Prizes and Awards

Imperial has been asked to nominate an Outstanding Young Scientist candidate in the field of Physiology/Medicine to attend the 76th Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting, which takes place from 27 June to 2 July 2027 in Lindau, Germany, by the Royal Society, an academic partner of the meeting. The meeting provides an opportunity for outstanding young research scientists to mix with Nobel Laureates.

The internal selection process is being run by the Faculty of Medicine. For further information, please contact Dr Anna Kinsey (a.kinsey@imperial.ac.uk). 

Call for nominations

• The Shaw Prize is an international award to honour individuals, regardless of race, nationality, gender and religious belief, who are currently active in their respective fields and who have recently achieved distinguished and significant advances, who have made outstanding contributions in academic and scientific research or applications, or who in other domains have achieved excellence. The award is dedicated to furthering societal progress, enhancing quality of life, and enriching humanity’s spiritual civilization.
• Preference is given to individuals whose significant work was achieved recently and who are currently active in their respective fields.
• The Shaw Prize comprises three annual awards: the Prize in Astronomy, the Prize in Life Science and Medicine, and the Prize in Mathematical Sciences.
• The Shaw Prize is an international award managed and administered by The Shaw Prize Foundation, founded by Mr Run Run Shaw and based in Hong Kong.

Nominations

• Imperial has been invited as a nominator for the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine 2027. Nominations must be submitted at an institutional level.
• Each designated nominator may make only one nomination citing one contribution. Imperial will therefore run an internal selection process to determine the institutional nomination.

Summary of internal requirements

Heads of Department should submit nominations to Lara Breckon at l.breckon@imperial.ac.uk by COB Wednesday 21 October 2026. Nominations will then be reviewed by RAG, or a subset of RAG chaired by the Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise). Internal nominations should include the following:

1. Proposed candidate

Please identify the person you wish to nominate for the Shaw Prize. Required and requested details are:

• Title
• First name
• Middle name or initial, if useful to identify the candidate
• Surname
• University or other institution
• Position or role
• Department/Unit
• Email
• ORCID

If you wish to nominate more than one candidate for the same scope or work, additional names and relevant information should be included in the Additional remarks section.

2. Proposed citation

Please provide:

• Short Title of Work: a heading of up to 30 words
• Full Citation: a concise statement about the outstanding contributions of the nominated candidate, in no more than 120 words

3. Scientific justification

Please explain why the nominated candidate should be considered for the award. If the nominee has already received any major international award of a similar magnitude for the same work, please provide justification for the additional and exceptional award of the Shaw Prize. Nominees who have won national prizes, regardless of the scale of monetary award, could still be considered.

Please provide:

• Justification text: this should set out the reasons for considering the nominated candidate deserving of the award, with references to relevant publications and an explanation of their scientific and practical influence.
  Word limit: 500 words

4. Significant works

Please list the most significant works on which the nomination is based.

• Scientific Works text: list up to five journal or book references, web links or video links
• Please give hyperlinks or DOI where possible
• Total word limit: 400 words

5. Additional remarks (optional)

Please add any other relevant information you wish to bring to the attention of the Selection Committee.

This may include:

• the names of other scientists who have also made very significant contributions to the work and whom you wish to identify as joint nominees
• further information where the nominee has already received a major international award of similar magnitude for the same work, where justification is needed for an additional and exceptional award of the Shaw Prize

Please also provide:

• Scientific keywords: choose one or more terms from the PLOS One thesaurus

6. Attachments (optional)

Documents may be attached in support of the Scientific justification and Additional remarks, and general supporting documents may also be included.

• Each file should be no more than 10MB
• There is no need to attach publications that are readily available

Further materials for the selected internal nominee

The successful candidate will be asked to provide the final material needed for submission following the internal selection stage, by COB Monday 23 November 2026.

This will include finalised versions of:

• Proposed candidate details
• Proposed citation
• Scientific justification
• Significant works
• Additional remarks, if applicable
• Scientific keywords
• Any optional attachments

The final institutional nomination will be submitted before the external deadline of Monday 30 November 2026.

Nomination rules

Please note the following official rules for the 2027 Shaw Prize:

1. All nominations must be completely confidential.
2. The form must be completed in English.
3. Nominations may only be submitted by designated nominators, and must be completed personally by the designated nominator.
4. Each nominator may make only one nomination citing one contribution.
5. Letters of reference, self-nominations, nominations by uninvited persons, and nominations made by an immediate family member will not be considered.
6. A nomination may be invalidated if it does not comply with the rules.
7. Nominations for 2027 are valid only if received by the Shaw Prize Secretariat on or before 30 November 2026. Late entries cannot be accepted under any circumstances.
8. Nominations are considered for one year only; there are no holdovers from one year to another.
9. For further clarification, please contact the Shaw Prize Secretariat at info@shawprize.org.

For full information, please see the 2027 Shaw Prize website.

Call for nominations

• The UNESCO-Al Fozan International Prize for the Promotion of Young Scientists in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is now open for the third edition.
• The Prize aims to promote research, education and international cooperation in STEM, and recognises young scientists whose work contributes to scientific advancement and socio-economic progress, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.
• The Prize is awarded biennially to five laureates, one from each of UNESCO’s five geographic regions (Africa, Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean). Each laureate receives US$50,000, a medal and a diploma.

Eligibility criteria

Candidates must:

• be under 40 years old at the application deadline
• have gained recognition for significant achievements or contributions in one or more of the following areas:

• research in STEM, including emerging technologies

• STEM education, dissemination of research findings, creativity, and innovation

• international or regional cooperation in STEM

Internal process

As UNESCO permits each eligible nominating entity to submit a maximum of three nominations, Imperial will run an internal selection process to determine which candidates will be nominated at university level. Heads of Department are asked to nominate no more than one candidate from their department for consideration. Departments should submit nominations to Lara Breckon (l.breckon@imperial.ac.uk) by Friday 23^rd October 2026. Internal nominations should include:

• nominee name, department and current role
• confirmation that the nominee meets the age eligibility requirement
• a summary of key achievements, publications or other significant contributions
• a short statement explaining the nominee’s suitability for the Prize, with reference to the published criteria
• a short CV

Applications will be reviewed by RAG, or a subgroup convened by the VPRE Office, and up to three candidates will be selected to go forward as Imperial’s institutional nominations.

For selected candidates

• Selected candidates will be informed following the internal review (expected before Tuesday 10th November) and will then be asked to complete the full UNESCO application (following submission Method 1) before the external deadline (30 November 2026 (midnight, UTC+1))
• A nomination is valid only if accompanied by a written recommendation from an eligible nominator. The written recommendation must include:
  • a description of the candidate’s background and achievements
  • a summary of the candidate’s work, publications and other significant contributions
  • a statement detailing the candidate’s contribution to the objectives of the Prize
• The letter will be signed by the Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) and should be obtained using the formal process for requesting Institutional Letters of Support. 

Full details of the Prize, eligibility requirements and application process are available on the official UNESCO-Al Fozan Prize webpages.

Prize categories

• Medicine on the topic of “RNA-Based Therapeutics”
• Science in the field of “Biology”

Nomination statutes

• Nominations are accepted from universities, scientific institutions and research centres.
• Nominations are not accepted from individuals or political parties.
• Nominated works must be published, likely to benefit mankind and enrich human knowledge.
• Nominations are not accepted posthumously.
• Dissertations are not accepted.
• Laureates of King Faisal Prize shall not be awarded the Prize again.
• More than one candidate may be nominated, irrespective of their affiliation with the nominating institution.

Nomination materials

Imperial's President is an eligible nominator for this award. To enable review and completion of nominations before the external deadline, the following materials should be submitted directly to the President's Office (president@imperial.ac.uk) no later than COB Monday 1st March 2027

• A draft letter of nomination for signature by President Hugh Brady for each nominee separately, adequately justifying the nomination and outlining the nominee’s achievements in the field of the Prize (please see guidance for obtaining Letters of Support)
• A list of nominated works, not exceeding ten works.
• Nominee’s contact information.

Requirements from each nominee

• A copy of each nominated work.
• A detailed CV with a list of the nominee’s publications.
• Nominee’s general information form.
• A recent colour photo of the nominee in high resolution.
• A letter of commitment to present two lectures in his/her field of specialisation at academic institutions in the event he/she is awarded the Prize.

Nominee’s general information form

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Nationality
• Current position
• Qualification
• Field of specialisation
• Summary of major achievements
• Postal mailing address
• Contact details, including city code, mobile, country code, email, office phone and home phone

Prize components

• A certificate written in Arabic calligraphy featuring the laureate’s name with a brief description of the work for which he/she is awarded the Prize.
• A commemorative 24-carat, 200-gram gold medallion.
• A sum of SR 750,000 (US$200,000).

Remarks

• Nominations are judged exclusively on the basis of scholarly merit.
• Nomination documents and nominated works shall not be returned.
• Any nomination not fulfilling all conditions and requirements shall be excluded.
• More than one laureate may share the Prize.
• The decision of the Prize’s selection committee is final.
• Laureates will be announced in January 2028, and the prizes will be presented at an official ceremony later in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

For further information, visit www.kingfaisalprize.org or contact info@kingfaisalprize.org.