Oxford Nanopore wins the 2026 MacRobert Award for engineering innovation

Oxford Nanopore Technologies has been named winner of the 2026 MacRobert Award, the UK's longest-running and most prestigious prize for engineering innovation, in recognition of its pioneering nanopore sequencing technology and its global impact.

The award was presented on 8 July by HRH The Princess Royal, Royal Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, at the Academy Awards Dinner in London.

The MacRobert Award recognises engineering innovations that demonstrate outstanding technical achievement, commercial success and societal benefit. Oxford Nanopore was honoured for its development of nanopore-sensing technology, which enables the direct, real-time analysis of DNA and RNA without the need for complex imaging systems or highly specialised laboratory infrastructure.

For more than two decades, genomic sequencing has largely depended on costly and complex technologies. Oxford Nanopore's approach has transformed access to genomic information by making sequencing faster, more accessible and deployable beyond traditional laboratory settings. Today, nanopore technology is used in busy diagnostic laboratories, in the field during disease outbreaks, and even aboard the International Space Station.

Developed in Oxford, the technology has now been deployed in more than 125 countries, supporting applications from infectious disease surveillance to cancer research and environmental monitoring. Its real-time data capabilities help researchers and clinicians generate insights more rapidly, enabling faster decision-making when time is critical.

The platform has played a role in responding to global health challenges including Ebola, Zika and SARS-CoV-2. In healthcare settings, rapid sequencing is also helping to accelerate access to genomic insights that can support more informed treatment decisions.

The Royal Academy of Engineering highlighted the technology's potential to address some of the world's most pressing health and environmental challenges, recognising its contribution to improving access to genomic information and enabling innovation across research, healthcare and industry.

The team recognised by the MacRobert Award includes:

• Dr Lakmal Jayasinghe – Chief Scientific Officer
• Dr Jayne Wallace – Vice President, Nanopore Research and Protein Sequencing
• Dr Gordon Sanghera CBE – Founder
• Dr Mark Bruce – Vice President, Sequencing Methods Research
• Dorothee van der Grinten – Senior Director, Chip Development
• Graham Hall – Vice President, Sequencing Development
• Ant Jones – Vice President, Engineering
• Dr Luke McNeill – Vice President, Analytical Chemistry
• Dr Nirmala Santiapillai – Vice President, Global Commercial Operations
• Mike Vella – Vice President, Machine Learning
• David Waterman – Senior Chief Engineer
• Dr James White – Senior Director, Technical Intelligence

Dr Lakmal Jayasinghe, Chief Scientific Officer of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, said:

"We are honoured to receive the MacRobert Award, the UK's most prestigious prize for engineering innovation. For Oxford Nanopore, this recognition reflects both the depth and breadth of engineering behind our platform and the real-world impact it is having. We're proud to be enabling more comprehensive biological information to be made available faster and more accessibly to researchers, clinicians and pioneers in the biopharma industry. We share this recognition with our customers and collaborators, whose work continues to demonstrate the impact of nanopore sequencing around the world."

Dr Alison Vincent CBE FREng, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award judging panel, said:

"Oxford Nanopore is a truly deserving winner of the MacRobert Award. They have developed a pioneering DNA and RNA sequencing technology that is transforming our ability to understand and respond to some of the world's most pressing health and environmental challenges, from disease surveillance to biodiversity monitoring. This is a remarkable example of UK innovation delivering real-world impact on a global scale."

This year's other finalists were assistive technology company WeWALK, recognised for its smart cane for blind and visually impaired people, and rail safety innovator Transmission Dynamics, recognised for its overhead power line monitoring technology.

The win marks a significant milestone in Oxford Nanopore's journey and recognises the collective contribution of teams across research, development, engineering, manufacturing, software, commercial operations and many other functions who have helped bring nanopore technology from concept to global impact.