NIHR are running a series of webinars and events for students considering a career in research. You’ll learn about the range of research roles available and hear first-hand from professionals what it’s really like to work at the forefront of health and care innovation.

As well as the main annual event there are sessions tailored for social care, pharmacists and public health researchers

Discover the ‘Is a career in research for me?’ webinar series and register

To mark our 20th anniversary, the NIHR have launched two prestigious prizes to celebrate outstanding individuals whose work is shaping the future of health and care research.

NIHR20 Research Leaders Prizes  will recognise researchers who demonstrate exceptional leadership, impact, innovation, and a strong commitment to making research more inclusive and relevant to patients, communities, and health and care delivery.

Applications are now open till 18 March 2026 at 13:00.

Prize Categories

Rising Research Leaders Prize

This prize celebrates 20 outstanding rising research leaders at early to mid-career level who go above and beyond to advance the mission of the NIHR.

Research Delivery Leaders Prize

This prize celebrates 20 research delivery leaders who have delivered excellence in the NIHR portfolio through principal investigator work or through roles that directly support research delivery. It also recognises leadership that improves research participation, inclusion and performance across clinical and wider care settings.

Winners will receive-

• £10,000 professional development prize, paid to your employer
• Bespoke leadership and development support to strengthen your skills
• Formal recognition at the 2026 NIHR Academy Conference
• Amplification of your profile across multiple channels

ZeDTech has launched a new funding for feasibility research projects to develop zero-burden, sustainable technologies that support independent living with dementia, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Funding guidelines & application form.

Funding call closes on 23 March 2026

ZeDTech is led by Professor David Sharp and Professor Tim Constandinou at Imperial College London, in collaboration with Newcastle University, University of Leeds, University of Exeter, University of Surrey, and the National Physical Laboratory.

Our mission is to accelerate the development of zero-burden, sustainable technologies that support independent living with dementia. We connect people and organisations across the UK to share knowledge, co-produce meaningful solutions, and test innovations in real-world settings. At the heart of ZeDTech is a commitment to technologies that fit seamlessly into everyday life – reducing disruption while enhancing care, communication, and wellbeing.

What we’re looking for:

• Zero-burden, sustainable tech solutions for: mobility, everyday living, communication, health monitoring, carer support
• Technologies that support independent living for people with dementia
• Projects co-developed with people with lived experience
• Cross-disciplinary proposals led by academic researchers can be in collaboration with industry, health & social care professionals and other partners
• Feasibility studies focusing on early-stage development, proof-of-concept, user testing, and/or implementation considerations
• Aim to prepare a larger project application to EPSRC or NIHR

Funding:

• £50,000 – £100,000 per feasibility project
• Awarded at 80% FEC
• 12–24 months projects – starting from June 2026
• Researcher Led
• Applicants need to meet EPSRC & UKRI eligibility criteria

ZeDTech Launch Conference:

ZeDTech Summit – launching a new UK dementia technology network

Date: 9 March 2026, 9.30am – 6.30pm

This event will mark the official launch of the ZeDTech Network and bring together a vibrant, interdisciplinary community from across the UK – including researchers, tech developers, clinicians, industry partners, third sector organisations, carers, and people with lived experience of dementia.

ZeDTech is led by Professor David Sharp and Professor Tim Constandinou at Imperial College London, in collaboration with Newcastle University, University of Leeds, University of Exeter, University of Surrey, and the National Physical Laboratory.

Our mission is to accelerate the development of zero-burden, sustainable technologies that support independent living with dementia. We connect people and organisations across the UK to share knowledge, co-produce meaningful solutions, and test innovations in real-world settings. At the heart of ZeDTech is a commitment to technologies that fit seamlessly into everyday life – reducing disruption while enhancing care, communication, and wellbeing.

ZeDTech is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and the Alzheimer’s Society.

The Summit will feature dynamic sessions exploring:

• The current landscape of technology in dementia care
• Key gaps and opportunities for future research
• Funding pathways for dementia-focused technologies
• Public and professional involvement
• Industry and start-up perspectives on technology development

A new research partnership will test cutting-edge vaccines designed to protect against some of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases.

The collaboration between Imperial College London and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust will deliver a first-in-human (FIH) clinical trial of three new vaccines targeting Ebola, Marburg and Lassa fever – viruses that can cause severe, often fatal illness and trigger devastating outbreaks.

The study, known as EML-Vac, is being led by Professor Robin Shattock, Chair in Mucosal Infection and Immunity in the Department of Infectious Disease, and Dr Marta Boffito, Consultant Physician and Clinical Director at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Why these viruses matter

Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses belong to a group called viral haemorrhagic fevers. They can damage blood vessels, cause internal and external bleeding, and in some outbreaks, are deadly for many of the people infected.

Outbreaks tend to strike suddenly, often in parts of the world with limited healthcare infrastructure, including parts of Central and East Africa, and West Africa, making fast and effective vaccine development a global priority.

A new kind of vaccine

The vaccines being tested in EML-Vac use a new technology called self-amplifying RNA (saRNA). Unlike traditional vaccines, which can take years to develop and manufacture, saRNA vaccines can be designed and produced much more quickly – a crucial advantage when new outbreaks emerge.

These vaccines work by giving the body instructions to make harmless pieces of the virus, allowing the immune system to learn to recognise and fight the real infection if it is encountered in the future.

The three vaccines have been designed to target the glycoproteins of the Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses and are delivered inside tiny fat-based particles, known as lipid nanoparticles, which help the vaccines enter cells more efficiently.

What the trial will test

This is the first time these vaccines will be tested in people. The EML-Vac study will focus on two main areas:

• Whether the vaccines are well tolerated by participants (safety)
• Whether the vaccines trigger the types of immune reactions researchers expect (immune response)

The vaccines will be tested both individually and in combination.

The team is now recruiting healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50 to take part in the study, which will be carried out at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and sponsored by Imperial.

By taking part, volunteers will be helping researchers gather the crucial early data needed to move these vaccines towards wider testing and, eventually, real-world use.

A step towards faster outbreak response

Developing vaccines for emerging diseases is usually expensive and slow – often too slow to stop an outbreak once it has begun. The saRNA approach could change that, allowing scientists to respond far more rapidly to new threats.

Together, Imperial and Chelsea and Westminster hope this partnership will help manufacture and test a new generation of vaccines ready to protect people when they are needed most.

Professor Robin Shattock said: “This trial represents the culmination of many years of research. Developing vaccines that are safe, protective and affordable has the potential to be truly transformative for communities affected by these dangerous viruses, as well as for the health workers responding on the frontline during outbreaks.”

Dr Marta Boffito added: “The Clinical Research Facility staff and I are very excited to conduct this Phase I study, a critical first step in evaluating the safety and immune response of these important vaccines. We are grateful to the volunteers whose participation makes this progress possible – their contribution brings us closer to vaccines that could save lives in future outbreaks.”

Interested in taking part?

The EML-Vac study is currently recruiting healthy volunteers aged 18–50. To find out more and register your interest, please complete the research volunteer sign-up form on the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust website. When completing the form, please quote “EML VAC” in the source of referral section.

New research has found that most of the initial hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines was rooted in concerns that can be addressed and reduced over time.

In a study of more than one million people from Imperial College London’s landmark REACT study, Imperial researchers found that almost two-thirds (65%) of people who were initially hesitant about getting a COVID-19 vaccine went on to get vaccinated at least once.

The findings, published today in The Lancet, show the most common reasons for hesitancy during the pandemic were concerns around the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines and possible side effects. People who cited these reasons were more likely to change their minds and get vaccinated.

However, people who reported being hesitant because of a general anti-vaccine sentiment, a mistrust of vaccine developers, or who perceived their risk from COVID-19 to be low, remained more reluctant to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

The findings shed new light on the main types of vaccine hesitancy in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide information about potential barriers to future vaccination uptake. The authors say that public health officials and policymakers need to recognise that certain types of hesitancy may be readily addressed, while others are more resistant to change.

Professor Paul Elliott, from Imperial’s School of Public Health, co-senior author of the paper and director of the REACT community surveillance study, said: “What we learned from the COVID-19 experience is the importance of ensuring that people have access to reliable and trusted information so they can make well-informed decisions about their personal health choices. Reliable, easy-to-understand information, for example, on vaccine effectiveness and potential risks, is of particular importance in the case of a public health emergency such as COVID-19, which involved the rapid deployment at scale of new vaccine technologies.”

COVID-19 vaccine rollout

In the study, researchers from Imperial’s School of Public Health analysed longitudinal survey data from 1.1 million adults from the Real-time Assessment of Community Transmission (REACT) Study – focusing on the initial COVID-19 vaccine roll-out between January 2021 and March 2022. They compared people’s responses at enrolment to the REACT study with subsequent vaccination uptake from National Health Service vaccination records up to May 2024, to identify types of vaccine hesitancy and their drivers.

During the pandemic, participants were asked whether they had been vaccinated or intended to get vaccinated. Those who refused the vaccine, or were sceptical about vaccination, were asked about their reasons from a checklist of 23 options as well as a free text option.

The analysis found that overall, 3.3% of participants (37,982) reported some degree of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and subsequent vaccination data were available through NHS records linkage for 24,229 (64%) of them. Hesitancy rates generally declined over time from an initial high of 8% of those surveyed in January 2021 to a low of 1.1% at the start of 2022. There was a small increase in hesitancy to over 2.2% in February and March 2022, during the Omicron wave of the pandemic.

The researchers identified eight categories of vaccine hesitancy, including concerns about effectiveness and side effects, perception of low risk from COVID-19, mistrust of vaccine developers, and fear of vaccines and reactions. Among the 30,701 people who provided a reason for hesitancy, 41% (12,498) reported concerns around long-term health effects, 39% (11,953) wanted to wait to see whether the vaccine worked, and 37% (11,287) had concerns about side effects.

Reasons for hesitancy varied across demographic groups. For example, men were more likely than women to report not feeling COVID-19 was a personal risk (18% vs 10%); women more likely to be worried about fertility-related consequences (21% vs 8%); people aged 74 years or older were more likely to be against vaccines in general compared with 18–24-year-olds (12% vs 2.5%).

The analysis of subsequent vaccination behaviour found that the likelihood of remaining unvaccinated was higher for older people, women, people of Black ethnicity, people who were unemployed or living in deprivation, those with a history of COVID-19, and people with a lower level of education.

Professor Marc Chadeau-Hyam, from Imperial’s School of Public Health and co-senior author of the paper, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic provided a unique opportunity to look at attitudes towards vaccination during a health emergency. At the time, there was a lot of uncertainty among the public as we were dealing with a new disease and a relatively new vaccine platform. In our study, we wanted to look at vaccine hesitancy in more depth to identify groups with more persistent forms of hesitancy and their main concerns. Understanding these drivers is critical to address vaccine uptake and better control disease spreads.”

Professor Helen Ward, from Imperial’s School of Public Health and NIHR Imperial BRC SGE Theme Co-lead, said: “We show that certain types of vaccine hesitancy are more readily addressed than others, for example, concerns relating to pregnancy or breastfeeding. Our study suggests that as the vaccine was rolled out, public confidence increased and the original vaccine scepticism was largely overcome.”

The researchers explain that while the findings focus especially on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines, which were a relatively new vaccine platform at the time, the findings may provide important insights into the wider phenomenon of vaccine hesitancy, including vaccination against childhood diseases.

Dr Helen Skirrow, a clinical lecturer from Imperial’s School of Public Health specialising in maternal and childhood vaccine uptake, who was not involved in the study, explained: “We know that the impacts of declining childhood vaccine uptake are very real: in recent years we have seen a resurgence in cases of vaccine preventable diseases such as measles and in 2024 sadly the death of a child from measles in England. We need to ensure parents and families are getting clear and accurate information from health professionals so any concerns can be addressed. The evidence suggests most parents want to vaccinate their children but some might have questions that can easily be addressed through conversations with health professionals. It’s important that children get their recommended doses of vaccines in order to protect themselves, as well as their friends and families.”

The legacy of REACT 

The REACT programme was launched in April 2020 and quickly became one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive coronavirus monitoring studies. Led by a team of researchers at Imperial College London in partnership with Ipsos MORI and commissioned by the Department of Health and Social Care, the two REACT studies provided invaluable information during the COVID-19 pandemic, giving insights into how many people were sick and the spread of immunity in the population.

Following the pandemic, the programme remains a valuable resource for scientific research. In 2025, REACT joined a leading national dementia programme to help boost recruitment for clinical trials. The first participants from the REACT cohort are expected to be recruited to the dementia programme in early 2026.

Professor Elliott added, “The REACT studies provided invaluable information during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they also leave an important research legacy beyond COVID-19. With the help of over three million participants who have signed up to our studies, we are looking at the long-term consequences of the pandemic as well as a focus on specific conditions such as dementia and bipolar disorder. This could one day translate into better treatments and earlier detection for these diseases.”