The parents of teenager Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died from an allergic reaction to sesame today launched a £10 million prize in her name to help create a future without food allergy.
Ten years after the 15-year-old’s death, Natasha’s Prize will unite the world’s brightest scientific minds to develop solutions to the food allergy epidemic which affects 220 million people worldwide.
The £10 million investment over 5 years by the newly named Natasha’s Foundation, the food allergy charity, will focus on food allergy prevention.
It represents the largest fund for food allergy research ever awarded in the UK and leading scientists believe it could transform the food allergy landscape for future generations.
Dame Dr Maggie Aderin, space scientist and Natasha’s Prize Ambassador, who is allergic to cows’ milk, Brazil nuts and crustaceans, said: “What is exciting about Natasha’s Prize is that it is looking at preventing allergies in the future for the next generation.
“As kids are born, if they develop food allergy it can affect the rest of their lives. But if we can stop food allergy right from birth, they will have a completely different life. So, this Prize is going to be amazing for so many people.”
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, Natasha’s mother who started the Foundation with her husband Nadim in 2019, said: “ This Prize has been in our hearts for a long time. It is 10 years this year since Natasha died and, like everything we do, it is dedicated to our daughter, Natasha, and all those who live with and have lost their lives to food allergy.
“Natasha’s Prize offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create a future without food allergy. It will fund research focused on turning back the dial on a disease that affects millions of people both in the UK and around the world, leaving many living in fear.
“We want this Prize to galvanise the best science to stop food allergy before it starts, so no other families have to go through the heartbreak we will always endure .
“Natasha was really brave and she really cared a lot about other people. We know if she was here now and she knew what we were doing to help so many other people, she would be right behind this Prize. She would be so proud.”
No baby is born with a food allergy yet over the last two decades rates have been rising around the world.
Previous research suggests causes include changes to our environment – more industrial farming methods, climate change and pollution, less time spent in nature - a diet filled with ultra-processed food, genetics and changes to our immune system.
Scientists believe food allergy is preventable, so Natasha’s Prize will ask the question: what interventions can be made from conception to age 2 that could stop food allergy developing in the first place?
The first 1,000 days have been chosen as it represents a critical window of opportunity to intervene to prevent food allergy.
From today (1 June), leading scientists from across the world from all different disciplines – such as allergists, AI data analysts, dieticians, engineers, social and environmental scientists, microbiologists and epidemiologists - are invited to apply to Natasha’s Prize.
Applicants chosen by the Prize’s scientific advisory panel will be brought together later this year to brainstorm the solutions needed to prevent food allergy.
Working collaboratively in multidisciplinary teams, they will generate bold ideas and breakthrough solutions aimed at preventing food allergy.
The most promising and impactful ideas aimed at preventing food allergy will then be invited to submit detailed proposals.
The Foundation’s Trustees with the Prize’s scientific advisory panel will select the research it will fund, with the winners announced on 1 June 2027.
Professor Sir Stephen Holgate CBE, Natasha’s Prize Director and Clinical Professor of Immunopharmacology and Honorary Consultant Physician at the University of Southampton, said: “ With a complex condition like food allergy we need a completely new approach, involving people from all different disciplines and that is what Natasha’s Prize is seeking to achieve.
“ There have been so many encouraging new developments in our understanding of food allergy over the past few years. However, we will launch Natasha’s Prize with open minds.
“The solution could be an intervention that primes the immune system to avoid food allergy, or preventative lifestyle changes.
“But we don’t want to prejudice the brainstorming process. We want to think creatively, boldly and without constraints. We could go in a completely different direction that we cannot yet anticipate .”
Finding ways to prevent food allergy is an ambitious target. But with the right minds on the case, backed by proper funding, the Foundation believes it is also an achievable one.
People with food allergy, and their loved ones, live with fear every single day.
Natasha’s Prize offers the hope that future generations will be able to live free from food allergy.
Jess Hoque, 9, who lives with a dairy allergy, said: “Natasha’s Prize sounds brilliant. Even if it’s not going to cure me, if it’s going to cure other people and eventually put an end to food allergies then that’s great.”
Natasha’s Prize includes donations from Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Marks & Spencer, JAB and donations raised through The Times and The Sunday Times Christmas Appeal.
Creating a future without food allergy is an ongoing challenge, and achieving meaningful breakthroughs will require significantly greater investment and collaboration.
The Foundation is therefore seeking additional investors and partners to be able to give more than the £10 million, accelerate innovation, and drive a bigger impact in this critical area.
Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK CEO, said: “We’re proud to sponsor the very first Natasha’s Prize and support the great work of Natasha’s Foundation. It’s exciting to see the potential answers that this prize will bring as part of their mission to make allergy a thing of the past.”
Guy Stuart, Director of Technical at Sainsbury's said: “We’re proud to support Natasha’s Prize, a bold step towards a future without food allergies. For millions of people, food allergies shape everyday choices in ways it shouldn’t have to. This initiative will help drive new understanding and progress towards prevention. We’re playing our part by improving safety for customers with food allergies and supporting science-led collaboration to better understand how allergies develop in early life.”
Rachel Eyre, Chief Customer Officer at Asda, said: "Asda is delighted to support Natasha's Prize and help drive forward the mission to make food allergies history."
Alex Freudmann, Managing Director of M&S Food said: “M&S Food is for everyone, which is why we’re proud to support pioneering research into preventing food allergies. We’re pleased to be working with Natasha’s Foundation to support research that helps more people enjoy food safely and confidently.”
To sign up for updates and more information about Natasha’s Prize go to www.natashasprize.org.uk (this link will be live on June 1).
Notes to editor:
For more information or interviews please contact press@narf.org.uk or call Rachel Ellis, Director of Communications, on 07740 938978.
Link to photos, logo, QR code to sign up for more information:
NATASHA’S PRIZE TIMELINE:
Applicants and proposals will be selected by the Foundation’s expert scientific advisory panel through an independent peer review process using published scoring data, with the Foundation’s Trustees making the final decision on the winner and funding award.
About Natasha’s Foundation
Natasha Ednan-Laperouse lived with multiple food allergies. She died in 2016, aged 15, after eating a baguette containing sesame, to which she was allergic.
The sesame seeds were not visible, and the allergen was not marked on the label. Natasha’s death was entirely preventable.
Natasha’s parents, Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse OBEs, launched the Foundation in 2019 to fund medical research and improve the lives of people with food allergy.
Originally The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, the charity has rebranded and will now be called Natasha’s Foundation, the food allergy charity.
The Foundation’s new Astra logo comes from the idea of ‘reaching for the stars’.
It symbolises the Foundation’s ambition to push beyond what once seemed impossible – to create a future without food allergy.
It reflects the bold vision that drives The Foundation’s work: advancing research, raising awareness, and striving for breakthroughs that will better protect people with food allergy today and help prevent food allergy in future generations.
For more information about Natasha’s Foundation go to www.narf.org.uk
ENDS