Subject Award · Health & Medicine · 2026
The ten finalist universities are the ten highest-ranked on the Nursing collaboration index, listed here alphabetically until the full index publishes on 15 September. Each finalist is represented by an academic whose recent work exemplifies why: a real project, drawn from the open scholarly record, cited so you can check it.
The finalists
Copper induces cell death by targeting lipoylated TCA cycle proteins
Copper keeps every living cell working, and yet above a certain level it becomes lethal. Working in human cells, this study showed that copper-driven cell death is a distinct, regulated process that depends on mitochondrial respiration: copper binds directly to lipoylated components of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, making those proteins aggregate, stripping out iron-sulfur cluster proteins and creating the protein stress that finally kills the cell.
Effect of omega-3 fatty acids on cardiovascular outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Whether omega-3 fatty acids protect the heart has remained uncertain. Meta-analysing 38 randomised controlled trials, stratified by EPA alone versus EPA combined with DHA, the study examines their effectiveness on fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular outcomes, along with bleeding and atrial fibrillation, probing whether the two treatment approaches differ.
Rather than relying on what people say they eat, this work measured pentadecanoic acid in blood as an objective marker of dairy fat intake, following 4,150 Swedish adults for a median of 16.6 years and then reviewing comparable studies worldwide. Higher levels were associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease in a linear dose-response pattern, offering a steadier read on a much-argued part of the diet.
Working in rats made diabetic with streptozotocin, the team tested whether ellagic acid, a plant compound used in traditional medicine for high blood lipids, eases fatty liver disease by acting through the cellular energy sensor AMPK. Treated animals showed lower fasting glucose, higher insulin, far less fat accumulating in the liver and reduced markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, effects the study attributes to AMPK activation.
Sepsis and septic shock remain deadly, and several inexpensive add-on treatments have been proposed for them. Pooling randomised controlled trials in a network meta-analysis, the study compares vitamin C at several dose levels, glucocorticoids, vitamin B1 and combinations of these against placebo or usual care for longer-term mortality in adults, and grades how certain the evidence behind each option really is.
Carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in the gut microbiome
Within the gut microbiome, carbohydrate-active enzymes, known as CAZymes, are the tools microbes use to process carbohydrates. Published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, the work reviews these enzymes in the gut setting, drawing together what is known about their place in the microbial community that shares our digestive tract.
How much illness can be traced to unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation and lack of hygiene in the home? Taking the service levels used to track the UN Sustainable Development Goals as the comparison point, the study estimates the 2019 global burden of diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, undernutrition and soil-transmitted worm infections attributable to these conditions, broken down by region, age and sex.
Drawing on national surveys and birth cohort studies across low- and middle-income countries, the work examines how poverty in the earliest years shapes children's health and their human capital into adolescence. Its subject is the long reach of early disadvantage, assembled across many countries rather than one, which speaks directly to how societies choose to invest in the first years of life.
Human milk carries extracellular vesicles, tiny membrane parcels that cells use to communicate, and this work asked what they do to the tissues they meet first. At physiological concentrations the vesicles strengthened the epithelial barrier by promoting cell migration via the p38 MAPK pathway, while damping activation of the immune sensors TLR3 and TLR9 and temporarily quietening CD4+ T cells without inducing tolerance.
Sodium perturbs mitochondrial respiration and induces dysfunctional Tregs
Regulatory T cells are the immune system's brake, and this work reports that sodium disturbs their mitochondrial respiration and leaves them dysfunctional. Because sodium intake varies so widely between diets and environments, the question the study opens matters for how we understand inflammation and autoimmune disease, and for the everyday choices that sit behind them.
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Partners verify their data, feature their academics, and are eligible for the Subject Awards. Finalists are identified from open data; winners are decided by our editorial team and announced on 15 September 2026.
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Intravenous Vitamin C in Adults with Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit
Intravenous Vitamin C in Adults with Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit
Effect of Salt Substitution on Cardiovascular Events and Death
A druggable copper-signalling pathway that drives inflammation
Improving lung health in low-income and middle-income countries: from challenges to solutions
Improving lung health in low-income and middle-income countries: from challenges to solutions
Intravenous Vitamin C in Adults with Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit
High-amylose starch: Structure, functionality and applications
ESPEN practical and partially revised guideline: Clinical nutrition in the intensive care unit
Nutritional support for successful weaning in patients undergoing prolonged mechanical ventilation
Intake and Sources of Dietary Fiber, Inflammation, and Cardiovascular Disease in Older US Adults
Intravenous Vitamin C in Adults with Sepsis in the Intensive Care Unit