A University of Cambridge scientist has been named Innovator of the Year by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), Britain’s leading agency for academic research and training in non-clinical life sciences.

Professor Shankar Balasubramanian of Trinity College, was awarded £10,000 as an acknowledgement of his work on Solexa sequencing, a new form of DNA sequencing technology. It has had many practical applications in fields such as genomics.

Professor Balasubramanian said he was “delighted” to receive the award, which is intended to encourage research that has a practical impact on quality of life. He was also the winner of the Commercial Innovator of the Year category.

“None of this would have happened without the support of the BBSRC,” he said. “Their backing was essential for the blue skies research that gave rise to our original inventions.”

He added, “The continued funding of fundamental science by the BBSRC will be an essential part of future enterprises and ultimately, wealth creation.”

DNA sequencing aims to determine the order of nucleotide bases in a molecule of DNA. Since its conception in the early 1970s, it has become an indispensable tool for basic biological research.

The unique technology developed by Professor Balasubramanian, in conjunction with Professor David Klenerman, is based on massively parallel sequencing of millions of fragments using reversible terminator-based sequencing chemistry.

Their work, which is used routinely for applications such as human genome sequencing, was originally pursued through their Cambridge spinout company, Solexa. Solexa was acquired by Illumina Inc in 2007.

Professor Balasubramanian’s research is exactly the type that the BBSRC has sought to promote. Professor Douglas Kell, BBSRC chief executive, said: “The BBRSC is pleased to be able to recognise and reward researchers who are making extraordinary progress in translating their research into applications that are of benefit socially and for UK Plc.”

Lord Drayson, the Science and Innovation Minister, agreed that such practical research would be crucial for any future prosperity. “Finding practical applications for scientific discoveries is part of the joy of science. Today’s winners make science exciting and relevant, with the potential to generate great benefits for our economy and society.”

Professor Balasubramanian studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge between 1985 and 1988, after which he went on to study for a PhD. Since 1994 he has been an independent academic at the University and currently holds a joint appointment between the Clinical School and the Department of Chemistry.