Royal Society announces 2026 cohort of University Research Fellowships
08 September 2026ºìÌÒÊÓƵ has announced the 2026 cohort of brilliant early career researchers funded through the Royal Society University Research Fellowships. The Fellowship aims to support outstanding scientists who are in the early stages of their research career and have the potential to become leaders in their fields.
This year’s cohort will take up their positions at more than 15 institutions across the UK and Ireland, including the University of Aberdeen, Trinity College Dublin and the University of Leeds. Their research projects range across the natural sciences, from using AI to predict how wildlife is responding to climate change, to studying the mechanics of how cancer cells spread in the body.
University Research Fellows are awarded up to £1.87m over eight years. University Research Fellows based in the UK are funded by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, while those based in the Republic of Ireland are funded through Taighde Éireann – Research Ireland.
Sir Paul Nurse, President of ºìÌÒÊÓƵ, said:
“I am delighted to welcome this latest cohort of University Research Fellows. These highly accomplished scientists represent the next generation of world-leading researchers. Supporting outstanding early career researchers to pursue ambitious and original ideas is essential to the future of science. ºìÌÒÊÓƵ is proud to provide the long-term funding and support that helps to nurture exceptional talent.”
The University Research Fellowship was the first award for early career researchers offered by ºìÌÒÊÓƵ. Since the award started in 1983, it has provided over 1,600 researchers in the UK with long-term support to establish their careers and develop as research leaders in their respective fields.
This year’s University Research Fellows:
Dr Hannah Alfonsa
Neuromodulation of synaptic inhibition and the cognitive effects of tiredness
University of Oxford
Dr Anke Ardern-Arentsen
Connecting local observations of ancient stars to the early Universe
University of Surrey
Dr Thiago Bassinello Burghi
Data-driven closed-loop control of living neural rhythms
University of Oxford
Dr Michael Batie
Dynamic regulation of RNA splicing in cell stress responses: a focus on oxygen sensing
University of Liverpool
Dr Frederick Bowyer
The onset of neoproterozoic instability and biological novelty (TONIAN)
University of Edinburgh
Dr Mario Carneiro
Bootstrappable theorem proving: foundational correctness for math and software
University of Cambridge
Dr Siobhan Crilly
An organoid model of human cerebrovasculature
University of Galway
Dr Conor Joseph Crawford
Chemical glycobiology of algal carbon sinks
Trinity College Dublin
Dr Christoph Eigen
Quantum mixology with ultracold atoms in a box
University of Cambridge
Dr Manuel Frank
Prime-Legume: priming of legume roots for symbiotic nitrogen fixation under varying N-conditions
University of Nottingham
Dr Mario Gely
Superconducting ion traps
University of Oxford
Dr Riccardo Gonzo
High-precision effective field theory for extreme-mass-ratio inspirals
University of Southampton
Dr Mengfan Guo
Topologically mediated electrocaloric effects in organic ferroelectrics
University of Cambridge
Dr Andrew Heard
Chiral heteroatom cages
University of Birmingham
Dr Matthew Heydeman
Black hole microstates from the path integral
Imperial College London
Dr Toby Jackson
Breaking point? Understanding how forests will respond to our changing wind climate
University of Bristol
Dr Thomas Frederick Johnson
Harnessing AI to catalyse biodiversity recovery
The University of Sheffield
Dr Emma King-Smith
Machine learning-guided organic synthesis
University of Edinburgh
Dr Elisabeth Kneale
Invisible guardians: enhanced nuclear fuel imaging with a novel hybrid particle detection system
The University of Sheffield
Dr Richard Kong
Reverse combustion: selective CO homologation at main-group centres
University of Edinburgh
Dr Samuel Lacey
The role of the cytoskeleton in cancer cell migration
University of Leeds
Dr Elizabeth Lawrence
Uncovering microtubule design principles: from molecules to networks
The University of Manchester
Dr Jonathan Mannouch
Towards harnessing hot carriers in next-generation solar cell materials
University of Bristol
Dr Fiona McCarthy
Searching for new physics with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect
University of Cambridge
Dr Aakash Mukhopadhyay
Building a multifunctional flagellum: mechanisms of assembly and motility for parasite adaptation in Leishmania
University of Cambridge
Dr Georgia Orton
The programmed disassembly toolkit: new routes to new materials
University of Birmingham
Dr Kimberley Simpson
The future of savanna carbon storage
The University of Sheffield
Dr Matthew Smith
Bridging scales in galaxy formation: from individual stars to cosmological volumes
University of Cambridge
Dr William Smith
The evolution of multi-weapon fighting in microbes
The University of Manchester
Dr Yevgeny Stadnik
Probing the dark sector with quantum sensors
University of Sussex
Dr Jan Steinebrunner
Higher structures on moduli spaces
University of Oxford
Dr Grant Strachan
Harnessing molecular structure to control polar order in ferroelectric liquid crystals
University of Aberdeen
Dr George Trenins
Advancing quantum rate theory for reactions at electrochemical interfaces
University of Warwick
Dr Domenico Trotta
Shocks, turbulence and the birth of energetic particles
Imperial College London