Deadline approaching for Research Output Prizes 2023

The University of Reading’s Research Output Prize 2023, which recognises and celebrates the excellent research work of Early Career Researchers (ECRs), is open for submissions. One prize will be awarded per Research Theme.

Work recognised by the judges of last year’s prize included research into treatments for kidney injury in snakebite victims, Black British Women’s theatre, the climate’s global stability properties and the role of caste in the decision to return to India among indentured workers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 

Each Research Division can put forward one output for consideration for the prize. ECRs can submit their own work for consideration to the Division or can be nominated by their Research Division Leader. The prizes will be awarded at a research awards event in June.

University of Reading ECRs thinking of submitting or nominating an output for consideration are advised to contact Research Division Leaders in advance and as soon as possible. The deadline for submission of outputs by the Research Division is Monday 20 February 2023, however internal deadlines might be earlier depending on the Division’s selection mechanism.

Full details can be found in the award guidelines. If you have any questions, please contact the Research Dean's Office.

2022 winners

Ariculture, Food and Health

Winner: Anika Salim's paper with joint first author status: ‘Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Acts as a Robust Early Diagnostic Marker for Renal Replacement Therapy in Patients with Russell’s Viper Bite-Induced Acute Kidney Injuries’, by S. Senthilkumaran, K. Patel, A. Salim, P. Vijayakumar, H.F. Williams, R. Vaiyapuri, R. Savania, N. Elangovan, P. Thirumalaikolundu-subramanian, M.F. Baksh and S. Vaiyapuri Toxins (Basel). 2021 Nov 12;13(11):797. doi: 10.3390/toxins13110797. PMID: 34822581; PMCID: PMC8620021

Anika Salim from the Pharmacy Research Division undertook research which identified an early biomarker which can confirm kidney damage in the victims of snakebites within one hour, so that doctors can initiate immediate treatment to alleviate serious complications and reduce the costs of treatment. This research is a key development in the treatment of snakebite-induced acute kidney injury (AKI), as delayed treatment often results in deaths.

Find out more about Anika’s research with her Connecting Research blog.

Environment

Winner: Georgios Margazoglou for his paper as first author: ‘Dynamical Landscape and Multi-stability of a Climate Model’, by G. Margazoglou, T. Grafke, A. Laio and V. Lucarini (2021), Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 477 (2250), p.20210019.

The earth’s climate consists of several subdomains that have remained in a sensitive balance for millennia but is now under threat from climate change. In his paper, Georgios Margazoglou, from the Centre for the Mathematics of Planet Earth, explains the latest research into the climate’s global stability properties. Using a combination of statistical mechanics and the methods of data science, George and a team of researchers studied the competing states and the transition paths between these subdomains to provide a general framework for better understanding multi-stable complex systems.

Find out more about Georgios’ research with his Connecting Research blog.

Heritage & Creativity

Winner: Nicola Abram’s monograph on Black British Women’s Theatre: Intersectionality, Archives, Aesthetics, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021.

Nicola Abram from the Department of English Literature produced a monograph entitled Black British Women’s Theatre: Intersectionality, Archives, Aesthetics that looks beyond published plays to the wealth of material held in archives of various kinds, from national repositories and themed collections to individuals’ personal papers. This research revealed a cache of unpublished manuscripts and production recordings distinctive for their non-naturalistic aesthetics. Close analysis of selected works identifies this as an intersectional feminist creative practice. The book concludes by reflecting on the politics of representation, with reference to popular postmillennial playwright debbie tucker green. Drawing on new interviews with the playwrights/ practitioners and their peers, this book assembles a rich, interconnected, and occasionally corrective history of black British women’s creativity.

Find out more about Nicola’s research with her Connecting Research blog.

Prosperity & Resilience

Winner: Neha Hui’s article co-written with Uma Kambhampati: ‘Between Unfreedoms: The role of caste in decision to return among indentured workers’, Economic History Review, Oct 2021.

Through her research, Neha Hui from the Department of Economics explored how social marginalisation based on caste and gender in India played a role in the decision made by indentured workers who travelled from the Indian sub-continent between 1834 and the First World War to remain in British plantation colonies. Unlike slavery, the indentured workers were contractually guaranteed a return trip to India at the end of their indenture period.

Find out more about Neha’s research with her Connecting Research blog.