Lister Prize Applications 2018: The Numbers Behind Our Most Successful Year Ever

2018 Research Prize Applications pic 1

We are delighted to announce that this year the Lister Institute’s competitive research prizes have received the highest number of applications since the awards’ inception.

Every year we award Research Prizes to up to six different promising young biomedical researchers based in the UK or Republic of Ireland. Each prize is worth £250,000 over a five-year period and is used to fund cutting edge research that has a genuine impact in the field.

Over the years our Prize Fellows have made significant breakthroughs in a variety of medical fields including in vaccines, DNA testing, immunology, and the treatments of blood diseases. Almost two-thirds of our former Fellows now hold prestigious Chair positions, and form part of an extensive and active network of members and Fellows who support the Institute’s work.

In 2018 we will continue to build on this proud heritage and, for the research prizes, it is shaping up to be a very competitive year!

2018 by the numbers

2018 Research Prize Applications pic 2

  • For those prize fellowships that will be awarded in 2018 we have received a record 103 applications – 14 were from previous applicants and 89 were by researchers applying for the first time.
  • Although now based in UK and Irish organisations, the applicants originally hail from 16 different countries, including 7 from the Republic of Ireland (ROI).
  • The institutional profile of the applications also reflects the strong biomedical community that exists all across the UK and ROI; in total applications were received from researchers based at more than 35 different institutions.
  • Historically our prizes have typically been awarded in the same gender ratio as initial applications, and this year 45 applicants were female and 58 were male.
  • The vast majority of the applicants are scientific researchers (91 in total), though we also received 12 applications from medical professionals, reflecting the open and inclusive nature of the Institute’s funding approach in the biomedical field.

The next steps

In 2018 all 103 applicants will be carefully assessed by members of the Lister Institute’s Scientific Advisory Committee and independent external referees. The final decision will be made later in the summer following face-to-face presentations by shortlisted candidates, with the prize winners announced on the Lister website.

If you would like more information on our research prizes and how they help contribute to a stronger biomedical ecosystem and research-base across the UK and ROI, please view the relevant pages on our website, where you can also see the full eligibility criteria.

Also, please follow along here with our news section to hear the latest information about our Fellows, research prizes and all other news from the Institute.

 

Photo credit 1: Pan American Health Organization PAHO CIDEIM Project via photopin (license).
Photo credit 2: Fondazione Santa Lucia – IRCCS © FSL – Laboratorio di Neuroimmunologia – 22 via photopin (license).