2026 Crick Translation Prize highlights more complex laboratory models and their automation

The Sir David Cooksey Prize in Translation highlights the contributions of Crick scientists who are driving innovation, improving healthcare and inspiring a new generation of translational researchers. It is named in honour of the late Sir David Cooksey who was a key figure in UK medical research and former Chair of the Crick's Board of Trustees.

Boosting the power of laboratory models

Andrea's lab, which sits across the Crick and King's College London, aims to bioengineer complex models of the nervous system, to understand how it functions normally, and how it responds to conditions like motor neurone disease.

Laboratory, or 'in vitro', models usually involve growing tissue in a dish from stem cells taken from humans, which is incredibly valuable to understand the role of genetic mutations in the development of disease, test current and potential drugs and reduce the reliance on using animals. However, these models can't capture the full picture of multiple interactions inside the body and are difficult to standardise and automate.

Andrea has begun to change this by creating functional neuromuscular circuits in the lab which bring human motor neurons and skeletal muscle together in a system which more faithfully recreates the situation inside the human body.

These new models will enable researchers to study disease mechanisms, tissue interactions and therapeutic responses in ways that conventional lab systems can't, while overcoming limitations of using animal models in representing human disease.

Automation, automation, automation

More complex models are powerful as they better capture aspects of human biology, but their complexity makes them harder to reproduce. Andrea is developing AI-enabled close-loop self-driving lab platforms to make these models more reproducible, and to automate aspects that would previously require a lot of manual work.

He is now leading the development of the VISIBLE (Versatile Imaging-Guided Sampling and Interactive Bioprinting) system, which combines live microscopy, robotics and bioprinting. It allows researchers to watch complex living cultures as they develop, identify the samples or regions that matter and then act on them directly, without interrupting the experiment.

"It is incredibly exciting to see our effort in building the infrastructure and technologies for the 'lab of the future' being recognised with this prize, and I cannot think of a better place to nucleate these innovations from than the Crick," said Andrea, on receiving the prize.

"This prize reflects all the people that allowed me to be here," he continued. "The Translation team has helped me immensely, not only by listening to my idea but also by making sure it was an idea worth developing over the last six years or so. Thank you to my entire team both here at the Crick, at King's and within the UK Dementia Research Institute, who have all been working on these ventures and ideas for the past ten years, and special thanks also to the Making Lab at the Crick."

Philippa Matthews and her team were announced on the night as runners up, in recognition of the HBV Elimination Laboratory's substantial global health impact, patient focus and demonstrated influence on policy and implementation.

Three Early Career Translation Fellow positions were awarded to Abhinav Kongari, Alexander Azizi and Emma Punch. The inaugural CSEN (Crick Science Entrepreneur Network) prize - awarded to an individual who has contributed to entrepreneurial culture at the Crick - also honoured Abhinav, for his invention of a novel technology and for developing a translational culture.