The £10m research prize challenges scientists to find new ways to prevent food allergies before they start.
Natasha’s Foundation has launched a £10 million global research prize to advance food allergy prevention, creating what it describes as the largest UK fund ever dedicated to the field.
The five-year initiative, Natasha’s Prize, will bring together scientists from around the world to identify ways of preventing food allergies from developing during the first 1,000 days of life.
Food allergies affect an estimated 220 million people worldwide, with rates rising sharply over the past two decades. Through Natasha’s Prize, the Foundation aims to generate breakthrough solutions that could stop food allergy before it starts.
Natasha’s Prize offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a future without food allergy.”
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of Natasha’s Foundation
The initiative marks ten years since the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, after whom the prize is named. Natasha died aged 15 after suffering a fatal allergic reaction to sesame. Her parents, Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse OBE, established the charity in 2019 to fund research and improve the lives of people living with food allergy.
Global call for scientific solutions
Applications for Natasha’s Prize opened on 1 June and close on 3 July 2026. Researchers from disciplines including allergy science, microbiology, epidemiology, nutrition, engineering, artificial intelligence, environmental science and social science can apply. Successful applicants will work in multidisciplinary teams to develop new approaches to food allergy prevention, with funded projects announced on 1 June 2027.
The prize aims to encourage collaboration across disciplines to generate new approaches to preventing food allergy before it develops.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of Natasha’s Foundation, said: “Natasha’s Prize offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a future without food allergy. It will fund research focused on turning back the dial on a disease that affects millions of people both in the UK and around the world, leaving many living in fear.
“We want this Prize to galvanise the best science to stop food allergy before it starts, so no other families have to go through the heartbreak we will always endure.”
Focus on the first 1,000 days
Scientists believe food allergy is preventable, but the exact causes behind its rapid growth remain unclear. Research suggests factors may include changes to the environment, modern farming practices, pollution, diet, genetics and shifts in immune system development.
The Foundation has focused the prize on the first 1,000 days of life because researchers increasingly view this period, from conception to age two, as a critical window for preventing food allergy.
Professor Sir Stephen Holgate CBE, Natasha’s Prize Director and Clinical Professor of Immunopharmacology at the University of Southampton, said: “With a complex condition like food allergy we need a completely new approach, involving people from all different disciplines and that is what Natasha’s Prize is seeking to achieve.
“There have been so many encouraging new developments in our understanding of food allergy over the past few years. However, we will launch Natasha’s Prize with open minds.”
He added: “The solution could be an intervention that primes the immune system to avoid food allergy, or preventative lifestyle changes. But we don’t want to prejudice the brainstorming process. We want to think creatively, boldly and without constraints. We could go in a completely different direction that we cannot yet anticipate.”
Dame Dr Maggie Aderin, Natasha’s Prize Ambassador, said: “What is exciting about Natasha’s Prize is that it is looking at preventing allergies in the future for the next generation.
“As kids are born, if they develop food allergy it can affect the rest of their lives. But if we can stop food allergy right from birth, they will have a completely different life. So, this Prize is going to be amazing for so many people.”
Seeking further investors and industry backing
The prize has already secured support from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Marks & Spencer, JAB and donors to The Times and The Sunday Times Christmas Appeal.
The Foundation is now seeking additional investors and partners to build on its initial £10 million commitment, accelerate innovation and expand the impact of food allergy prevention research.
For more information about Natasha’s Prize, go to www.natashasprize.org.uk.
No comments yet