Wellcome launches world's largest global prize for mental health science
- The prize, in partnership with Nature, will celebrate breakthroughs in mental health science. It aims to accelerate translation, influence policy and transform lives
- This award champions new pharmacological, psychological, social and digital interventions from around the world
- The overall winner will receive USD 1 million, and three finalists will be awarded USD 250,000 each.
LONDON, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wellcome Prize for Mental Health Science with Nature has been launched to champion innovation and drive progress in one of the most urgent and under-funded areas of global health. As the first of its kind and the world's largest prize for mental health science, it will recognise and support breakthrough advances for anxiety, depression and psychosis that deliver measurable impact.
Professor Miranda Wolpert, Director of Mental Health at Wellcome said: "We are in the midst of a revolution in mental health science, with groundbreaking advances in research already leading to new ways of understanding and treating mental health problems. The Prize will celebrate the amazing new discoveries that are set to transform people's lives."
By highlighting interventions that demonstrate meaningful improvements in outcomes, the prize will showcase the opportunities and progress within mental health. Mental health science has the power to transform lives, and breakthroughs are already changing how conditions are understood and treated. Many conditions are increasingly manageable, particularly with earlier and more effective interventions, offering new hope for many people.
There has been cutting-edge research that has been leading to breakthroughs in recent years, a seismic shift in mental health science that the Prize seeks to celebrate.
The scale of the challenge remains significant. More than a billion people live with mental health conditions worldwide, yet many are held back as systems are struggling to respond.1 The global median percentage of government health spending on mental health is just 2.1%. Spending is as low as USD 0.04 per person in low-income countries compared to USD 65.89 in high-income settings.1,2 The global median number of specialised mental health workers is 13.5 per 100,000 population, falling to just 1-2 in low-income countries.2 System capacity is under severe strain.
Today, anxiety and depression are the leading causes of disability worldwide, and their rates are increasing. Yet only about 9% of people with depression globally receive adequate treatment.3 That places a profound and multifaceted burden on them personally and society more broadly. Untreated mental health conditions lead to an increased risk of physical illness such as cardiovascular disease, reduced quality of life and premature mortality.3 They also drive productivity and economic losses that far outweigh healthcare costs, with an estimated 12 billion productive work days lost each year globally to anxiety and depression.3
Dr Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature and Chair of the Prize's judging panel said: "Prevention and treatment of key medical issues such as mental health require robust and trustworthy research from across many disciplines. By spotlighting scientifically rigorous, adoptable solutions, this prize will help accelerate progress and provide a platform to those whose work has the potential to change people's lives, to have an impact on policy and strengthen practice globally. I am delighted that we are able to partner with Wellcome on this award since showcasing multidisciplinary research that underpins progress lies at the very core of what we do at Nature and in the Nature Portfolio more broadly".
The prize is now open for applications from research teams and small and medium-sized organisations worldwide with an application deadline of 18 September 2026. Submissions must demonstrate strong scientific rigour, be informed by lived experience and show clear potential to improve outcomes and transform lives at scale. Finalists will be announced in May 2027 and the winner announced in June 2027. The overall winner will receive USD 1 million, with three finalist teams awarded USD 250,000 each, alongside global recognition, enhanced visibility of their research and practical support via a development programme that helps progress their interventions towards adoption and policy integration.
Backed by Wellcome and Nature, the prize brings together two global organisations renowned for their scientific excellence and investment in the international community. Wellcome is one of the world's leading funders of mental health research. The global health foundation supports new ways to intervene early in anxiety, depression and psychosis. The Nature Awards team will support the design and delivery of a globally visible, inclusive and credible prize. Entries will be assessed by an expert panel - which includes Magdalena Skipper, Editor-in-Chief of Nature, Professor Chyrell Bellamy, Yale School of Medicine and Obi Felten, Google X, Moonshot & Flourish Labs among many others - against four core criteria: novelty, credibility, effectiveness and adoptability alongside the strength of lived experience engagement.
Celebrating these scientific breakthroughs will help accelerate the adoption of solutions that improve access to better treatments, interventions and care.
Applications are open, with eligible research teams and small and medium-sized enterprises invited to apply here.
Notes to editor
About Wellcome:
Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we're taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.
About Nature:
Nature is a leading international scientific journal, publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed research across a wide range of disciplines. Part of Springer Nature, it is widely recognised for its role in advancing scientific discovery and providing a platform for significant breakthroughs that shape global understanding of science and health. Springer Nature is one of the leading publishers of research in the world, publishing the largest number of journals and books and are a pioneer in open research.
Through our leading brands, trusted for more than 180 years, we provide technology-enabled products, platforms and services that help researchers to uncover new ideas and share their discoveries, health professionals to stay at the forefront of medical science, and educators to advance learning. We are proud to be part of progress, working together with the communities we serve to share knowledge and bring greater understanding to the world. For more information, please visit about.springernature.com and @SpringerNature
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References:
1 World Health Organization (2025) Over a billion people living with mental health conditions – services require urgent scale-up. Available at: https://www.who.int/news/item/02-09-2025-over-a-billion-people-living-with-mental-health-conditions-services-require-urgent-scale-up (Accessed: May 2026).
2 World Health Organization (2025) Mental Health Atlas 2024. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240114487 (Accessed: May 2026).
3 World Health Organization (2025) World mental health today: Latest data. Available at: https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/31714489-1345-4439-8b37-6cbdc52e15ca/content (Accessed: May 2026).
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