Stefan Dascalu awarded a Knighthood of the Order of Cultural Merit
Stefan was awarded a Knighthood of the Order of Cultural Merit by the President of Romania for his public health research and scientific communication activities during the COVID-19 pandemic
Stefan worked extensively with Romanian healthcare authorities to address the challenges posed by the pandemic, including tackling misinformation and raising vaccine acceptance. His activities extended beyond his home country of Romania, as Stefan was also involved in mitigating the impact of the pandemic in the UK, where he focused on the Romanian communities and raising awareness and acceptance of public health measures. For his activities, Stefan previously won the Social Impact Award from the UKRI and Oxford Interdisciplinary Bioscience DTP. He was also awarded the Order of the Brancoveanu Martyrs by the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church for his public health work with religious communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am thrilled and honoured that my research activities and public health efforts were recognised today by the President of Romania through a Knighthood of the Order of Cultural Merit. My hope is to contribute even more in the future, through professional activities and volunteer work, to building a better, more educated, and healthier future in Romania and the UK.”
Stefan Dascalu is a final year DPhil Candidate reading Interdisciplinary Bioscience. Stefan is supervised by Prof Michael Bonsall and Dr Adrian Smith (University of Oxford), and Prof Munir Iqbal (Pirbright Institute), with his thesis focusing on the adaptive immune responses to avian influenza viruses. You can read more about Stefan’s work at the following links:
univ.ox.ac.uk/news/order-of-the-holy-brancoveanu-martyrs/
pirbright.ac.uk/news/2021/11/pirbright-student-wins-social-impact-award-covid-19-work-romania-and-uk
