Strasbourg, France, June 25, 2026 – Novalix and EFMC are thrilled to announce the awardees of the first Novalix PhD Prize for Excellence in Chemistry in Life Sciences Research 2026.
This annual PhD Prize, supported by Novalix, is an EFMC-YSN Partner Prize that recognizes outstanding research in medicinal chemistry and chemical biology conducted by early-career researchers during their doctoral studies.
The review committee is proud to announce the recipients of the 2026 edition:
- Winner: Camilla Scarpellini (University of Antwerp, Belgium)
- Runner-up: Marc Panosetti (University of Oxford, United Kingdom)
- Third Place: Ainoa Guinart Planellas (ETH, Zurich)
Congratulations to them and to all the participants!
About awards
The prizes consist of a diploma and a money prize of 1,000€ for the winner, 300€ for the runner-up, and 200€ for the third place. The winner is also invited to deliver an oral presentation at the EFMC Young Scientists’ Symposium (formerly EFMC-YMCS) and will receive support for registration and travel expenses (up to a maximum of 500€) necessary to receive the prize, present the prize lecture, and attend the Symposium.
More on Dr Scarpellini
Camilla Scarpellini obtained her Master’s degree in Pharmacy from the University of Bologna in 2017, following a thesis project in the research groups of Prof. Laufer and Prof. Koch at the University of Tübingen, Germany. In 2018, she joined the research group of Prof. Koen Augustyns at the University of Antwerp as a PhD student funded through the EU Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action IT-DED³ programme.
Her doctoral research focused on the discovery and optimisation of novel small-molecule inhibitors of ferroptosis and necroptosis with improved pharmacokinetic properties. Throughout this period, she gained extensive international experience through research internships and secondments in academia and industry across Europe and the Middle East.
After completing her PhD in 2023, she continued her research as a postdoctoral researcher in the Augustyns group, advancing ferroptosis inhibitors from lead optimisation towards preclinical development and translational applications. This work has led to the discovery and development of first-in-class ferroptosis inhibitors, resulting in high-impact publications, patent applications, and the establishment of the spin-off company FiriX Therapeutics.