Seventy-seven talented early-career researchers have been awarded a total of £120 million to lead vital research, collaborate with innovators and develop their careers as the research and innovation leaders of the future.
UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) flagship Future Leaders Fellowships (FLF) fund allows universities and businesses to develop talented early career researchers and innovators and attract new people to their organisations, including from overseas.
Out of the successful applications, 13 projects are led by businesses and funded by Innovate UK.
Long-term support for fellows
The FLF scheme provides long-term (up to seven years) fellowship support to early career researchers.
This enables them to tackle ambitious programmes or multidisciplinary questions, and new or emerging research and innovation areas and partnerships.
To support excellent research and innovation wherever it arises and to facilitate movement of people and projects between sectors, FLF fellows are based in the most appropriate environment for their projects, including:
- universities
- businesses
- charities
- other independent research organisations
The fellowship allows the individual to devote their time to tackle challenging research and innovation problems and to develop their careers as they become the next wave of world-class research and innovation leaders.
The fellowship also allows recipients access to the FLF Development Network, which provides:
- specialised leadership training
- access to networks
- workshops
- mentors
- one-to-one coaching
- opportunities for additional seed-funding for collaborative projects
Successful projects
This round’s list of successful projects include:
Creating a social media observatory at Royal Holloway University of London, to study the moderation of political content within and across social media platforms. This project is led by Dr Andreu Casas Salleras.
Research into how our immune system’s inflammation response may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, at Cardiff University. The project is led by Dr Wioleta Zelek.
Research at The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre to enable interoperability for:
- better data sharing across global supply chains
- unlocking the potential for driving innovation
- increasing productivity, generating turnover
- creating high-skilled jobs
- reducing carbon emissions
The project is led by Jonathan Eyre.
A new laboratory at University College London is studying the biological changes which take place before lung cancer tumours start to grow, and possible new treatments to prevent tumour growth. This project is led by Dr Deborah Caswell.
Transcending disciplinary and sector boundaries
Frances Burstow, Director of Talent and Skills at UKRI, said:
UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships provide researchers and innovators with long-term support and training to embark on large and complex research programmes, to address key national and global challenges.
The programme supports the research and innovation leaders of the future to transcend disciplinary and sector boundaries, bridging the gap between academia and business.
The fellows announced today demonstrate how UKRI supports excellence across the entire breadth of its remit, supporting early-career researchers to lessen the distance from discovery to real world impact.
Turning bold ideas into innovations
UKRI Chief Executive, Professor Sir Ian Chapman, said:
UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships offer long-term support to outstanding researchers, helping them turn bold ideas into innovations that improve lives and livelihoods in the UK and beyond.
These fellowships continue to drive excellence and accelerate the journey from discovery to public benefit. I wish them every success.
Further information
Full list of Future Leaders Fellows and their institutions:
- Aditya Varna Iyer, Allos AI Limited
- Akshay Deshmukh, University of Cambridge
- Aldona Mzyk, Heriot-Watt University
- Alex Neale, University of Liverpool
- Alexander Raven, University of Glasgow
- Alice Horton, Marine Biological Association of the UK
- Amanda Gibson, Aberystwyth University
- Amir Farokh Payam, University of Ulster
- Andreu Casas Salleras, Royal Holloway University of London
- Angelika Zarkali, University College London
- Anna Walas, University of London
- Arathyram Ramachandra Kurup Sasikala, University of Bradford
- Benjamin Peters, University of Glasgow (possibly transfering to Edinburgh, to be confirmed)
- Bobby Brown, Lighthouse Arts and Training Ltd
- Carla Resendiz-Villasenor, Norscot Joinery Limited
- Charlotte Goetz, Northumbria University
- Christine Reitmayer, Keele University
- Christopher Dawes, Hynt Labs Limited
- Claudia Bonfio, University of Cambridge
- Clement Sefa-Nyarko, King’s College London
- Daniel Evans, Cranfield University
- Daniel Todd, Invenirex Ltd
- Deborah Caswell, University College London
- Declan Finney, University of Leeds
- Diego Garcia Rodriguez, University of Leicester
- Duo Chan, University of Southampton
- Eder Zavala, The University of Manchester
- Eliana Maria Vasquez Osorio, The University of Manchester
- Elisabetta Arca, University of Liverpool
- Elizabeth Radford, University of Cambridge
- Ellen Pilsworth, University of Reading
- Emily Warner, Ikarovec Limited
- Federico Fedele, Lancaster University
- Florence Concepcion, Aquark Technologies Limited
- Helen Williams, Northumbria University
- Ida Zadeh, University of Southampton
- Isobelle Clarke, Lancaster University
- Joanna Bullivant, Birmingham City University
- Jocelyn Bosse, Queen’s University Belfast
- Jonathan Eyre, The University of Sheffield, Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre
- Jordi Ferrer Orri, AMPHIBIO Ltd
- Katherine Staden, The Open University
- Katsiaryna Pabortsava, National Oceanography Centre
- Kezia Gaitskell, University of Oxford
- Lena Morgon Banks, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Lindsey Buster, University of York
- Lucia Ricciardi, St George’s, University of London
- Maria Vincenzi, University of Oxford
- Mathieu Bourdenx, University College London
- Mehak Mumtaz, Intelligent Lab On Fiber Limited (ILOF)
- Nadezhda Mamontova, University of Birmingham
- Nicola Black, AI Exploration Ltd
- Nicola Power, University of Liverpool
- Oskar Cox Jensen, Newcastle University
- Pahini Pandya, Panakeia Technologies Limited
- Patrick Errington, The University of Edinburgh
- Priya Raghavan, Institute of Development Studies
- Rachel Wheatley, Queen’s University Belfast
- Rainer Groh, University of Bristol
- Raj Pandya, The University of Warwick
- Rohit Chikkaraddy, University of Birmingham
- Sabrina Li, University of Nottingham
- Samuel Patterson, Impact Laboratories Limited
- Sarah Brierley, London School of Economics and Political Science
- Sarah Frank, The University of Sheffield
- Sarah Hill, Royal Veterinary College
- Sarah Morgan, King’s College London
- Scott Lovell, University of Bath
- Sean Froudist-Walsh, University of Bristol
- Sean Stankowski, University of Sussex
- Sophie Morse, Imperial College London
- Tim Lamont, Lancaster University
- Timothy Neate, King’s College London
- Vee San Cheong, The University of Sheffield
- William Brittain, Durham University
- Wioleta Zelek, Cardiff University
- Zsuzsanna Koczor-Benda, The University of Warwick
