The Academy of Medical Sciences has awarded £6.7 million to 55 early career researchers at 38 institutions across the UK, backing new research that can transform our understanding of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, infectious diseases and chronic pain, among other pressing health challenges.
Delivered through the Academy’s flagship Springboard programme, the grants support curiosity-driven, discovery-stage research – the foundational science that underpins future treatments and interventions. The awards support researchers to take their first steps as independent group leaders, testing bold ideas with the potential to improve lives, reduce health inequalities and strengthen the UK’s long-term research base.
471
early career researchers supported
£50.5m
invested to date
Having recently marked a decade of impact, the programme has now supported 471 early career researchers at 68 UK higher education institutions, expanding institutional and regional reach with researchers at the University of Lincoln and the University of Greenwich funded for the first time this year, and more than £50.5 million invested since its creation in 2015.
With support from the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Wellcome and the British Heart Foundation, this year’s awards span the full breadth of biomedical and health research. Together, these projects aim to help people to live healthier lives, reduce health inequalities and strengthen the UK’s ability to prevent and respond to future health emergencies.
Among this year’s Springboard awardees
At Northumbria University, Dr Rodrigo Vitorio is exploring whether non-invasive brain stimulation could help people with Parkinson’s disease overcome persistent problems with walking and balance, symptoms that often respond only partially to medication and can lead to falls, loss of confidence and reduced independence.
His project will test how transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a safe and low-cost technique that uses a mild electrical current delivered through a head-worn device, can be optimised and tailored to individuals. Crucially, the research will assess whether people can use the technology in their own homes, focusing on the difference it could make in everyday life.
Dr Rodrigo Vitorio
I am delighted to receive the Academy’s Springboard support, which will enable me to take a crucial next step in understanding how tDCS can be optimised and personalised for people with Parkinson's. The project will identify a precise tDCS dose for each individual, potentially leading to enhanced benefits in walking and balance that truly translate to better quality of life for people with Parkinson’s.
By testing whether people can use this safe, low-cost technology in their own homes, I hope to show that tDCS can be not just effective, but genuinely accessible to those who need it most.
Dr Rodrigo Vitorio
Dr Charlotte Hammer, based at University of Cambridge, is investigating why dangerous infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to emerge and escalate in regions affected by conflict, environmental degradation or humanitarian crises.
Drawing on detailed historical case studies, including outbreaks such as Ebola in Guinea and Nipah virus in Indonesia, Dr Hammer’s work will combine epidemiology with systems-based approaches to identify shared pathways that allow diseases to cross from animals to humans and spread rapidly.
By identifying critical “tipping points” where early action could prevent wider epidemics or pandemics, the project aims to help health systems better target surveillance and early-warning efforts.
Dr Charlotte Hammer
Outbreaks do not happen in isolation. By looking closely at how ecological pressures, social disruption and fragile health systems interact, we can better understand why certain places become hotspots for dangerous pathogens. Having worked both as a researcher and a health emergency responder, I have seen how these dynamics shape real world risks.
This award comes at a crucial stage, allowing me to establish the foundations of an integrated research programme and build the evidence needed to strengthen early detection and reduce the chances of local events turning into wider crises.
Dr Charlotte Hammer
At the University of Dundee, Dr Amy Lloyd will investigate why women are around twice as likely as men to develop Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia worldwide.
While more than 50 million people globally are affected, the biological reasons remain poorly understood. Growing evidence suggests that differences in how the immune system interacts with the brain, influenced by sex hormones such as oestrogen, play a key role. Risk rises sharply after the menopause, when oestrogen levels decline.
Dr Lloyd will use human stem cells from male and female donors to create advanced models to examine how immune responses and brain cell health differ between males and females, including under pre- and post-menopause conditions. The findings could help identify new therapeutic targets and inform future approaches to reducing risk or improving treatment for women.
Dr Amy Lloyd
The Springboard award will enable me to address critical, yet underexplored questions surrounding women’s health in neurodegenerative diseases.
As an early career researcher, this support is pivotal in accelerating the development of my independent research programme, providing me with the resources needed to establish and grow my lab. It will also allow me to generate high-quality data, build collaborations, and position myself as a leading expert in the neurodegeneration field. I am extremely grateful for this award and am excited for the future of my lab and its research.
Dr Amy Lloyd
Dr Jan Vollert is expanding the PROTECT study, a large community-based study focussing on dementia, to also understand why some people develop chronic pain which, as the leading cause of disability[i], affects around one in five people worldwide.
Working from the University of Exeter, Dr Vollert will collect detailed information on pain experiences over time from up to 30,000 participants. By comparing people with and without chronic pain, Dr Vollert aims to identify the biological, psychological, and social factors that influence how pain develops and persists. In the longer term, the work could help improve early intervention, personalise care, and reduce the likelihood of pain becoming chronic.
Dr Jan Vollert
This Springboard award will provide me with the chance to expand an existing cohort study run by the University of Exeter to collect complex measures on chronic pain. As the study will continue to gather data for many years, it will allow us to better understand who develops chronic pain, and why, in the community, rather than in isolated research settings.
For me, this is a step change in my career trajectory, one that hopefully will lead to better pain prevention and treatment in the UK.
Dr Jan Vollert
Together, these projects show what is possible when early career researchers are given time and flexibility to turn promising ideas into impactful research. By backing scientists as they establish independence, Springboard supports work that advances understanding of disease, improves lives, informs care and strengthens responses to emerging health challenges.
The transition to research leadership is one of the most challenging stages in a research career, yet it is also when creativity is often at its strongest. Springboard invests in people at the moment when bold ideas begin to take shape, providing the freedom, confidence and backing researchers need to strike out on their own and ask big questions. The projects announced today show the impact this approach can have – demonstrating how early support can translate into meaningful benefits for patients, communities and the wider health system.
Professor James Naismith FRS FRSE FMedSci, Vice President (Non-Clinical), Academy of Medical Sciences
To tackle cruel diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and chronic pain, and ultimately save lives, we must help researchers to take their ambitious discovery-stage work to the next level. This support is backing researchers at a stage where attracting commercial investment can be a challenge and builds on the Government’s record investment in research – unlocking more discoveries that benefit people across the UK and beyond.
UK Science Minister Lord Vallance FMedSci
Tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs start with today’s innovative ideas. Programmes like Springboard give early career researchers the backing and belief to take risks, follow their curiosity and ask questions that can change lives. We’re proud to support this work which has the potential to unlock new insights into heart and circulatory diseases, and open doors to better prevention and treatments, strengthening the UK’s research talent for years to come.
Professor James Leiper, Director of Research, British Heart Foundation
Early career researchers need time and resource to establish their research identity, benefiting from larger and longer grants, which we’re committed to providing through our Discovery Research programme at Wellcome. Springboard provides an opportunity to launch into a research career and establish a research group, encouraging researchers to ask the big questions and pursue the bold ideas that lead to cutting-edge, curiosity-driven discoveries. The diversity of areas and approaches supported through Springboard is essential for a healthy pipeline of future research leaders.
Ben Murton, Head of Early Careers and Career Development Researchers, Wellcome
The application process for the next Springboard round has now opened. Prospective candidates should contact their institution’s Springboard Champion to register interest for the internal triage process. Each eligible institution may nominate up to four candidates by the end of April 2026, after which selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application to the Academy.
Full list of Springboard awardees for the latest round
John Reynolds, Aston University
Charlie Wiltshire, Bangor University
Roddy Walsh, City St. George’s, University of London
Isadora Clivatti Furigo, Coventry University
Alessandro Borghi, Durham University
William Johnston, Glasgow Caledonian University
Pete Lally, Imperial College London
Shuchi Agrawal Singh, Imperial College London
Muriel Desbois, Keele University
Rebecca Sumner, King's College London
Eric Lucas, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Thomas Britten, Manchester Metropolitan University
Rodrigo Vitorio, Northumbria University
Justin Andrushko, Northumbria University
Oscar Maiques, Queen Mary University of London
Monica Imbernon, Queen Mary University of London
Giulia De Rossi, University College London
Bing Li, University College London
Maria Shchepinova, University of Bath
Íris Cristina Da Luz Batalha, University of Bath
Harriet Mears, University of Bristol
Jessica Cross, University of Bristol
Charlotte Hammer, University of Cambridge
Amy Lloyd, University of Dundee
Chloe Stanton, University of Edinburgh
Jan Vollert, University of Exeter
Khushboo Borah Slater, University of Exeter
Justine Rudkin, University of Glasgow
Ana-Maria Totea, University of Greenwich
Paul Hiebert, University of Hull
Stefanie Menzies, University of Lancaster
Panagiotis Kotsantis, University of Lancaster
Claire Smith, University of Leeds
Helen Foster, University of Leeds
Robert Mahen, University of Leicester
Caglar Gok, University of Lincoln
Hayley Lavender, University of Liverpool
Paraskevi Kritsiligkou, University of Liverpool
Sara Gago, University of Manchester
Abigail Lay, University of Manchester
Holly Lovegrove, University of Manchester
Sara Federici, University of Manchester
Robert Owen, University of Nottingham
Carol Sze Ki Leung, University of Oxford
Pramila Rijal, University of Oxford
William Cross, University of Reading
Connor Sharp, University of Reading
Ruby Peters, University of Sheffield
Nela Nikolic, University of Southampton
Carsten Schulte, University of Strathclyde
Natalie Weir, University of Strathclyde
Luke Yates, University of Sussex
Jeremy Keown, University of Warwick
Vicki Jennings, University of York
Katrien Van Bocxlaer, University of York
[i] NHS Education for Scotland. The Matrix. Evidence Summaries. Chronic Pain. Last updated May 2023.
