The Lectureship is awarded every two years to a person who has made “a significant advance in the subject through developing new products or methods”, with the aim of inspiring the next generation of medicinal chemists.

Drugs designed in Professor Potter’s laboratory have been administered to hundreds of women in clinical trials over the last decade, in particular to female patients suffering from breast cancer and conditions such as endometrial cancer and endometriosis, as well as to men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Several national and international trials are still ongoing.

The lectureship will see Professor Potter talk at up to six UK universities, with lectures aimed specifically at undergraduates. He will also give a lecture at Burlington House, London as part of the RSC’s public lecture programme.

Professor Potter said: “I am honoured to have won this award, particularly as an academic outside the pharmaceutical industry. It is recognition of the dedication and hard work over the years of many colleagues at the University and collaborators elsewhere in the UK, and internationally, in delivering these research advances.