The University has been awarded eight Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships, receiving over £1 million in funding.
The University of Birmingham has been awarded eight Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships for 2026. Five successful candidates are already part of the Birmingham academic community, with three others set to join Birmingham from other institutions.
The Leverhulme Trust is an independent charity that seeks to fund ambitious research and scholarship - since its foundation in 1925, the Trust has provided grants and scholarships for research and education, funding research projects, fellowships, studentships, bursaries and prizes.
Widely considered one of the most prestigious postdoctoral awards in the United Kingdom, the highly competitive fellowship scheme supports researchers at an early stage of their careers with a strong research record to undertake a significant piece of publishable work.
This year, eight awardees have been recognised by the Trust as outstanding researchers whose future careers are exceptionally promising – securing over £1 million in funding in total. Their work spans across several disciplines, from quantum technologies and sustainable materials to cultural heritage, neuroscience and child development.
It is a genuine pleasure to congratulate these outstanding researchers on their Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships. These are hard-won, highly prestigious awards, and each one reflects not only individual brilliance but the vibrant research culture we have built at Birmingham. The diversity of their projects is a wonderful reminder of the breadth and depth of talent across this University.
Professor Rachel O’Reilly, University of Birmingham, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research), said: “It is a genuine pleasure to congratulate these outstanding researchers on their Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships. These are hard-won, highly prestigious awards, and each one reflects not only individual brilliance but the vibrant research culture we have built at Birmingham. The diversity of their projects is a wonderful reminder of the breadth and depth of talent across this University.”
See below for the full list of Fellows:
School of Chemistry
Dr Guodong Bian will lead a project on data-driven discovery of molecular spin qubits for quantum information science.
Dr Nathan Davison will investigate new polymer reactivity using main group metals and mechanical force, with the aim of opening new routes to polymer upcycling.
School of Psychology
Dr Kirsty Green will lead a project exploring how neurodiverse children engage with shared reading, in-person and through video and AI-assisted interactions, to examine how ‘iconicity’ supports engagement and learning.
Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy
Dr Sandeep Shirgill will use mathematical and computational modelling to investigate why combinations of antimicrobials sometimes produce stronger effects than the sum of their individual parts, a phenomenon known as synergy.
School of Physics and Astronomy
Dr Sohail Dasgupta will research multi-level quantum spin liquids (QSL) in ultracold atoms and molecules to develop new QSL models.
Three researchers will also be joining the University of Birmingham as part of the Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships.
Dr James Turner's project will explore the philosophy and cognitive science of moods. He joins the University from Umeå Universitet in Sweden.
Dr Matthew Weightman will investigate the striatal mechanisms of motor memory consolidation, examining how brain activity during sleep supports long-term skill learning. He joins the University from the Oxford Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging in the Plasticity Group.
Dr Alexandra Solovyev will examine the Royal Navy and the British Museum’s Greco-Roman Collections to better understand the logistical and imperial factors that enabled the mass export of the eastern Mediterranean’s cultural heritage. She is currently based at the Institute of Classical Studies in the University of London’s School of Advanced Study.
Thanks to its growing global reputation and outstanding research strengths, Birmingham has recently celebrated improving its standing among the world's best universities for the fourth successive year. It has risen eight places to 68 in this year’s QS World University Rankings, climbing 23 places since 2023.
Ranked joint 10th in the UK, the University has achieved its highest-ever national position. It has, over the last five years, risen more - and more consistently - than any other British institution ranked in the elite top 100 universities in the world.
For more information, please contact the University of Birmingham Press Office on +44 (0)121 414 2772
About the University of Birmingham
About the Leverhulme Trust
Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research)
Professor Rachel O'Reilly is Chair in Chemistry at the School of Chemistry. She leads the O'Reilly Group whose research targets the design, synthesis and application of uniquely derived polymeric materials.
