Published: 21 May 2026 | Last Updated: 21 May 2026 00:01:10

Professor Oliver Pybus, Vice Principal for Research and Innovation and Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), has been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci). Professor Pybus has been recognised with this honour for his inter-disciplinary infectious disease research that combines epidemiology, genomics, immunology and evolution.

The Academy of Medical Sciences is an independent UK body which aims to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society. The Fellows, which represent a variety of professions related to medical sciences, receive the fellowships in recognition of the ‘’excellence of their science, their contribution to medicine and society and the range of their achievements” which is reflected throughout the Academy’s work.

Nominated by existing Fellows and reviewed by eight Sectional Committees, the FMedSci shortlist is extensively reviewed before electing approximately 50 fellows each year.

For Professor Pybus, notable achievements have included:

• Playing a key role in showing how real-time pathogen genomics can inform public health response during an epidemic, for example by showing that the epidemiological parameter R₀ can be estimated solely from pathogen genomes.
• Spearheading efforts to understand the origin and spread of the Zika virus epidemic.
• Playing a prominent role in the genomic surveillance and global analysis of COVID-19.
• Leading a series of studies that have reconstructed how HIV and the hepatitis C virus spread worldwide during the early 20^th century, before these viruses were discovered in the 1980s.

Demonstrating his career-long commitment to science and the betterment of society, alongside his roles at the RVC, Professor Pybus sits on government advisory committees and holds a Professorship in Evolution and Infectious Disease at the University of Oxford. Previous recognition includes being awarded the Scientific Medal of the Zoological Society in London in 2009, the Mary Lyon Medal of the Genetics Society in 2019 and being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2022 for his outstanding contribution to excellence in science.

Professor Oliver Pybus FRS FMedSci, Vice Principal for Research and Innovation and Professor of Infectious Disease at the RVC, said:

“I am delighted and honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. I look forward to supporting the work of the Academy, especially in the field of One Health, and to further strengthening the bonds between the medical, veterinary and biological sciences.”

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries, please contact:

• rvc@plmr.co.uk
• Press Line: 0800 368 9520

About the RVC

• The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the UK's largest and longest established independent veterinary school and is a Member Institution of the University of London.  
• It is one of the few veterinary schools in the world that hold accreditations from the RCVS in the UK (with associated recognition from the AVBC for Australasia, the VCI for Ireland and the SAVC for South Africa), the EAEVE in the EU, and AVMA in the USA and Canada. 
• The RVC is ranked as the top veterinary school in the world in the QS World University Rankings by subject, 2026.  

• The RVC offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in veterinary medicine, veterinary nursing and biological sciences.  
• The RVC is a research-led institution, with 88% of its research rated as internationally excellent or world class in the Research Excellence Framework 2021. 
• The RVC provides animal owners and the veterinary profession with access to expert veterinary care and advice through its teaching hospitals and first opinion practices in London and Hertfordshire.