The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom (CSC) and Taylor & Francis Group are delighted to announce that the winner of the 2016 Taylor & Francis Commonwealth Scholar Best Journal Article Prize is Dr Olivia Faull, for her article ‘Conditioned respiratory threat in the subdivisions of the human periaqueductal gray’, published in eLife in February 2016.

Olivia is a 2012 Commonwealth Scholar from New Zealand, who undertook her DPhil in Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Her article and research focuses on human respiratory control and perceptions of breathlessness.

The Taylor & Francis Commonwealth Scholar Best Journal Article Prize is awarded to a Commonwealth Scholar who submits the most outstanding article published in a recognised peer-reviewed journal. This annual prize, first awarded in 2012, aims to encourage and reward the publication achievements of Commonwealth Scholars who are completing or have recently completed their doctoral studies.

The 2016 competition saw the highest-ever number of submissions, with over 80 entries from current and former Commonwealth Scholars. The winner was chosen by a panel of experts drawn from multidisciplinary backgrounds, including Professor Mark Cleary (former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bradford) and Professor Jonathan Wastling (Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of Natural Sciences at Keele University).

Dr John Kirkland, Executive Secretary of the CSC, said ‘The CSC’s commitment to funding pioneering research is exemplified by the Best Journal Article Prize. We are delighted to see a record-breaking number of entries this year, and congratulate Olivia on being selected as the winner from a very strong field. We also congratulate all the Commonwealth Scholars who entered on the publication of their research, and thank Taylor & Francis for their support’.

Dr David Green, Publishing Director (International) of Taylor & Francis Group Journals, said ‘We are delighted this prize has gone from strength to strength, with such a high number of articles submitted for consideration this year. Congratulations to Dr Faull in her success and to the CSC for their vital work in aiding scholars around the world, all of which furthers the visibility of research’.