The SSA awards two prizes each year for excellence in addiction science. Find out how to apply for the Fred Yates Prize for Early Career Researchers and the Impact Prize.
The mission of the SSA is to “advance the scientific understanding of addictive products and behaviours and the use of this knowledge in policy and practice”. An important part of this is investing in the people who work in the field of addiction through providing training, funding, events, and awards for notable work.
The Fred Yates Prize for Early Career Researchers was created in honour of Fred Yates, who sadly passed away in 1996, but whose work “made a lasting impression on the field and an important contribution to the welfare of those with alcohol and drug problems”. This prize is awarded annually to people at the early stages of their research careers who have already made significant and specific contributions to the field of addiction.
Dr Leon Xiao was declared the winner of last year’s Fred Yates Prize for Early Career Researchers. He was recognised as “an exceptional and prolific young scholar”, whose work has made a significant impact on the regulation of addictive elements in video games. He was invited to present at the 2025 Annual Conference and gave a talk on ‘Scrutinising social media advertising of behaviourally addictive products using ad repositories enabled by the EU Digital Services Act: A multi-jurisdictional perspective on gambling and video game loot boxes’.
The Impact Prize was launched in 2019 and is awarded to people whose research has made an impact on policy, practice, and public understanding. Its purpose is to celebrate exceptional science communication and support researchers that share the SSA’s mission.
Dr Gemma Taylor was the winner of the 2025 Impact Prize. The judging panel commented that Gemma had “submitted an exceptionally strong application showcasing a body of work with a clear and extensive public health impact and global reach, from public dissemination to informing clinical guidelines”. At the Annual Conference, Gemma talked about ‘Integrating smoking cessation treatment into NHS talking therapies: The ESCAPE trials’.
If you are a member or associate of the SSA and want to be considered for the Fred Yates Prize for Early Career Researchers and Impact Prize, please apply by 17:00 GMT on 28 February 2026. If you have any questions, submit them via the enquiry form and the SSA team will be pleased to help.
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