Students from Framwellgate School Durham showcased their tuberculosis drug discovery research at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2026. Working with Durham BSI's Professor Patrick Steel and Dr Alistair Brown of Newcastle University, the students designed and tested novel drug candidates targeting multi-drug resistant TB, demonstrating the impact of research-led STEM education and the next generation of scientific talent.

For the fifth consecutive year, the Biophysical Sciences Institute (BSI) was proud to sponsor Pint of Science Durham, helping to bring cutting-edge research out of the University and into the heart of the community.

Researchers from across Great Britain and Ireland gathered at Durham University in March 2026 for the inaugural Strep GBI conference, a new cross-disciplinary initiative uniting the streptococcal research community.

The latest events in our Art-Science platform BSI Create brought together a new group of creative and professionals for two very different events designed to share and explore scientific research concepts from new perspectives.

The success of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases has been recognised with a 2026 Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Chemistry–Biology Interface Horizon Prize. The GCRF funded team which is led by the BSI’s Professor Paul Denny in Durham University’s Department of Biosciences, has been honoured for its pioneering work in identifying and validating new drug targets for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

Durham University has announced the appointment of renowned physicist Professor Mark Leake as Chair of Natural Philosophy, effective 1st October 2026.

In June 2026 Dr Kasia Tych (University of Freiburg and University of Groningen) visited Durham to deliver the 2026 Judith Howard Lecture, the flagship annual lecture of the Biophysical Sciences Institute (BSI).

In May 2026, the MoSMed CDT (the Molecular Sciences for Medicine Centre for Doctoral Training) hosted its sixth annual conference, bringing together current PhD researchers, alumni, supervisors and collaborators from across academia and industry.

An international team led by researchers from Physics Department and the Biophysical Sciences Institute are developing a new way to tackle soil degradation in sub–Saharan Africa.

BSI Director Prof. Ehmke Pohl highlighted the connection between and innovation in a plenary lecture at the Accord Conference in Warsaw (May 2026). The research presented came from work with Nevragenics and Lightox, two Durham University spinouts founded based on BSI funded research.

Nevrargenics Ltd have won the 2025 Bionow Project of the Year Award in the annual Bionow awards at the Concorde Conference Centre in Manchester. The award recognised their lead programme Ellorarxine™ as one of the most innovative and impactful life sciences projects in the UK.

The BSI is moving into the redeveloped Mountjoy Centre. This represents a step change for the institute, an opportunity to build upon the sense of community that makes the BSI special. While the location may be new, the focus remains the same: a collegial approach to building collaboration and innovation.