Sonia Contera receives title Professor of Biological Physics in 2020 Recognition of Distinction
Senior Research Fellow Sonia Contera has received the title Professor of Biological Physics in this yearβs University of Oxford Recognition of Distinction awards.
Professor Contera is Associate Head of the Physics Department (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) and was the founder of the Oxford Martin Institute of Nanoscience for Medicine at the Oxford Martin School.
A leading nanotech pioneer, her work lies at the interface of physics, biology and nanotechnology. She is an expert in atomic force microscopy of biological systems and holds a special interest in the role of mechanics in biology.
This work was explored in her recent book, βNano Comes to Life: How Nanotechnology is Transforming Medicine and the Future of Biologyβ, which was published via Princeton University Press last year.
The book explores the nanoscale world of physics and cellular and molecular biology, and how they meet to form the building blocks of life: protein and DNA. From there, it delves into how the evolving tools being developed at this scale may transform our own biology, health and life longevity.
In addition to her work at the University, Professor Contera is Chair of the Physics of Life external advisory board of the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and, in 2017, was elected Chair of the Scanning Probe Microscopy section of the Royal Microscopical Society. Since 2018 she has also been a member of the Advisory Committee on Science and Innovation to the Andalusian Government (Spain). Previous roles include serving as a Member of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Nanotechnology.
Congratulations to Professor Contera.
