Data Science Talent Awards
Congratulations to our 2026 Young Data Scientist of the Year, Shruti Kaushal from AbbVie for winning this prestigious industry award which nurtures rising stars under 30 years of age. Congratulations also to Raul Rodriguez-Esteban and his team from Roche for winning our 2026 Data Science Team of the Year – a new award which recognizes the power of collaboration in delivering innovative and impactful solutions in life sciences R&D.
Competition was fierce. All of our finalists presented their outstanding projects at our London conference at the Royal Society of Medicine, 13-14 April 2026, and were selected from an impressive shortlist by our panel of industry experts who gave their time generously to judging these awards. Our 2026 winners were chosen following an exciting live audience vote, receiving industry recognition, prize money and access to the Pistoia Alliance’s dedicated training resources.
Our Finalists
2026 Young Data Scientist of the Year
- Shruti Kaushal, AbbVie – Winner
Anomaly Detection in Clinical Trials
- Zach Hatzenbeller, GlaxoSmithKline – Finalist
Model Predictive Control for Biopharm Manufacturing (presented by Toma Ramonaite)
- Patrik Hegel, Sanofi – Finalist
Elevate NBI
2026 Data Scientist of the Year (Team leader and company)
- Raul Rodriguez-Esteban, Roche – Winner
Pan-cancer Digital Twins for Clinical Prediction
- Sophie Bailes, AstraZeneca – Finalist
CMC Data Hub
- Annika Kreuchwig, Bayer AG – Finalist (presented by Carlos Viera e Viera)
PRINCE: Synthezing a Universe of Preclinical Data with Multi-Agent AI
Young Data Scientist of the Year 2027
Are you a young data scientist with a compelling story to tell about the role you played in an important data science initiative in the life sciences industry? Can you demonstrate impact and innovation? If you can answer yes to these questions then you could win our 2027 Young Data Scientist of the Year Award which seeks to recognize and nurture emerging talent.
Data Science Team of the Year 2027
This award seeks to recognize the importance of team work and the power of collaboration to address a specific challenge in the life sciences industry. We are looking for evidence of team excellence and innovation with a focus on the business impact that can be achieved through intra-company or cross company collaboration.
If you have any questions regarding the awards or your eligibility to enter please contact us on the link below:
Criteria
- These awards are free to enter.
- For Young Data Scientist of the Year, entrants must be 30 years or younger at the time of undertaking the project submitted for this award. This project must have been completed in 2026. This award is open to members and non-members.
- For Data Science Team of the Year, the entry must relate to a project completed in 2026. This award is only available to existing Pistoia Alliance Members.
- Three finalists for each award will be selected to present to our judging panel at our annual European conference in Spring 2027 and must be available to present in person. One representative per team is required for the Data Scientist Team award.
Key Deadlines
- Entries Open: September 14, 2026
- Further dates to be announced
Our Judges
Lars Greiffenberg
Derrek Marren
Bryn Williams-Jones
Anastasia Christianson
Sergio Rotstein
Becky Upton
Christian Baber
2025 Data Scientist of the Year Award Winner
Congratulations to Nima Hojat from CPI for winning our 2025 Data Scientist of the Year Award and to our finalists Azzedine Dabo from GSK and Jack Damiani from AstraZeneca. Entries for the award were received from across the global biopharmaceutical ecosystem. Our finalists were selected by our esteemed panel of judges and the winner was determined by audience vote at the Pistoia Alliance Spring Conference at the Royal Society of Medicine, London. The Pistoia Alliance is proud to support the development of talent in the global life sciences industry.
Commenting on how data science is increasingly driving the future of life sciences R&D, Nima Hojat, winner of Young Data Scientist of the Year said: “I’m honoured to receive this award from the Pistoia Alliance, especially at a time when data science is playing such a pivotal role in transforming the life sciences. Behind every dataset and algorithm is the potential to make a real difference to patients’ lives and I’m proud to represent a new generation of data scientists working to turn research into meaningful outcomes.”
