The awards, supported by John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with funding from the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use, aim to encourage participation and advocacy of researchers aged 35 years and younger in global tobacco control.

More than 2,600 delegates from 124 countries attended the event, which aims to address the global problem of tobacco use which currently accounts for almost six million deaths a year and costing billions in healthcare across the globe.

Silvy received the award in recognition of her “outstanding scientific research/tobacco control programme and excellent presentation” on the tobacco industry’s interests in smokeless tobacco and harm reduction.

Silvy said: “It’s a great honour for my research and presentation to be recognised in this way. It wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my Tobacco Control Research Group colleagues, in particular Professor Anna Gilmore, my supervisor and Director of the Tobacco Control Research Group.”

Other members of the Tobacco Control Research Group that presented at the World Conference of Tobacco or Health included Dr Gary Fooks, Dr Rosemary Hiscock, and Fay Beck. In addition, Dr Rob Branston from the School of Management presented research undertaken collaboratively with Professor Anna Gilmore.

The University of Bath’s Tobacco Control Research Group is part of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies, one of five UK Public Health Research Centres of Excellence. The Centre aims to identify and develop opportunities to reduce the burden of disease and disability caused by tobacco use.