Leaders in black hole imaging, glaciology and human development come to UK via Royal Society fast-track international route

Three outstanding international researchers are set to establish new research groups in the UK through the Royal Society’s fast-track scheme for global talent.

The Faraday Discovery Fellowship Accelerated International Route, established in 2025 with funding from the Department for Science Innovation and Technology, offers up to £4 million over five years to attract leading mid-career researchers to the UK.

The first cohort have established their careers at some of the world’s top research institutions. They will take up their awards from summer 2026 at three leading UK universities: Heriot-Watt University, Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge.

There they will help build world-class research groups for the study of human development, glaciology and black holes. Strengthening the UK’s capacity for fundamental discovery and fostering collaborations with institutions around the world.

The inaugural awardees, their host institutions and project titles are:

• Dr Kazunori Akiyama, joining Heriot-Watt University from MIT Haystack Observatory
  Dynamic Gravitational Tomography of Black Holes (TomoGrav)
• Associate Professor Jonathan Kingslake, joining Imperial College London from Columbia University
  Antarctic surface hydrology and sea-level rise
• Associate Professor Berna Sozen, joining University of Cambridge from Yale University
  Flux and form: a systems framework for developmental information flow

The Faraday Discovery Fellowships were established to support talented mid-career research leaders without thematic constraints, championing curiosity-driven research across STEM. The scheme remains open to researchers in the UK and overseas with the next application round opening in August 2026.

The accelerated route, launched as part of the UK Government’s global talent programme, is a short-term initiative enabling UK institutions to make strategically important appointments to overseas researchers. It aimed to make around five awards over two years and applications are currently closed.

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said:

“The Royal Society has always fought for UK science to remain open to great minds and great ideas from around the world.

“That is how we advance scientific understanding and that is why we launched the accelerated international route, giving talented researchers the opportunity to come to the UK, pursue their curiosity wherever it leads, build their teams and make exciting new discoveries right here.

“These excellent awards show how that approach can pay off. I congratulate these world-class researchers and look forward to following their work in the years to come.”

UK Science Minister, Lord Vallance said:

“These three researchers are leading the way, when it comes to our understanding of human biology, climate change, and astronomy - all fields which have a meaningful impact on the way we live our lives.

“We want the UK to be the natural home for this sort of top-level scientific expertise, which is precisely why we're supporting the Royal Society's fast-track for international talent, as part of over £115 million funding we have dedicated to attracting top researchers to the UK.”