2026 winners

Professor David E. Salt and Professor Martin Broadley are the winners of the 2026 Rank Prize for Nutrition. Fusing advances in high-throughput elemental profiling with genetics, their ground-breaking research has revealed how plants accumulate mineral nutrients and trace elements from the soil. Their research is transforming dietary interventions in low and middle-income countries, through profiling soil and crop quality, to enhance nutrition and health outcomes.

Why the research matters

Micronutrient deficiencies—often termed “hidden hunger”—affect billions of people worldwide, particularly in regions where diets are dominated by staple crops low in essential minerals, notably in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Professors David E. Salt and Martin Broadley have led pioneering research to understand the dynamics of mineral elements in soils and plants, with a particular focus on improving the content of essential mineral nutrients in food crops and the impact on human health.

Professor David E. Salt (University of Nottingham) has been at the forefront of ionomics, the study of the elemental composition of organisms. His research has revealed the molecular basis of how plants uptake minerals that are essential for both plants and animals from the soil and distribute them through their tissues; these minerals include cobalt, copper, iron, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, sodium, sulfur and zinc, as well as potentially toxic trace elements including cadmium and arsenic. Further, he has uncovered how these processes are influenced by genetic, physiological and environmental factors. By identifying key genes and processes that control mineral accumulation, his work has laid the foundation for breeding crops with enhanced nutritional profiles.

Professor Martin Broadley (Rothamsted Research and University of Nottingham) has focused on translating the fundamental understanding of mineral elements in soils and crops into practical agricultural interventions and surveillance. His work spans soil and crop sciences through to nutrition and public health, with a strong emphasis on biofortification: using agronomic and genetic approaches to increase the concentration of essential nutrients in edible crops. His collaborations in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have supported the development of regionally adapted crop varieties and farming practices that improve dietary mineral intake.

Professors Salt and Broadley have demonstrated that improving the mineral content of food crops is not only scientifically feasible but also socially and economically impactful. Their research has informed national and international strategies to combat micronutrient deficiencies, including the use of micronutrient-enriched fertilizers in Malawi and the development of zinc-rich wheat varieties for South Asia. Their work is helping to shape food systems that are more resilient, equitable and health-promoting.

About Professor David E. Salt

Professor David E. Salt is a leading figure in plant science and nutrition research, most recently at the University of Nottingham. With over 40 years of experience, including 21 years in the United States, David has held senior roles at Purdue University and the University of Aberdeen, where he established major research centres and interdisciplinary programmes.

In the 1990s David pioneered the use of X-ray Spectroscopy (XRS) to determine the chemical form and location of minerals in plants noninvasively, a technique now widely used. David went on to develop the concept of the ionome and founded the field of ionomics—high-throughput elemental profiling combined with genome-enabled genomics—to uncover how plants regulate mineral and trace element accumulation. He has studied numerous plant species, including those with a unique ability to hyperaccumulate minerals such as arsenic, nickel, selenium and zinc, along with established genetic models such as Arabidopsis thaliana, and crops such as rice. He has used both natural genetic variation and induced mutations to help reveal fundamental mechanisms of mineral nutrient homeostasis. Further, his work on plants in their native habitat has revealed the evolutionary and adaptive significance of natural variation in these processes. Of particular note is his recent work on uncovering the molecular machinery responsible for building tight junctions between cells to block uncontrolled diffusion of mineral nutrients into and out of roots. He is a Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher, with >200 peer-reviewed papers and over 51,000 citations.

Beyond fundamental science, David drives innovation to solve global challenges, from reducing cadmium in cocoa beans to improving crop micronutrient content. His entrepreneurial leadership includes co-founding NuKoKo, a sustainable food start-up, and directing the Williamson Trust, a charity helping to deliver community-led projects promoting healthy environments and communities, and access to healthy foods.

About Professor Martin Broadley

Professor Martin Broadley, Science Director at Rothamsted Research and Chair in Plant Nutrition at the University of Nottingham, is internationally recognised for his pioneering work on nutrition-sensitive agriculture. His research addresses “hidden hunger”—micronutrient deficiencies that affect billions worldwide—by improving the mineral content of staple crops through innovative agronomic and breeding strategies.

Martin has led UK contributions to landmark GeoNutrition projects which have revealed striking geospatial variations in the nutritional quality of soils and staple food crops in several countries in sub-Saharan Africa—including Ethiopia, Malawi and Zimbabwe—and in South Asia. These findings are influencing policies and interventions in the agriculture and public health spheres, including the use of micronutrient-enriched fertilisers to combat deficiencies and support for crop breeding programmes. His work demonstrates that where crops are grown can dramatically influence their nutritional value, with profound implications for food security and public health. Martin has published ~250 peer-reviewed papers with >30,000 citations, and was previously recognized with awards including BBSRC Innovator of the Year in 2018.

Martin has been a long-time champion of equitable international research partnerships, helping to develop doctoral (PhD) training programmes and collaborative networks across Africa, and previously holding a role as a Senior Research Fellow in the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (formally the Department for International Development). Martin’s influence on global strategies for sustainable agriculture and healthier diets extends to leadership roles in current projects to enhance agricultural and nutritional resilience, for example, working with colleagues from the CGIAR and research and scaling partners in Ghana and Nigeria, the AgVACs project is helping to co-design climate and nutrient-smart cropping systems.