Natasha's Foundation

Our £10 million global prize is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a future without food allergy.

Natasha’s Prize sounds brilliant. Even if it’s not going to cure me, if it’s going to cure other people and eventually put an end to food allergies then that’s great.
Jess Hoque, 9, who lives with a dairy allergy

Natasha’s Prize provides a platform to unite the world’s brightest minds from different disciplines, sparking bold ideas and breakthrough solutions to prevent food allergy developing in the first place.

If we take action now, we could significantly reduce the number of children being diagnosed with food allergy.

Food allergy has a profound impact on individuals and their loved ones. Families live in constant fear of life-threatening allergic reactions and sudden hospitalisations.

Natasha’s Prize offers the hope that future generations will be able to live free from food allergy.

Finding ways to prevent food allergy is an ambitious target. But with the right minds on the case, backed by significant funding, the Foundation believes it is also achievable.

Natasha’s Prize research strategy PDF, 5.5mb

Insights

Food allergy is a growing problem affecting millions of people worldwide.

1 in 13

Children live with a diagnosed food allergy in the UK - that’s around two children in every classroom.

Source: FSA 2016

6%

Of the adult population in the UK have a clinically confirmed food allergy, 2.4 million people.

Source: FSA 2024

220m

People worldwide live with food allergy, with rates escalating everywhere, a number that could rise to 480 million by 2035.

Source: WAO 2021

110%

The rate of increase in food allergy diagnoses between 2008 and 2018 in the UK, with the sharpest increase seen in children under 5.

Source: Turner et al 2024

14

People are admitted to hospital with food-induced anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, every day in the UK.

Source: MHRA 2023

42%

Parents of children with food allergy meet the clinical cut-off for post-traumatic stress symptoms. Many others experience significant fear and worry.

Source: UEA 2021

10

People die from food-induced anaphylaxis every year in the UK. Cows’ milk is the most frequent cause among children.

Source: Turner et al 2021

Why is food allergy on the rise?

Food allergy is a growing epidemic affecting at least 3 million people in the UK and 220 million people worldwide.

This film explores the causes, triggers and solutions that could transform the lives of people with food allergy.

The research question

The first 1,000 days - from conception to age 2 - is a critical window of opportunity to intervene to prevent food allergy from developing.

Scientists believe food allergy is preventable. Natasha’s Prize will ask the question: what interventions can be made in the first 1,000 days, from conception to age 2, that could stop food allergy developing in the first place?

The first 1,000 days represents a critical window of opportunity. During this time, our immune system is trained to correctly identify threats. In people with food allergy, this process goes wrong.

Natasha’s Prize will explore ways to shape the immune system to stop food allergy before it starts.

Why the first 1,000 days are critical for food allergy prevention

Uniting the world’s brightest minds
to spark bold ideas
and breakthrough solutions.

A future without food allergy is possible with the world’s brightest minds on the case.

Natasha’s Prize will galvanize a completely new approach to research, inviting global experts from different disciplines to collaborate.

Up to 35 successful applicants will be brought together in October 2026 to develop their ideas in a research sandpit, our Natasha’s Prize Thinkery.

Apply now What is a Thinkery?

Prize application details

Natasha’s Prize is open to individual researchers from different disciplines, sectors and countries.

Its goal is to build a global food allergy science alliance, bringing together leading experts from a wide range of disciplines to advance high-impact research and generate breakthrough solutions for a future without food allergy.

This might include microbiologists, AI specialists, epidemiologists, dieticians, environmental scientists, allergists, immunologists or representatives from untold other disciplines.

So, if you have a bright mind, bold ideas, and believe your science could help transform our understanding of how food allergy begins – and ultimately how it can be prevented – we invite you to apply.

You will be asked to apply as an individual. Individuals do not need to be affiliated with an academic institution to apply. We welcome applications from outstanding individuals across academia, industry, engineering, AI, data science, public health and other research environments.

Download our Application pack PDF, 1.8mb Natasha’s Prize research strategy

Natasha’s Prize is open to individuals from around the world – leading innovators with deep expertise in their chosen field – who want to help shape the future of food allergy prevention.

If you think you have the ideas, skills and expertise to help solve the mystery of food allergy, you are welcome to apply.

We want to find experts who bring relevant expertise aligned to the Natasha’s Prize research priorities (as outlined in our Research Strategy).

Successful applicants will be selected as individuals to participate in the Thinkery. Interdisciplinary teams are then formed during the Thinkery, where research ideas are developed collaboratively.

Applicants must therefore be open to collaboration across disciplines, institutions and countries.

We are searching for people who are motivated to contribute to bold, high-impact research focusing on preventing food allergy developing between conception and age 2.

Above all, we are on the hunt for open minds. Creating a future without food allergy will require a completely fresh approach. Applicants must be ready to think boldly, and without limitations.

You can apply using the Natasha’s Prize application form.

If you would like to see the application questions before completing the form, please email prize@natashasfoundation.org.uk and request the application form as a Word document or PDF. This allows you to draft your answers before you submit, as you cannot save the progress of your application.

Please ensure you complete all sections of this form by 6pm on Friday 3 July 2026.

Any incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

The initial application is designed to identify outstanding individuals with the expertise, creativity and collaborative mindset needed to help answer the research question set by Natasha’s Prize.

Your application will be evaluated based on your suitability to join Natasha’s Prize Thinkery in October 2026.

Applications to Natasha’s Prize will be assessed through expert peer review. You can find details regarding scoring criteria and eligibility in the Application handbook.

This will ensure that all applications are appraised fairly, consistently and independently, in-line with the standards of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC).

All applications will initially be reviewed and scored by independent peer reviewers, including Natasha’s Prize Scientific Advisory Panel members.

A panel will then moderate scores and agree on recommendations for participant selection.

The Natasha’s Prize Thinkery will take place from 9am, Tuesday 20 October to 5pm, Thursday 22 October 2026 in Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK.

After a thorough assessment, emerging ideas from the Thinkery will be developed into full, detailed proposals.

These proposals will be evaluated on scientific excellence, feasibility and long-term impact, with the leading proposals needing to demonstrate clear pathways to meaningful real-world transformation.

Our Scientific Advisory Panel, with input from representatives from our on-the-ground campaign group Natasha’s Army, will peer-review applicants and proposals, oversee the process, and make recommendations to the Foundation’s Trustees.

Successful applicants who have been selected to attend the Thinkery in will be notified on Friday 31 July 2026.

The Natasha’s Prize Thinkery will take place between 10am and 5pm from Tuesday 20 October to Thursday 22 October 2026 in Windsor, UK.

The Thinkery will provide a platform to unite the world’s brightest minds to spark bold ideas and breakthrough solutions to create a future without food allergy.

Experts from different disciplines, selected via the Natasha’s Prize application process, will be encouraged to think outside the box and work together to find new ways to prevent food allergy before it starts.

By leveraging this collaborative approach, focusing on the first 1,000 days, we can develop groundbreaking ideas and increase the potential for transformative discoveries.

This model should ensure the development of real-world, scalable solutions. At the Thinkery, ideas and teams will be formed. Full research proposals will only be invited from the ideas that emanate from the Thinkery.
However, during the development of proposals, the formed teams may identify a need for additional expertise or delivery partners.

After a thorough assessment, we will invite the strongest ideas emerging from the Thinkery to be developed into full, detailed proposals.

These proposals will be evaluated on scientific excellence, feasibility and long-term impact, with the leading proposals needing to demonstrate clear pathways to meaningful real-world transformation.

Our Prize Director, Thinkery Mentors, Scientific Leadership Committee and Scientific Advisory Panel, along with representatives from our on-the-ground campaign group Natasha’s Army, will peer-review applicants and proposals, oversee the process, and make recommendations to the Foundation’s Trustees.

Successful applicants who have been selected to attend the Thinkery will be notified on Friday 31 July 2026.

Applications open: Monday 1 June 2026

Applications close: 6pm Friday 3 July 2026

Successful applicants selected to attend the Thinkery in October notified: Friday 31 July 2026.

Thinkery: 9am Tuesday 20 October to 5pm Thursday 22 October 2026 in Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK.

Deadline for full research proposals: Monday 1 March 2027

Natasha’s Prize winners announced: Tuesday June 1 2027

Download our Application pack PDF, 1.8mb Natasha’s Prize research strategy

Advisory panel

An initiative led by esteemed scientists

Natasha’s Prize Director

Professor Sir Stephen Holgate CBE

Clinical Professor of Immunopharmacology and Honorary Consultant Physician at the University of Southampton.

Chair of Scientific Advisory Panel

Professor Michael Depledge CBE

Emeritus Professor of Environmental and Human Health, at the University of Exeter Medical School, UK.