The Impact Prize recognises people and teams that have had a strong public-facing impact with their research in the field of addiction. Applications for the 2026 prize have now closed.

About the prize

The Impact Prize is awarded to people whose research has made a difference. In 2026, the SSA announced Dr Anya Topiwala as the winner of the Impact Prize. The judging panel commended Anya’s work with the brain injury charity Headway to translate research findings into practical, public-facing advice. The panel also acknowledged her commitment to supporting and developing human capital in the field, for example through mentoring and supervising students and early career researchers, and through co-production with people with lived experience of addiction.

Previous winners

  • 2026  Dr Anya Topiwala, Oxford Big Data Institute, UK
  • 2025  Dr Gemma Taylor, University of Bristol, UK
  • 2024  Dr Sharon Cox, University College London, UK
  • 2023  Two awards were given this year: Dr Philip Newall, University of Bristol, UK and Dr Leon Xiao, IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 2020  Dr Magdalena Harris, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
  • 2019 Dr Sarah Jackson, University College London, UK

How to apply

Submissions are assessed by a panel of three individuals appointed from the SSA’s Board of Trustees.

In order to be eligible to apply:

  • You must be a member or associate of the SSA
  • You must provide evidence that your recent work in the field of addiction has had a strong public-facing impact

Examples of relevant work might include, but are not limited to:

  • altmetric outputs
  • co-production that includes people with lived experience of addiction
  • impact on clinical practice
  • policy work
  • public engagement (e.g. talking about your research on TV, or in local or national media)
  • science communication

Information on eligibility and conflicts of interest

You are ineligible for this prize if you are an employee of the alcohol, cannabis, gambling, nicotine, pharmaceutical, or tobacco industries. This exclusion also applies if you are an employee of an Industry Social Aspect Organisation*.

You are ineligible for this prize if you have received funding of any kind, either directly from, or through representatives of, the alcohol, cannabis (except pharmaceutical), gambling, nicotine (except pharmaceutical), or tobacco industries. This exclusion also applies if you have received funding from an Industry Social Aspect Organisation*.

To be eligible, you must provide details about all potential conflicts of interest when requested. This information will be used to inform decision-making and applications may be rejected if the SSA deems there to be a risk of bias, ethical concerns, or a risk to the reputation of the SSA.

*Industry Social Aspect Organisations are those that are funded by addictive product industries – sometimes through secondary organisations – that often have a stated purpose to reduce the harms of those addictive products.