southeast Asia.”

The Plowright Prize is funded from the estate of Walter Plowright, the veterinary scientist whose development of a vaccine against rinderpest provided the key to eliminating the disease.

Judges comprise representatives from leading organisations and societies working in veterinary care and animal health, food and agriculture, and microbiology.

Katie Mantell, chief executive officer at RCVS Knowledge, said: “This year we saw a large number of impressive nominations, but our judging panel unanimously agreed that Professor Katie Hampson’s nomination stood out for the extraordinary influence her work has had on rabies advocacy and inspiring future generations, with her former students and mentees now leading rabies control efforts across the world.” 

Image (C) RVC.