Modern Languages Academic wins Philip Leverhulme Prize

22 Oct 2025

Dr Ed Pulford, Senior Lecturer in Chinese Studies in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, has been awarded the Philip Leverhulme prize in the Languages and Literatures category.

The Leverhulme Trust-administered awards commemorate the work undertaken by Philip, Third Viscount Leverhulme and grandson of William Lever, founder of the Trust. The prize recognises and celebrates the achievements of outstanding researchers whose work has already attracted international recognition.  

Dr Pulford, who has been awarded £100,000, was selected for his multilingually-grounded ethnographic and historical research in East Asia and the former-Soviet Union. Building on degrees in both modern languages and anthropology, Ed’s work has explored everyday experiences of socialism and empire across national and ethnic borders in different parts of Eurasia. He has published extensively on China-Russia relations and cross-cultural understandings of time, ethnicity and 'friendship', including in two books entitled Mirrorlands (2019) and Past Progress (2024).  

Dr Pulford said: “I am delighted to have received this award, particularly while based in a department which is home to so much sophisticated research and teaching on such a diverse range of languages and cultures. The importance of such work, which requires thinking from others' perspectives, cannot be overstated at this time of deepening global divides.” 

Professor Maggie Gale, Vice-Dean of Research, Faculty of Humanities added: “We are extremely proud of Ed and his achievement and look forward to the advancement of his research and impact.” 

Professor Anna Vignoles, Director of the Leverhulme Trust, said: “We continue our centenary celebrations with the announcement of this year’s prize winners. The Trust is delighted to support them through the next stage of their careers.  

"The breadth of topics covered by their research is impressive, from landscape archaeology to biomolecular mass spectrometry, applied microeconomics to adaptable wearable robotics, and pyrogeography to critical applied linguistics. Selecting the winners becomes increasingly challenging year-on-year due to the extraordinarily high calibre of those nominated.  

"We are immensely grateful to the reviewers and panel members who help us in our decision-making.”