The Research to Reward First Pitch Showcase 2026, held at the iconic M Shed beside Bristol's floating harbour, saw each shortlisted finalist given just five minutes to pitch their innovation for two prizes of £20,000 each to a 100-strong audience plus a panel of expert judges, demonstrating not only the strength of their research but also their ability to communicate its commercial and societal value.
The fast-paced pitches were further examples of the strength and breadth of innovation and entrepreneurship emerging across the University of Bristol, which just last week was named the highest-ranked university outside the UK's Golden Triangle for spinout value creation, with a combined value of £8.5bn since 2010.
Among the projects presented were an AI-powered app designed to help people living with epilepsy identify triggers that may increase their risk of seizures through predictive analysis; a groundbreaking approach to improving the precision targeting of cancer viruses; a discreet wearable device for people experiencing postural hypotension that delivers targeted abdominal compression when needed; and a toolkit to support emotion recognition among autistic children.
While each project addressed a diverse range of challenges, a common theme united the pitches: translating cutting-edge research into practical solutions capable of improving lives.
The standard of presentations was exceptionally high, with all ten researchers delivering their pitches with clarity, conviction, and passion. The panel of industry experts was tasked with selecting its overall winner, while audience members cast their own votes for the project they believed showed the greatest promise and resonated most with them individually.
Dr Savannah Haworth, Clinical Research Fellow in the Ageing and Movement Research Group, was the judges' choice for the £20,000 funding award for her innovative wearable device designed to support people living with postural hypotension.
The audience vote and £20,000 funding award went to Dr Lara Gallucci, Marie Curie Research Fellow at the School of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, for her pioneering work on the precision targeting of cancer viruses through the development of highly specific Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs).
Lara said: "This event and its preparation have been a unique journey, and I have learned a great deal from the training sessions and the other candidates. Having been fortunate to receive one of the awards, I look forward to the exciting opportunity of seeing an idea born in the lab mature into a pilot therapeutic concept. I am confident that this award will increase my chances to receive larger funding to produce novel antibody-drug conjugates and test whether our therapeutic strategy can become a reality and meaningfully reduce virus-associated cancers in the UK and beyond. I look forward to continuing working with the Commercialisation Team of the University of Bristol who have supported us at every step and to explore further the path to patenting and commercialisation of our strategy."
Kit Bartlett, Research Commercialisation Manager at the University of Bristol, programme co-creator and lead said: "Research to Reward was designed to build skills, remove barriers, and give underrepresented researchers the tools, confidence, and community they need to see themselves as innovators. Watching these ten brilliant researchers pitch with such clarity, passion, and conviction was a testament to exactly that. Congratulations to the winners and indeed the ten shortlisted researchers, all of whom I am sure are destined for future success."
The Research to Reward First Pitch Showcase is delivered by SETsquared Bristol in collaboration with the University of Bristol's Research Commercialisation team. Research to Reward, the programme behind the pitches, is open to female early to mid-career researchers, with the aim of making entrepreneurship and innovation more diverse and equitable.
The event was made possible thanks to the generous support of Mewburn Ellis, Greaves Brewster, Engineering Biology Bristol and Dr Una Ryan OBE, whose contributions have been instrumental in making this year's programme a success.
As all the presentations demonstrated, the journey from academic breakthrough to business venture is already well underway for many of Bristol's next generation of founders, supported by the University's world-leading research, enterprise, and innovation ecosystem.
