We are delighted to announce the winner of the 2026 Hooke Medal is…

Stephen Tait

Stephen is a cell biologist based at the University of Glasgow and Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute. His research focuses on the role of mitochondria in regulating cell death and inflammation, mainly in the context of cancer.

As undergraduate, Stephen studied Medical Microbiology at the University of Edinburgh (1992 – 1996). This kindled a long-standing interest in pathogens and cell biology, leading him to carry out a PhD at the Pirbright Institute (1996 – 2000) – here, he investigated immune evasion mechanisms employed by African swine fever virus. Stephen then carried out postdoctoral training stints at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam (2000 – 2005) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, USA (2005 – 2011). During this time, Stephen developed a deep interest in cancer cell death and mitochondria. His major discoveries included reporting non-canonical ubiquitination as a means to control cell death sensitivity and defining how mitochondria enable cancer cell survival following therapy.

In 2012, supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship, Stephen started his own group at the University of Glasgow, where his lab is based within the CRUK Scotland Institute (formerly known as the Beatson Institute). In 2018, Stephen became Professor. His lab continues to work on the multifaceted roles that mitochondria play in cancer development, spread and treatment response. Key discoveries from his lab include: 1) Paradoxical finding that sub-lethal apoptotic stress can be tumour promoting through the permeabilisation of select mitochondria 2) Killing cells under caspase-inhibition elicits anti-tumour immunity dependent on mitochondria signals, leading to tumour eradication. 3) Demonstration that mitochondrial permeabilisation (during apoptosis) displays “pathogen mimicry” engaging various pro-inflammatory processes 4) Senescence and apoptosis are regulated through similar mitochondrial-dependent processes (collaborating with Joao Passos, Mayo Clinic).

You can find out more about Stephen’s work here or by following him on Bluesky.

The Hooke Medal is awarded every year by the BSCB and recognises an emerging leader in cell biology.  The award is named after Robert Hooke, the eminent 17th century natural philosopher and author of Micrographia (the world’s first comprehensive illustrated book on microscopy). It is awarded to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to Cell Biology in the UK or Ireland and who has established their lab in the past 14 years.

You can watch Stephen’s will medal lecture from Dynamic Cell VI in April 2026 below: