Professor Matthew Wood receives BioUK Special Recognition Award 2026

October 27, 2026

Professor Matthew Wood, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre (OHC), has received BioUK’s Special Recognition Award 2026 for his contribution to rare disease research, therapeutic development and the wider life sciences sector. 

The award was presented at the BioUK Awards in London on 21 October. The Special Recognition Award recognises individuals who have made a significant impact on the life sciences industry through areas including scientific achievement, entrepreneurship, leadership, partnerships and innovation. 

In selecting Professor Wood, the judges highlighted his “visionary leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, scientific excellence and unwavering commitment to bringing hope to patients with rare diseases”. 

Professor Wood said: 

"I’m deeply honoured to receive BioUK’s Special Recognition Award. This is a wonderful acknowledgement of the collective effort of the transatlantic partnership that is the Oxford-Harrington Rare Disease Centre, and of our shared ambition to turn scientific discoveries into new medicines for people living with rare diseases." 

Professor Wood is Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Oxford and has spent more than two decades working in RNA therapeutics and oligonucleotide delivery, with a particular focus on developing new approaches to neurological and rare diseases. 

As founding Director and Chief Scientific Officer, Professor Wood has helped establish OHC’s approach to rare disease drug development. The Centre’s unique model brings together academic research, drug development expertise, and philanthropy to advance promising discoveries towards the clinic. 

The Centre has developed a portfolio of 63 rare disease projects, 10 of which have reached the clinic. These metrics show how the OHC, a transatlantic partnership between the University of Oxford and Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, is already moving potential new treatments from academic discovery towards patients who need them. 

Professor Wood has also contributed to Oxford’s wider innovation ecosystem. He has co-founded five biotechnology companies: Evox Therapeutics, PepGen, ISOgenix, Cora Biosciences and Orfonyx Bio. He also chairs the Management Board of the BioEscalator and serves on the Board of Directors of Oxford University Innovation.