Image: Denise Kohlepp (second from left) with the judges of the 2026 Sawyer Prize
Harris Manchester DPhil student Denise Kohlhepp has won this year’s Sawyer Prize for a poster presenting her research into the effects of physical activity on the development of executive function and mental health during adolescence – and the difference between genders.
The Sawyer Prize, which rewards the winner with £200 and was made possible by a generous bequest from the late David Sawyer, is open to all postgraduates at Harris Manchester, giving them the opportunity to present their research to non-specialists in an engaging way through the medium of a poster.
This year, as ever, highlighted the high-quality and original research undertaken at College, with entries spanning a large number of different fields. They were judged by Dr Beth Breeze OBE, our Principal, Professor Robert Klassen, Fellow and Tutor for Graduates, and Dr Bethany Sollereder, Fellow and Tutor in Theology and Religion.
Professor Klassen commented: “We received a diverse and compelling set of posters for the 2026 Sawyer Prize. The Prize provides an important platform to showcase the breadth and quality of graduate research at HMC. This year’s competition highlighted not only the intellectual rigour of the work, but also students’ ability to communicate complex ideas with clarity and purpose to a broad audience. The judges noted the high standard and range of entries, and Denise Kohlepp was a deserving winner, combining strong research with a clear and engaging presentation.”
See below for the full list of entrants and the subject areas of their posters:
Hanjun Zhao (DPhil Oncology), Plasma Proteomic Signatures of Alzheimer’s Neuropathology: Insights from Bio-Hermes Study
Denise Kohlhepp (DPhil Experimental Psychology), How Childhood Physical Activity Shapes Adolescent Mental Health: Sex-Specific Developmental Pathways in a UK Cohort
Yapeng Wei, (MPhil Economics, AI and Social impact), The Polysemy Lemma: Selective Amplification Within Persistent Superposition in Transformer Sense Disambiguation
Andre Konski, (MSc Evidence-Based Health Care), Investigation into Health Equity and Factors Associated with Proton Beam Radiotherapy in the treatment of Non-Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Sakiko Miyazaki, (Classical Archaeology), Human Dimensions of Asiatic Black Bear Presence, Human-Bear Interactions, and Management in Akita City, Japan
Clive Baldock, (MSt Historical Studies), The Making of a Scientific Statesman: Winston Churchill’s Encounters with Science and Technology and the Influence of H. G. Wells and Frederick Lindemann
