ESPR Early Career Investigator Prize

Present your work live during the ESPR's next international meeting, the Congress of the European Paediatric Academic Societies (CEPAS 2026), one of Europe's leading Paediatric research meetings and win amazing prizes.

• Requirements
  • Applicants must be ESPR members;
  • Applicants must be under 36 years of age.
  • Applicants >36 years of age, for example due to maternity leave, serious illness or differences in the timeline of their degree, will be considered on an individual basis if the content of the abstract relates to work from a primary postgraduate degree (MD/PhD), completed within 2 years of application for the Early Career Investigator Award;
  • Applicants will not be considered where the content of the abstract relates to work from postdoctoral research work;
  • The content of the abstract must represent original work and cannot be presented and/or published previously;
  • The name of the presenting author MUST match the name of the applicant.

  
  Selected finalists will be informed in advance and have to confirm their congress attendance.

  N.B.: Only complete applications that fulfill the requirements will be considered for review.
• Evaluation criteria

  Up to four applicants will be selected to present their work during the ESPR ECI-Prize Session at CEPAS 2026.

  The evaluation criteria are based on:

  • scientific content
  • structure of the abstract
  • presentation skills
  • ability to defend results during a Q&A session

  
  Prizes will be awarded at the discretion of the ESPR members' committee present during the presentations. All decisions made are final. The awardees will be announced during the CEPAS closing ceremony, during which they will receive a certificate. 
• How to apply

  You can apply to participate in the ESPR ECI-Prize Session during the CEPAS abstract submission process. The deadline is 1 April 2026.

  Find out more here. 
• Prizes
  • 1st Prize: EUR 1,000 AND complimentary registration AND a travel grant of up to EUR 1,000 for reimbursement to the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) Meeting 2027 in Minneapolis, United States.
  • 2nd Prize: EUR 500 AND complimentary registration to the 2027 ESPR meeting: The joint European Neonatal Societies (jENS) Congress in Bilbao, Spain. 
• Meet the Awardees of the ESPR ECI Prize 2025: Chiara Minotti & Lucas Panneel

  We would like to wholeheartedly congratulate the awardees of the ESPR Early Career Investigator Prize 2025:

  

  The ESPR is proud of the achievements of these bright minds and we are certain they will provide further, significant contributions in the field of Paediatric research to improve the lives of infants, children and adolescents.
• About Henry Halliday

  Prof Henry Halliday was a paediatrician and neonatologist who was born on 29 November 1945 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

  In 1997 he was president of the European Society for Paediatric Research (ESPR), fostering research to improve patient treatment and advance clinical practice. As a long-standing ESPR member he was striving towards the ESPR's mission of developing and applying research to improve newborn and child health.

  He was a pioneering figure in the field of neonatology and was the first British doctor to specialize in the care of newborn babies. He was a founding member of the Neonatal Society and was the first President of the British Association of Perinatal Medicine. He was also a strong advocate for the establishment of neonatal intensive care units in the UK.

  The ESPR dedicates the Early Career Investigator Prize to the life and achievements of Prof Henry Halliday.