Trailblazer in women’s health wins 2025 Foulkes Foundation Medal
This milestone acknowledges her valuable work in transforming our understanding of the female reproductive system and introduced advanced genomic and computational techniques that are reshaping women’s health research across the field.
Awarded every two years, the Foulkes Foundation Academy of Medical Sciences Medal celebrates scientists making transformative contributions to biomedical and health research early in their careers.
As the 10th recipient of the award, Dr Roser Vento-Tormo joins a distinguished group of previous recipients as a pioneer in reproductive biology and immunology. She leads a research group at the Cellular Genomics programme at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Her work focuses on genomics, computational biology, women’s health, and early life.
Dr Vento-Tormo investigates the female reproductive system and its wider impact on health, investigating how hormonal cycles, immunity, and ageing shape reproductive tissues and contribute to conditions such as endometriosis and ovarian cancer.
Although the Medal celebrates early-career achievements, Dr Vento-Tormo has already made landmark contributions in her field. She generated the first single-cell map of the maternal-fetal interface and developed CellPhoneDB, a computational tool that decodes cell–cell communication. She also utilised the information contained in the atlases to generate and improve in vitro models of the placenta, endometrium and immune cells – all now widely adopted in the scientific community.
In just a few years, Dr Vento-Tormo’s work has opened pathways for diagnostics and treatments in women’s health, laying the foundation for improved outcomes for patients.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the Foulkes Foundation Medal. This recognition reflects the dedication and creativity of the many talented researchers I have been fortunate to work alongside. Women’s health has too often been overlooked in biomedical science, and I am proud that our discoveries are beginning to change this.
By bringing together genomics, computational biology and innovative laboratory models, we are revealing new insights into the female reproductive system, pregnancy and early life. I am excited about the opportunities ahead to translate this knowledge into better diagnostics and treatments that can improve the lives of millions of people worldwide.”
Dr Roser Vento-Tormo, Group Leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute
“It is a great pleasure to present the 2025 Foulkes Foundation Academy of Medical Sciences Medal to Dr Roser Vento-Tormo, whose pioneering research is transforming the landscape of women’s health. Her dedication to advancing our understanding of reproduction is both inspiring and urgently needed. Her imaginative use of genomic and computational approaches is revealing new biological insights with profound potential to improve women’s lives. The Foundation is proud to celebrate a scientist whose work so clearly embodies our mission to unite science and medicine for the benefit of humanity.”
Mrs Maureen Foulkes-Hajdu, Executive Chairman of the Foulkes Foundation
“Congratulations to Dr Roser Vento-Tormo on being awarded the Academy’s 2025 Foulkes Foundation Medal. Dr Vento-Tormo’s innovative research is already reshaping our understanding of reproductive biology and women’s health. Her work exemplifies the very best of early-career achievement and reflects the kind of groundbreaking science, collaboration and innovation that the Academy is committed to supporting. We are proud to celebrate her contributions, which are advancing knowledge and opening new pathways to improve health for women and families globally.”
Professor Andrew Morris CBE FRSE PMedSci, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Dr Roser Vento-Tormo will receive the Medal at the Academy of Medical Sciences’ Annual General Meeting on 3rd December 2025, where she will also deliver a lecture.
The Medal was established by the Foulkes Foundation and the Academy of Medical Sciences and has been awarded biennially since 2007, recognising individuals whose contributions are already shaping the future of medical science. Previous winners include Professor Serena Nik-Zainal (2021) and Professor Sam Behjati (2023), both of whom are now Fellows of the Academy.
More information
For more information, please visit the Academy’s Foulkes Foundation landing page.
