The Vision for The British Society for Research on Ageing is to help people stay healthier for longer, specifically through research into the biology of ageing. To focus our early researchers on translating their research into real world outcomes, we introduced a competition at this year’s Annual Scientific Meeting of the British Society for Ageing Research. In our inaugural Early Career Commercialisation Prize, we challenged early career researchers to write a one-page proposal about how their research could be commercialised into something that would have a positive benefit on health. The prize was £500 to help develop their idea to bring it closer to being an investible commercial venture.
With eight strong entries, each rooted in innovative research related to ageing and longevity, two projects stood out for their advanced technical depth and commercial viability. As both were worthy winners, we decided to split the prize! The joint winners were:
- George Han, University of Cambridge
- Hanane Hadj-Moussa, Babraham Institute
These two entries impressed the judging panel with well-developed implementation strategies, demonstrating both how their innovations would differentiate themselves in the market and how they would create tangible value in the field of ageing. They will now take the stage at the BSRA 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting, where we will host an Investor Pitching Session. The two winners will pitch their ideas to a select group of investors, offering them a unique opportunity to turn their academic breakthroughs into scalable businesses.
Looking ahead, we are excited to build on this success by attracting even more attention from the investment community and innovative startups for future events. We believe that this competition has the potential to become a hub for fostering collaboration between academia and industry, driving local innovation that could reshape the future of ageing research. We invite investors to explore these high-potential ventures and encourage more researchers and entrepreneurs to participate in next year’s competition, where ideas can be refined, shared, and potentially launched on our Demo Day. Together, we can fuel a new wave of innovation with to extend lifespan and enhance the quality of life in the later years.
If you are interested in participating in the Pitching Session as either a entrepreneurial scientist or an investor, or you are an early career researcher interested in entering the Early Career Commercialisation Prize at next year’s BSRA Annual Scientific Meeting please contact Hector Zenil (hector.zenil@bsra.org.uk) and register for next year’s meeting, 3rd – 5th September in Manchester: https://bsra.org.uk/events/74th-annual-scientific-meeting-for-the-bsra-2025/