Award
Women’s Impact Awards
The Women’s Impact Award recognises women who combine outstanding research with societal impact. It celebrates scientific excellence with purpose—led by women and actively contributing to a more equitable future.
The award is a joint initiative by the Falling Walls Foundation and the Elsevier Foundation and forms part of the Falling Walls Global Call for Science Breakthroughs.
2026 winners
The 2026 call for applications is now closed.
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Amelia Fiske
Senior Researcher, Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine, Technical University of Munich
Amelia Fiske
Senior Researcher, Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine, Technical University of Munich
Germany
Amelia Fiske is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for the History and Ethics of Medicine at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. She is trained as a cultural anthropologist and has been working in interdisciplinary bioethics settings since 2017. Her work is situated at the intersection of cultural anthropology, science and technology studies, graphic art, and bioethics.
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Anam Shahil-Feroz
Assistant Professor, Western University
Canada
Anam Shahil-Feroz is an Assistant Professor at Western University. Her research program leverages digital health technologies to improve maternal health outcomes among underserved pregnant individuals globally. Working primarily in the Global South, she collaborates with patients, caregivers, researchers, clinicians, and communities to co-design equitable solutions. She has over 75 publications, secured $190K as PI and $2.4M as co-investigator, and received numerous awards for her contributions to maternal health research and innovation.
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Manali Mukherjee
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, McMaster University
Canada
Manali Mukherjee is a respiratory immunologist at McMaster University, Canada, whose research reveals the biological basis of Long COVID. Her studies identify autoantibodies and inflammatory markers driving persistent symptoms, disproportionately affecting women dismissed as anxious rather than ill. By turning an invisible illness into measurable evidence, she is closing a critical diagnostic gap and advancing equitable, precision-based care for patients worldwide.
About the Awards
While women are well represented in early academic stages, they remain significantly underrepresented in senior leadership, decision-making roles, and high-visibility recognition.
The Women’s Impact Award recognises outstanding projects that advance gender equity and generate meaningful societal impact for women and girls.
Selection criteria
Career Level & Applicants
Applicants must be at postdoctoral level or above or hold an equivalent level of professional independence and responsibility. (Eligible examples: postdoctoral researchers, research fellows, senior researchers, principal investigators, group leaders, or professors). We welcome submissions from cis and trans women, genderqueer, and non-binary individuals, embracing an inclusive definition of women.
Nature of the Research Project
Applicants must be leading or substantially contributing to a research project that combines scientific excellence with real-world impact. The project must meet at least one of the following aims:
- The project addresses a gender-related topic and meaningfully integrates gender equality into its design and methodology and/or,
- The project enables and supports underserved or marginalized communities through how the research is designed and/or how its outcomes are applied.
Project Status & Language
- The research project must be actively running at the time of submission. Projects that are only at the idea stage, in proposal development, or seeking funding are not eligible.
- The language of the application must be English.
Who can nominate
- Universities and research institutions
- Companies with research laboratories
- Scientific foundations
- Partner organisations of Falling Walls
- Leading scientists in their field
