The University of Liverpool’s Professor Jane Hurst has received the 2023 Frink Award from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) at a ceremony held in the city on 17th October.
Every year, ZSL recognises outstanding achievement in zoology and conservation science through a programme of prestigious awards, and the Frink medal is ZSL’s premier scientific award.
Jane has made outstanding achievements in both zoological research and the wider application of her research to science and society. Jane is a leader in field of chemical communication in mammals, focussing on the role of diverse chemical cues in social learning and recognition in rodents.
Jane’s research on major urinary proteins in rodents has been transformative to the field. Much of her activity has been in ensuring that the right techniques are used to accurately assess animal behaviour, establishing innovative techniques to study animal behaviour in both natural populations and under carefully controlled naturalistic conditions, using transponder tags and video, mass-spectrometry and genomics.
As a world expert on rodent behaviour and an exceptionally rigorous experimental zoologist, Jane has been an incredibly effective advocate for animal welfare and better animal experiments, leading to significant improvements in animal research far outside Jane’s own field. Jane’s diverse contributions to animal welfare are also evidenced in being a founding board member for NC3Rs and by numerous prestigious awards, most notably an OBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours list for services to animal welfare.
Professor Jane Hurst said: “I am deeply honoured to be awarded the ZSL Frink Medal for my contributions to our understanding of scent communication in mammals, animal behaviour and animal welfare. It is hard to believe that my name has been added to the list of amazing British zoologists previously honoured! I will treasure the medal itself – a gorgeous bronze plaque depicting a bison carved by Dame Elisabeth Frink.”