As we open applications for the 2026 awards, we also take a moment to celebrate the exceptional winners of the 2025 Research Awards.
Every September, we launch the Research Awards to celebrate excellence in paediatric research among early career researchers.
All award winners are presented at the annual RCPCH Conference, with costs covered for travel, overnight accommodation, and a complimentary day pass. In addition, some winners receives a monetary prize to support their continued research journey.
This year, we are proud to launch four awards for 2026. As we open applications, we also take a moment to hear from the 2025 winners about what receiving the award has meant to them.
2026 Research Awards
Dr Simon Newell Early Independent Researcher award
With support from the Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity, we offer this award to recognise an exceptional young medically qualified researcher in British paediatrics.
To apply for this award, individuals are required to complete an application form and submit their CV, providing details of their research interests, research engagement and research impact.
Best Scientific Article Publications Awards
These awards are open to paediatricians below consultant status and are awarded to recognise the quality of article publications. To be eligible for these awards, individuals must have published or had an article accepted for publication within the last two years.
To apply, individuals are required to complete an online application form, including a PDF copy of their publication.
These awards include:
- Donald Paterson Award
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Presented for the best article on any subject related to paediatrics.
- Williams Syndrome Cooper Bursary
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Presented for the best article related to paediatric learning disability.
- Denney Award
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Presented to best article related to paediatric rare disease research.
The Research Awards for 2026 are now open and will close for applications in December 2025.
2025 Research Award Winners
The winners of the 2025 research awards are Dr Claire Wood, Dr Ceri Evans, Dr Sarah Leiter, Dr Angus Hodder, the Born in Bradford: Age of Wonder team, David Ryan, Jennie Ellul, Zarina Mirza and John Wright and Dr Thomas Isaac.
Hear from each winners about what means to win their award:
- Dr Claire Wood - Dr Simon Newell Early Independent Researcher Award Winner
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Dr Clare Wood, Senior Clinical Lecturer at Newcastle University and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes in Newcastle upon Tyne was awarded the Dr Simon Newell Early Independent Researcher Award for her research in Paediatric endocrinology.
Clare says:
I am absolutely delighted to win the Simon Newell Early Independent Researcher award. It is a huge honour and I would like to thank all my academic supervisors that have helped me on my research journey so far, as I certainly would not have won this without their unwavering guidance and support over the years. I look forward to continuing to establish my career in academic paediatric endocrinology.
- Dr Ceri Evans - RCPCH Outstanding Publication Award
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Dr Ceri Evans, Clinical Lecturer in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Liverpool and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital was awarded the RCPCH Outstanding Publication Award for their article 'Inflammation and cytomegalovirus viremia during pregnancy drive sex-differentiated differences in mortality and immune development in HIV-exposed infants'.
Ceri says:
I was thrilled to receive the RCPCH Outstanding Publication Award for my work exploring how the immune environment in women with HIV during pregnancy drives immune development and ultimately mortality in their children, highlighting potential new intervention strategies to transform outcomes of children living in settings with a high HIV burden. This was the culmination of several years of laboratory and epidemiological research with a large team at the Zvitambo Institute for Maternal and Child Health Research in Zimbabwe, and I am grateful to my funders and collaborators as well as all the mothers, children and families who participated in the study.
- Dr Sarah Leiter and Dr Angus Hodder - RCPCH Outstanding Publication Award
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Dr Sarah Leiter, Academic Clinical Fellow at Cambridge University Hospitals and Dr Angus Hodder, Paediatric Haematology Registrar at Great Ormond Street Hospital were awarded the RCPCH Outstanding Publication Award for their article 'Benefits for children with suspected cancer from routine whole-genome sequencing'.
Sarah and Angus say:
We are honoured to have won the RCPCH Outstanding Publication Award. This was a truly collaborative project, and we would like to thank the whole team for their dedication and hard work. We would particularly like to thank all the senior authors for their guidance and ongoing mentorship. By sharing our research, we hope that more children with cancer worldwide will be able to benefit from improved diagnostic and targeted treatments.
- Born in Bradford: Age of Wonder Team - RCPCH-NIHR Paediatric Involvement and Engagement in Research Prize
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Born in Bradford: Age of Wonder Team members: Dr David Ryan, Research Fellow, Jennie Ellul, Peer Research Assistant, Zarina Mirza, Programme Coordinator and Professor John Wright, Director/Principal Investigator were awarded the RCPCH-NIHR Paediatric Involvement and Engagement in Research Prize for their whole city cohort project Age of Wonder.
The team say:
We are delighted to win this award. Co-production and public involvement is hugely important to us at Born In Bradford (BiB) and is central to BiB: Age of Wonder. But it has only been made possible by the many young people, parents and teachers who have generously given their time, thoughts and perspectives to co-produce BiB: Age of Wonder. So huge thank you to Emma Holmes, Penny Wild and the Young Dynamos, Michael Davis, Julie Whiting, Isha Ali and the Healthy Minds Apprentices, our BiB Parent Governors and our BiB Young Ambassadors (to name just a few)!
- Dr Thomas Isaac - Williams Syndrome Cooper Bursary
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Dr Thomas Isaac, ST7 Neonatal Grid Trainee at St Michaels Hill Hospital Bristol was awarded the Williams Syndrome Cooper Bursary for their article ‘Measuring the impact of deprivation on learning difficulties and behaviour among infants born preterm: A cohort study’.
Thomas says:
I’m incredibly honoured and humbled to be the first recipient of the Williams Syndrome Cooper Bursary. It’s deeply exciting to have my work recognised by the College, and being able to attend the RCPCH Conference as a prize winner was a truly inspiring opportunity. This award and the bursary are a brilliant platform to help further develop my career in research.
