FutureNeuro researcher Dr Chris Greene has been awarded a 2026 Lister Prize Fellowship in recognition of his research into how the brain’s blood–brain barrier may be involved in schizophrenia. 

Dr Greene, a FutureNeuro StAR Research Lecturer in the Department of Physiology and Medical Physics at RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, is one of eight early-career researchers selected this year. The Fellowship provides £300,000 in flexible funding over five years to support high-risk, high-impact biomedical research. 

Advancing understanding of brain function and psychiatric disorders 

Dr Greene studies the blood–brain barrier, a protective lining that controls what can move from the bloodstream into the brain. When this barrier is disrupted, substances from the blood can enter brain tissue and may contribute to inflammation, overactivity in brain cells, and disease. 

His Lister-funded project will explore whether the blood–brain barrier functions differently on the left and right sides (hemispheres) of the brain, and whether a breakdown in this balance could contribute to schizophrenia.  

Schizophrenia has long been linked to both blood-brain barrier dysfunction and disrupted left-right brain organisation, but these have never been studied together. Preliminary work from Dr Greene’s lab suggests there are real differences in the blood-brain barrier between the two hemispheres in models of the condition. 

To investigate this further, his team will combine brain imaging, high-resolution microscopy, and single-cell analysis in animal models, human brain tissue, and large-scale neuroimaging datasets. The aim is to map these differences across the lifespan and test whether restoring balance in this system could help protect against schizophrenia. 

Enabling bold and ambitious research 

The Fellowship will also allow Dr Greene to expand his research team and connect with other Lister Fellows across an international research network. 

Dr Greene said: 

“This award is a major step in my career. It will let me take bold, exploratory steps that conventional funding doesn’t easily support, build my team by bringing in dedicated researchers, and connect with an international network of fellow Lister Prize holders. Above all, it gives me the platform to establish that the brain’s blood vessels, and how they differ between hemispheres, may be central to understanding schizophrenia, and to start changing how we think about and treat it.” 

Professor Sir John Iredale, Chair of the Lister Institute, said: 

“The Lister Prize exists to back exceptional early-career researchers at the moment when bold ideas can have the greatest impact. This year’s Fellows exemplify the ambition, originality and scientific excellence needed to tackle some of the most important biomedical challenges of our time. We are proud to support them as they shape the future of research in the UK and Ireland.” 

Dr Greene’s award recognises the originality and potential impact of his research on the blood-brain barrier and schizophrenia. Through the support of the Lister Prize Fellowship, he will be able to pursue ambitious new lines of investigation that could deepen understanding of the condition and inform future approaches to diagnosis and treatment. 

Congratulations to Dr Greene on this outstanding achievement.