Ten researchers have been awarded funding for innovative, curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary research projects in the 2025 round of the APEX Awards.
The awards will provide up to £200,000 for established independent researchers to collaborate with partners from different disciplines across the sciences, engineering, social sciences and humanities. The grants are jointly awarded by the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society, and funded generously by the Leverhulme Trust.
The 2026 round of the APEX Awards opened on 24 June 2025 and closes on 9 September 2025 at 15:00 (UK Time). Up to £200,000 is available to fund staff costs for the lead applicant, the co-applicant, and associated research costs representing no more than 25% of the total award value. These can include consumables, equipment, and collaborative travel. Additionally, applicants have the option to request funds (up to £10,000) to support public engagement activities relating to their APEX proposal, inclusive of the maximum award value.
The APEX Awards have funded 59 interdisciplinary research projects across the UK since launching in 2017. Researchers supported through this grant have used the funding to address complex challenges where solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research.
The 2025 APEX Awards awardees are:
Dr Kevin Briggs, University of Southampton
How do cold-climate periglacial conditions from the Ice Age affect infrastructure construction in the 21st Century?
Dr Michelle Farrell, Coventry University
Bog biographies – combining high spatial and chronological resolution ecological modelling for understanding societal and cultural resilience
Professor Maiwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas, Herriot-Watt University
Diagnostic Discard: exploration of material values in the point-of-care diagnostic sector
Dr Sam Kirkham, Lancaster University
Interpretable acoustic-articulatory relations in speech production
Dr Marina Lostal, University of Essex
Navigating riverine war reparations: the case of the Cauca River
Dr Adam Spiers, Imperial College London
Co-design of digital accessibility interfaces for visually impaired people in Higher Education
Professor Zengbo Wang, Bangor University
Listen to the cell breathe: investigating viral infection in real-time with nano-vibration detection and super-resolution imaging
Professor Aengus Ward, University of Birmingham
PPROTEX: Philological and Proteomic Analysis of Texts from the Reign of Alfonso X
Dr Hannah Whitby, University of Liverpool
FOOD-INSIDE: Food Output OptimiseD - Innovation in Nutrient Sensing for InDoor Environments
Dr Anna Wilson, University of Glasgow
Remnants and revenants: marine litter, coastal ghosts and socioenvironmental literacies