In February 2025, QUOD launched the first QUOD Innovation Competition in partnership with the charity Live Life Give Life, Alexion, and the European Society of Transplantation (ESOT).
We received a strong pool of high-quality applications, which were evaluated based on criteria including originality of the project, patient impact, and clinical translation.
Six shortlisted researchers competed for two awards of up to £5000-worth of QUOD samples for their research projects.
The finalists were…
- Peishan Wang
Spatial-integrated temporal graph neural network model for early liver micro-injury and immunoabnormalities prediction in DCD liver donation - Maithili Mehta
Decoding the Impact of cytosorb therapy during kidney normothermic machine perfusion using single-cell transcriptomics - Euan Bright
The role of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase in preventing ischaemic cholangiopathy following liver transplantation - Sarah Fawaz
Not all diabetic donors are the same: identifying differential risk profiles for transplant outcomes - Mayara Ramos
Evaluation of the donor’s hormonal profile according to sex and age - David Baird
Biomarkers of cell senescence and patient outcomes in kidney transplantation
The final of the QUOD Innovation Competition 2025 took place during the Young Academics Masterclass at the ESOT Congress in London on 28 June.
The judging panel, comprising Prof Rutger Ploeg (QUOD Biobank), Karen Rockell (UKODTRN and QUOD Biobank), Dr Liset Pengel (Erasmus MC Transplant Institute), and Dr Luke Yates (Live Life Give Life), were blown away by the high standards of the research proposed, making their decision extremely difficult.
After much deliberation, the winners were announced…
Huge congratulations to our two winners, David Baird and Euan Bright!
We cannot wait to get started supporting your research and we look forward to hearing about the results.
Euan Bright
“The QUOD innovation competition is both an excellent opportunity for underexplored research area in transplant and a chance to present your ideas. A pump-priming grant is the perfect way to kick off a research project like mine. It was a fantastic boost for both the practical research work and confidence in presenting. The team administering the award are extremely helpful and the whole experience I have found very positive.”
David Baird
“Taking part in the QUOD Innovation competition in 2025 was a great experience; it gave me the opportunity to pitch my research at a major transplant conference and to meet some brilliant scientists working in the field. Winning the prize has opened up new avenues for my research that I hope will improve outcomes for patients receiving a kidney transplant in the future, and potentially benefit those with kidney disease more broadly. The QUOD biobank is an incredibly powerful resource, and the team running it are exceptionally supportive. If you have a proposal in mind, I would highly recommend applying!”
A huge thank you to everyone who applied. We are extremely grateful to Live Life Give Life and Alexion for sponsoring the Innovation Competition, and to ESOT for hosting the final.
