A health chief who helped tackle Covid-19 has said her New Year Honour could inspire more young people to seize "opportunities offered by science".
Dr June Raine was made a dame to recognise her role as chief executive of the government's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The Saffron Walden scientist was named in this year's New Year Honours alongside Dr Julia Thompson and Dr Ruth March, who were awarded Order of the British Empire (OBE) medals.
Dr Thompson and Dr March led teams at AstraZeneca, which has laboratories in Cambridge and Chesterford, to develop Covid-19 treatments.
Dame June praised her team of talented researchers who helped look after patient safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said: "I hope this recognition inspires more young people to seize the opportunities offered by careers in science, research, regulation and public health."
Dame June added: "Effective regulation is vital to ensuring that everyone can have confidence in medicines, vaccines and medical devices."
Dr Thompson OBE, from Thriplow, is the executive director of biopharmaceutical development at AstraZeneca.
She said: "This award is a great honour."
Dr Thompson added: "My work through the pandemic could not have been more purposeful, more acutely aligned to our mission of bringing innovative medicines and vaccines for Covid-19 to the patients we serve.
"I would like to thank my team, and the many colleagues, contractors and partners that we work with for their focus, expertise and hard work."
Dr March OBE, from Cambridge, is the senior vice president of AstraZeneca's precision medicine and biosamples arm.
She said: "I am proud to accept this award on behalf of the team who overcame many challenges to enable regular Covid-19 testing for our employees, and to keep the supply of innovative medicines to patients every day."
She said not a single manufacturing line or research lab at the firm has closed during the pandemic.
Dr March added that it was "humbling" to see how quickly research teams developed Covid-19 treatments.
AstraZeneca helped develop a vaccine with Oxford University which has since been administered around 50 million times.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here