King's College London

The awards recognise and share the achievements of impactful work from across the university and its communities – underlining King’s commitment to meaningful research practices which work to achieve tangible societal impact.

Winners received awards in recognition of their outstanding achievements and contributions to impactful research. Each winner was presented with a certificate, trophy and £200. They were selected from over 100 nominations received by the King’s Engaged Researcher Network (KERN) Working Group.

The ceremony, hosted at King’s Great Hall, was hosted by Professor 'Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President (International, Engagement & Service) and Professor Sir Bashir M. Al-Hashimi, Vice President (Research & Innovation).

The awards, held on 15 January and attended by 130 people, align with the five King’s Impact Priorities. These are reflected throughout the award categories, by championing and celebrating impactful, holistic and multidisciplinary initiatives that drive collaborative and innovative solutions in service to society. These included subcategories linked to local, national and global work.

The categories were:

• Communicating Research
• Collaboration
• Participatory Research
• Transforming Research Culture or Public Life
• Integrated Education, Research and Service
• Outstanding Individual Award

Communication research

Local: The Promise: A Co-Created Immersive Performance

The Dickson Poon School of Law
Shaila Pal, Brian Mullin, Tian Brown-Sampson, King’s Legal Clinic, Windrush Justice Clinic and Windrush survivors and community groups

The Promise is a powerful immersive theatre piece co-created by artists, survivors of the Home Office - Windrush scandal, King’s Legal Clinic staff and students, and community organisations.

National: The Science or Fiction Podcast

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
Kathryn Bates

Exploring issues in mental health and society, the podcast is an established youth-led platform that bridges the gap between research, lived experience and public understanding. Notably, it platforms underrepresented voices by training young people as producers and content creators.

Global: Making Adoptees Whole

Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Gonda van Steen

Van Steen’s research restores the first identity and agency of Greek-born adopted persons. Her work has benefited some 4,000 Greek-born adoptees (and their descendants), who were sent to the USA in the 1950s-60s. She’s achieved widespread awareness and the restoration of birth citizenship for the first 12 adoptees. .

Collaboration

Local: Lewisham Youth Brain Health Project

Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy
Lewisham Youth Brain Health Champions (Henry, Jess, Paul, Miguel, Bonnie, Harley, Jermaine), Pete Middleton, Dr Kritika Samsi, Prof Jacqueline Parkes, Dr Tomasina Oh, Dr Nicolas Farina, Georgina Charlesworth, Fola Afolabi, Katy Brown, Pete Hill, Kitty Perrin, Dr Catherine Mbema

Emphasising inclusivity and a youth-led approach, the project trained seven young people from diverse and underserved communities in Lewisham to be Youth Brain Health Champions.

National: Closed Doors

The Dickson Poon School of Law
Joanna Underwood, Hannah Piggott, James Wright and King’s College Hospital Homeless Team

Through working with local partners and clients, ‘Closed Doors’ examined the challenges of finding face-to-face help with homelessness applications, and the impact on hospitals in London.

Global: International Law for Climate Justice on the African Continent

The Dickson Poon School of Law
Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli

Building on her previous research, Dr Duvic-Paoli represented the African Union as their legal counsel before the International Court of Justice in its landmark advisory proceedings on climate change.

Participatory research

Local: Unfiltered

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
Angie Pitt

Angie single-handedly designed, delivered and evaluated the three-year project ‘Unfiltered’, a novel approach to research co-production with adolescents which will increase social mobility.

National: The Improving Personalised Care and Support Study

Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care
Clair Le Boutillier

The study gained a better understanding of how personalised care and support planning works (or not) from the perspectives of people who are living with colorectal cancer, and their clinicians, and to co-design improvements.

Global: IMPACT

Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine
Seeromanie Harding, Simon Anderson, Rosana Emmanuel, Roger Gibson, Abdul Abdulkadri, Ieda Vargas Dias, Paulo Jardim, Antonio Grande, PAHO, The Ministry of Health (Dominica), and the Ministry of Health, Special Secretariat for Indigenous Health (Brazil)

IMPACT is a multisectoral program to improve Indigenous adolescent mental health in Brazil and Dominica, where there are high rates of suicide, substance use and poor mental health amongst Indigenous youth, linked to land loss.

Transforming Research culture

Preventing Deaths from Anaphylaxis: Harnessing Information from Coroners to Save Lives

Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine
Georgia Richards and the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation

This initiative analysed national data following death investigations by coroners to identify preventable factors following fatal anaphylaxis. The findings, which were presented in Parliament on 21 October 2025, outlined five key recommendations to reform the inquest system and save lives.

Integrated education, research and service

Language Acts and Worldmaking Laboratory

The Faculty of Arts & Humanities
Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela, Hackney Collective of Primary Schools, Chris the King Sixth Form Colleges, Thomas Tallis School, Myriam Angueira, Florencia Herrera, Andres Kalawski, Clara Obligado and Karoline Pelikan, Prof. Catherine Boyle

This radical, inclusive second year module arose from the AHRC flagship project Language Acts and Worldmaking. It integrates research, education, and service through engagement with language learners in schools and international cultural partners, building enduring and creative relationships.

Outstanding individual

Early Career Researcher: Angie Pitt

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

Angie won for her work on Unfiltered, which she developed as part of her PhD. The programme was designed to be inclusive, raise aspirations amongt STEM A level students and support access to university, and made a real impact on the lives of young people.

Established Academic: Abigail Tucker

Faculty of Dentistry, Oral, & Craniofacial Sciences

Abigail has been involved with diverse engagement projects throughout her career at King’s. In the last two-years she has: co-ordinated UK public engagement activities, engaged with patients through Art, and co-led an international project focusing on supporting women in science funded by the British Council.

Professional Services: Asma Bashir

Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience

Through her role as a Public Engagement Manager, Asma has earned a reputation for her high-quality projects and collaborative mindset. Her dedication to public and community engagement with research has yielded collaborations that have delivered positive change at all levels.

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