Francis Crick Prize Lecture by Professor Kayla King

The Francis Crick Medal and Lecture 2026 is awarded to Professor Kayla King for contributions to the fields of evolutionary biology and genetics of infectious disease.

Professor King is a Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair in the Departments of Zoology and Microbiology & Immunology at the University of British Columbia (UBC), as well as a Professorial Fellow in the Department of Biology, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of infectious diseases across the tree of life using a combination of genomics, experimental evolution, and computational approaches.

Her honours include the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada Arthur B. McDonald Prize (2024), Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution Mid-Career Excellence Award (2023), Zoological Society of London Scientific Medal (2022), Linnean Society Bicentenary Medal (2020), Philip Leverhulme Prize for Biology (2018), and American Society of Naturalists Early Career Investigator Prize (2013).

Attending the event

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• Live subtitles will be available in-person and virtually

Attending in person

• This lecture can be attended in-person at the Royal Society
• Doors will open to the public at 6.00pm GMT

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Attending online

• The lecture will also be livestreamed here and on the Royal Society YouTube channel
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