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Vice Principal's Award for Research Excellence 2025 Winners

This prize is awarded to an established individual or group of researchers who can demonstrate sustained, internationally significant achievements in any field of research.

Winner: Steffen Petersen

Steffen Petersen is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the William Harvey Research Institute. 

Over the past decade, the multidisciplinary team around Steffen has advanced cardiovascular science, secured £43 million for imaging 100,000 participants, and created an international consortium. They developed AI approaches for automated CMR analysis, saving healthcare systems billions and informing NICE guidelines. Their innovations include AI-based cardiac image segmentation, novel biomarkers, and genetic analyses. The team supports researchers at all career stages and collaborates with industry partners, redefining cardiovascular imaging research and creating impactful clinical tools. 

The panel have awarded Steffen this year's Research Excellence Award in recognition of his exceptional publication record, leadership and impact, and his clear and cohesive portfolio of achievements. Steffen has consistently demonstrated outstanding research excellence through a strong body of high-impact publications, while successfully leading a team that has made significant contributions individually and collectively, showcasing his ability to drive impactful research and collaboration. 

 

Highly Commended

Yang Hao, Professor of Antennas and Electromagnetics in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. Yang has demonstrated an impressive track record, particularly over the past few years. He is a holder of a Royal Academy of Engineering Professorship, and has been recognised as a Fellow of the IET and the IEEE. He has been active in securing significant grants, and published in an exceptional range of high-quality research, including papers in Nature Communications and other esteemed journals.

Claude Chelala, Professor of Bioinformatics, and Louise Jones, Professor of Breast Pathology, at Barts Cancer Institute. The panel were impressed with the scope and ambition of the PharosAI project, building on 18 years of cancer research, including the Breast Cancer Now Biobank and the OPTIMA Consortium. The UK Government have committed £18.9m to PharosAI, bringing the total to £46m investment. The panel were especially impressed by their ability to establish and leverage partnerships and collaborations that have great potential to improve underserved patient outcomes.

Shortlisted

Just Worlds Research Collective, PHURI Research Team, Marcella Bona, Akram Alomainy, Christian Nielsen

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