QMUL Faculty of Science and Engineering News

12 May: International Women in Mathematics Day

Sun, 10 May 2026 23:00:00 +0100

International Women in Mathematics Day is celebrated on 12 May, marking the birthday of Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to receive the Fields Medal in 2014. Born in Iran, Mirzakhani made groundbreaking contributions to mathematics before her life was cut short at a young age. Her legacy continues to inspire women and underrepresented groups in mathematics worldwide. This International Women in Mathematics Day we spotlight the research profile of two female colleagues in the School of Mathematical Sciences: Professor Ginestra Bianconi and Dr Miriam Norris. Ginestra Bianconi is Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Centre for Complex Systems. She is Fellow of the American Physical Society and member of the European Academy of Sciences for her work on statistical mechanics . In 2025, she was awarded the Euler Prize by the Network Science Society for her pioneering contributions revealing the interplay between the topology of networks and their dynamics. She is the author of the monograph Higher-Order Networks: An Introduction to Simplicial Complexes (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Her current research focuses on the establishing the deep mathematical relation between geometry, topology, and dynamics on higher-order networks. She uses algebraic topology to define the dynamical state of simplicial complexes, revealing new collective phenomena relevant to complex systems and theoretical physics. Over the past five years, she has promoted the use of the Topological Dirac operator to characterize the interplay between topology, geometry, and dynamics, and to explore its role in theoretical physics and dynamical systems. More recently, she has opened a new research direction in quantum gravity with the formulation of the Gravity from Entropy (GfE) approach which proposes an entropic action from gravity. You can read about this work here. Miriam Norris is a senior Heilbronn Research Fellow in the Centre for Combinatorics Algebra and Number Theory. Miriam's research is devoted to representation theory in the intersection between algebra and number theory. She is currently working with Dr Shu Sasaki on aspects of representation theory involved in the Langlands programme. Miriam returned to London from a postdoc in Manchester in October 2025 having done her PhD within the London School of Geometry and Number Theory. Outside of maths she really enjoys hiking and cycling around the city, particularly over London's bridges!

Thawing Arctic soil awakens only half of soil microbes, new study reveals

Wed, 06 May 2026 23:00:00 +0100

As Arctic temperatures rise, frozen soils are thawing for longer periods—but new research shows this doesn't fully activate the life hidden underground. Instead, only about half of soil microbes "wake up," meaning greenhouse gas release depends on which microbes respond, and how quickly, rather than warming alone. A partially awakened Arctic landscape As the Arctic warms at an unprecedented rate, frozen soils that have remained locked in ice for most of the year are now thawing for longer periods. Yet new research led by an international team including scientists from Queen Mary University of London has found that these seasonal thaws only partially revive the hidden ecosystem beneath the surface. The study, published in mSystems, shows that even after months of thawing, around half of the microorganisms in High Arctic soils remain dormant. This challenges the assumption that warming uniformly boosts microbial activity and carbon release from thawing permafrost. Tracking life as frozen soils thaw Despite their barren appearance, Arctic soils host diverse microbial communities that play a crucial role in the global carbon cycle. When ice melts, liquid water becomes available, allowing some microbes to resume activity and begin breaking down organic matter – a process that releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. To understand which microbes "wake up" after thaw, researchers incubated soil samples from Svalbard, a remote archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole, and used DNA stable isotope probing to directly track microbial growth. This advanced method enabled the team to distinguish active organisms from those remaining dormant. The results revealed striking differences: Some microbes grew rapidly within days, Others only began to grow after several weeks, And a large proportion stayed inactive throughout the 98‑day experiment. More than just decomposition Unexpectedly, the team also identified predatory and epibiotic bacteria, microbes that feed on or grow attached to other microorganisms, as part of the active community. Their presence indicates that thawing soil triggers not only decomposition but also complex microbial food webs. The researchers also detected methane‑oxidising microbes that became active only after prolonged thaw, suggesting that the later stages of the thaw season may play a bigger role in regulating methane fluxes than previously recognised. Implications for climate change Arctic soils store nearly one‑third of the world's soil carbon. As thaw seasons lengthen, understanding the timing and identity of active microbes becomes critical for predicting the release, or consumption, of greenhouse gases. The study shows that carbon release from thawing soils is not simply controlled by temperature, but by the complex dynamics of which microbial groups switch on, and when. Current climate models often assume uniform microbial responses to warming, but these new findings suggest a need for greater nuance to accurately project future carbon emissions from the Arctic. Dr James Bradley, Honorary Reader at Queen Mary University of London and CNRS researcher at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography in Marseille, said: "The thawing of soils in the Arctic doesn't simply switch on microbial activity. We found that only part of the community responds, and that response develops over time. This has important implications for how we predict carbon release in a warming Arctic." Dr Margaret Cramm, lead author of the study, who completed her PhD and postdoctoral research at Queen Mary and is now a Research Fellow at University College London, said: "We found that some methane‑consuming microbes only become active after longer periods of thaw. This suggests that the impact of Arctic soils on greenhouse gas fluxes may increase over time as thaw seasons lengthen." About the study The research was carried out by an international team from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the USA. Soil samples were collected near the Bayelva Permafrost Observatory in Svalbard and incubated under controlled conditions to mimic seasonal thaw. DNA‑based stable isotope analysis enabled the team to track the growth of hundreds of microbial taxa simultaneously. DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00738-25

Tiny insect brain discovery offers a blueprint for faster and more efficient AI and robots

Mon, 04 May 2026 23:00:00 +0100

The secret behind insects' lightning fast reactions could offer a blueprint for more energy efficient robots and self-driving cars, according to a new study challenging our understanding of how brains process information. The secret behind insects' lightning fast reactions could offer a blueprint for more energy efficient robots and self-driving cars, according to a new study challenging our understanding of how brains process information. Published in Nature Communications , the research from Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Sheffield shows that house flies and fruit flies do not process visual information passively, as previously believed. Rather than simply watching the world, insects twitch their bodies in sync with what they see. These tiny, jerky movements, such as rapid movements of the eyes called saccades, help their brains receive clearer, faster information about the world around them. By studying flies' brains and eyes, observing their behavior and building digital simulations, researchers discovered a previously unknown 'turbo boost' feature called high-frequency jumping. While nerves usually send information to the brain at a steady pace, this feature allows an insect's visual system to shift gears during fast movement - tripling the speed of data sent to the brain to effectively eliminate delays. This mechanism allows insects to react in milliseconds, sometimes even before visual signals have been fully delivered. Beyond biology, the research has implications for artificial intelligence and robotics. Current AI systems often rely on large-scale computation and data processing, which can be slow, energy-intensive and expensive. In contrast, insect brains achieve superior performance using minimal resources by tightly coupling sensing and action. This suggests that future AI systems - particularly those used in robotics, autonomous vehicles and real-time decision-making - could be revolutionised by adopting similar principles of movement-driven, adaptive information processing. Professor Mikko Juusola, senior author of the study from the University of Sheffield, said: "Our findings reveal a fundamentally new way of thinking about how brains compute information - one where speed and efficiency emerge from active interaction with the environment. We've demonstrated how even the smallest brains can solve complex problems at extraordinary speeds. "It shows that vision is not limited by the speed at which insect brains process information. Instead, the brain automatically speeds up to keep pace with the body, cutting out lag and making sure information flows as quickly as possible." The study shows that when an insect makes a sharp turn, its brain 'jumps' into a higher gear. This opens up more room for data, allowing the insect to focus on the most important, fast-moving information. The University of Sheffield's Dr Jouni Takalo, who led the development of the biophysically realistic statistical model underlying the work, said: "Our model shows how thousands of tiny sensors work together to reshape visual signals. By acting as a team, these sensors can instantly shift their focus to where it's needed most. This allows the insect to produce fast, reliable reactions even when moving at high speeds in the wild." Crucially, this mechanism enables insects to overcome physical and neural constraints that would otherwise limit their perception. This supports behaviours such as high-speed flight, predator avoidance and precise navigation in complex environments. The findings challenge traditional models of neural processing, which assume that information flows through fixed pathways with built-in delays. Instead, the results support a new framework where sight is a collective effort between an insect's movement, its visual input and its brain's response. The findings could revolutionise AI and robotics, suggesting that future robots can be smarter and more efficient by using movement to gather relevant information, rather than relying on huge, energy-hungry computer networks. Lars Chittka, Professor in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary University of London, said: "Flies don't see the world like a camera taking snapshots. Their vision is tightly intertwined with action, using motion itself to sharpen perception and speed up neural processing. Understanding how biology achieves this kind of predictive, low‑delay sensing could inspire new approaches in artificial vision and neuromorphic engineering." Professor Aurel A. Lazar, co-author from Columbia University, New York, said:"Nature shows us that intelligence doesn't come from processing more data, but from processing the right data at the right time. By integrating movement directly into computation, biological systems achieve extraordinary efficiency. "These principles could guide the design of faster, more robust and energy-efficient AI systems."

Meet one of our academics: Tyler Kelly

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 23:00:00 +0100

Tyler Kelly is a professor in the Centre for Combinatorics, Algebra and Number Theory and a Future Leader Fellow working on open mirror geometry for Landau-Ginzburg models. Their inspiring commitment to EDI has been recognised by the appointment to prestigious learned societies and advisory boards, as the London Mathematical Society Committee for Women and Diversity in Mathematics, the EDI Advisory Board of the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences and REF People and Diversity advisory panel. They are the co-chair of LGBTQ+STEM, an organisation that supports LGBTQ+ researchers working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Recently, they have organised three one-day events at Queen Mary focusing on "Best Practice," "Downstream Barriers," and "Strategies and Implementation." These events explored how learned societies and organisations can help improve LGBTQ+ research culture within STEM. This work forms part of a UKRI Future Leader Fellowship Plus Fund project on cultivating and coordinating a positive research culture for LGBTQ+ STEM researchers, which makes Tyler a leader in inclusion and a role model in the sector. To learn more about Tyler's work in championing inclusion in STEM read here.

How touch and emotion combine to shape our memories and relationships

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 23:00:00 +0100

New paper in Neuroscience & Biobehavioural Review proposes first neurobiological model for how emotionally meaningful touch stays in our memory and influences our connections with others. Why does a comforting touch stay with us for years, while other sensations quickly fade from our minds? A new paper offers a novel answer, proposing the first comprehensive neurobiological model of affective tactile memory: the way emotionally meaningful touch is encoded, stored, and recalled. The article, by Dr Laura Crucianelli, Lecturer in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London, Dr Federica Meconi, Assistant Professor in Neuroscience at the University of Trento, Italy, and Henrik Bischoff, researcher from the Sigmund Freud University, Vienna, Austria, reviews decades of research in neuroscience, psychology and clinical science and puts forward a new concept of affective tactile memory, arguing that emotionally meaningful touch is stored in the brain in powerful and lasting ways. Dr Crucianelli says: "A comforting touch doesn't just fade; it may become part of us. Through an interplay between sensory signals and emotional brain networks, touch experiences can be remembered both consciously and unconsciously, shaping how safe we feel, how we bond with others, and how we navigate relationships across the lifespan." The research opens a new window into how early and everyday tactile experiences quietly influence our emotional lives. Memories of affective touch are emotional as well as tactile While touch has long been studied as a basic sensory system, this paper shifts the focus to its emotional and memory-related functions. The authors bring together evidence from neuroscience, psychology, and physiology to show that touch is not just perceived in the moment, but it is deeply intertwined with memory systems that shape future behaviour and social interaction. Crucially, the paper distinguishes affective touch - such as a gentle caress - from purely discriminative touch and argues that these experiences engage specialised neural pathways linked to emotion, reward, and bodily regulation. "Affective touch has been largely overlooked in memory research. We show that it deserves a central place in how we understand the emotional brain." says Dr Crucianelli, "It may be that when we remember a meaningful touch, the brain reactivates traces of how that experience felt in the body." Memories of touch may be held in the body One of the most striking ideas is that memories of touch may be fundamentally embodied, relying not only on brain-based representations but also on the reactivation of bodily and emotional states. This suggests that recalling a touch is not like replaying a neutral image; it may partially recreate how that touch felt in the body. A mother's touch could shape lifelong wellbeing By proposing a unified model of how affective touch is remembered, the paper fills a major gap in cognitive psychology and neuroscience. It connects sensory processing, emotion, and memory into a single framework, offering new ways to understand how early tactile experiences, especially in caregiving contexts such as the gentle touch a baby receives from their parents, shape development and wellbeing. "Even the most subtle forms of touch can leave lasting imprints on how we think, feel, and relate to others" the Authors add, "This work highlights how deeply our relationships are rooted in physical, embodied experience." The findings have important implications for mental health, particularly in conditions where touch processing or emotional memory is altered. They also shed light on the role of touch in social bonding, attachment, and resilience, highlighting how deeply human connection is rooted in physical experience. In a world where digital interaction is increasingly dominant, this research is a timely reminder: skin to skin touch leaves a lasting imprint on the brain and on who we become.

'Chameleon' bees change colour with the weather

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 23:00:00 +0100

Study reveals some bees shift colour depending on humidity – and may explain why the same species can look different across climates. Some bees really do change colour with the weather, according to new research that shows humidity can temporarily alter the shimmering hues of certain species. In a study published today in Biology Letters, scientists led by Dr Madeleine Ostwald of Queen Mary University of London found that moisture in the air can cause sweat bees to change colour — and then change back again when conditions dry out. Sweat bees are known for their bright, metallic greens and blues. Until now, reports that their colours could shift have been anecdotal. This new research provides the first experimental proof. The team studied museum specimens of a North American sweat bee, Agapostemon subtilior. When the bees were placed in dry air, they appeared deep blue. But when humidity increased, they took on a warmer, copper‑green colour. Once dried again, the bees returned to blue. Unlike most animals, whose colours come from pigments, these bees get their colour from microscopic structures on their bodies that reflect and scatter light at particular wavelengths. The same effect creates the iridescent feathers of hummingbirds and the shifting skin colours of cuttlefish. In some animals, these tiny structures swell slightly when exposed to moisture, causing them to reflect redder colours. The researchers believe a similar process may be happening in bees, although more work is needed to fully understand the mechanism. The scientists also looked at colour changes in the wild. By analysing hundreds of public photos from the citizen science app iNaturalist, they compared bee colour with local humidity levels. While many factors influence a bee's appearance, the team found that bees in drier areas tended to look bluer — matching the lab results. Interestingly, older museum specimens showed the strongest colour changes. The researchers think this may be because bees' outer shells slowly degrade over time, allowing moisture to enter more easily. The findings suggest this colour‑changing effect could be common among bees, which display a wide range of shimmering colours and live in environments ranging from deserts to rainforests. Insects use colour for many reasons, including temperature control, communication, and camouflage. Whether these subtle colour shifts affect how bees behave or survive is still unknown. Dr Madeleine Ostwald, Lecturer in Ecology, Conservation & Biodiversity at Queen Mary said: "When people think of bees, they often picture drab, brown honey bees. In reality, bees are incredibly diverse and colourful — and we're only just starting to understand how their appearance reflects the climate they live in." She added: "Most people associate colour‑change with animals like chameleons that actively control it. These bees aren't choosing to change colour — it's happening passively, simply in response to the humidity around them. That adds a whole new layer of mystery to why these colours evolved in the first place." The study was carried out with researchers Leslie Cervantes Rivera, Jorge De La Cruz and Katja Seltmann from the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration at the University of California, Santa Barbara. "Humidity induces structural colour change and contributes to biogeographic colour variation in sweat bees" was published on 00.05 BST April 22, 2026 in Biology Letters and can be accessed here: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article/22/4/20250803/481403/Humidity-induces-structural-colour-change-and

Queen Mary physicist showcases Higgs boson research in Parliament

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 23:00:00 +0100

Early Career Researcher Christos Vergis represents Queen Mary University of London at prestigious STEM for Britain event. A Queen Mary University of London research team has taken its work to the heart of UK democracy, with physicist Dr Christos Vergis shortlisted to present his research at the House of Commons as part of the national STEM for Britain exhibition. The event, held on 17 March 2026, brought together outstanding early-career researchers from across the UK to showcase cutting-edge science, engineering and mathematics to parliamentarians, policymakers and fellow researchers. Christos was one of just 20 physicists nationwide selected as finalists in the Physics category, following a competitive application process open to researchers from all UK institutions. From Queen Mary to Westminster STEM for Britain is an annual exhibition and competition that aims to strengthen links between researchers and policymakers, offering early-career scientists a unique opportunity to explain their work to a non-specialist audience. Finalists are shortlisted by expert panels and invited to present their research in poster form at the House of Commons, where judges assess scientific excellence, impact and communication. The call for applications was shared within Queen Mary's Department of Physics and Astronomy, and with encouragement from his Line Manager, Professor Ulla Blumenschein, Christos applied — and was successively shortlisted. "It felt like a great opportunity to put Queen Mary research on a national stage," Christos said. "I'm very glad we took the chance." Revealing new insights into the Higgs boson Christos' poster focused on his work within the ATLAS experiment at CERN, presenting recent evidence for the Higgs boson decaying into a pair of muons — a rare process that offers crucial insight into how the Higgs boson interacts with fundamental particles. This result was a major milestone for the field and had previously been highlighted in a Queen Mary news story celebrating the discovery as evidence of a new Higgs boson decay. Christos' presentation emphasised the role played by Queen Mary researchers within the vast international ATLAS Collaboration, underlining the University's contribution to world-leading fundamental physics. The exhibition was attended by MPs from participants' local constituencies, representatives from the Institute of Physics, fellow scientists from across disciplines, and members of other STEM organisations — creating a lively and engaged forum for discussion. Celebrating collaboration and impact In addition to raising the profile of his research, the event was also a competition, with finalists vying for gold awards in their categories. Winners are given the opportunity to speak in Parliament about their work and its wider significance. Reflecting on the experience, Christos said: "Presenting our work in Parliament was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the strength of our research at Queen Mary and the importance of fundamental physics. It was especially rewarding to represent our local team's contribution to the wider ATLAS Collaboration. Meeting so many excellent physicists from across the UK was equally inspiring; genuine progress in science comes from exchanging ideas across disciplines, not working in isolation." A moment of pride for Queen Mary Christos' selection highlights the strength of Queen Mary's research environment and its support for early-career researchers to engage beyond academia. By bringing frontier physics directly to policymakers, the University continues to demonstrate the relevance, excellence and societal value of its research — from Mile End to Westminster.

Wasps move in on ant–plant partnership, disrupting a 10‑million‑year mutualism

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 23:00:00 +0100

New research reveals unexpected intruders in a classic tropical tree–ant relationship, raising concerns for forest recovery in human‑altered landscapes. An international team of scientists from Queen Mary University of London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and other institutions has uncovered surprising new behaviour in the tropical forests of Malaysian Borneo. In a study published in PeerJ, the researchers report that predatory wasps are increasingly taking over the hollow stems of the tropical plant Macaranga pearsonii — structures the tree has evolved specifically to house protective ant colonies. For millions of years, these "ant‑plants" have relied on a tightly knit partnership with ants. The plants construct specialised hollow chambers and even provide nutritious food bodies, and in return, the ants aggressively defend their host from leaf‑eating insects such as caterpillars. This mutually beneficial system has helped both species thrive for at least 10 million years. But now, this ancient alliance is being disrupted. Predatory wasps take advantage of plant-made shelters By dissecting young Macaranga pearsonii trees across logged forests and oil palm plantations, the researchers discovered that a species of wasp is co‑opting these hollow chambers for its own use — with significant consequences. Lead author Mr. Lestina explained: "While surveying these ant‑plants, I noticed that many stems had been hollowed out in an unusual way. When we opened them, they were full of flies being eaten alive by wasp larvae. Adult wasps hunt and paralyse the flies, then store them inside the plant's cavities as food for their young." The study found that plants in oil palm plantations were far more likely to house these wasps than plants in logged forest. Crucially, trees occupied by wasps consistently supported much smaller ant colonies, suggesting the wasps may be displacing the ants entirely, although experiments would be needed to test this. Human‑driven habitat change may be helping the wasps spread Co‑author Dr Kalsum M. Yusah explains: "Human activities are transforming habitats worldwide, and this kind of shift in species interactions is exactly what we expect to see. We don't yet know whether this wasp is native or introduced, but its spread is clearly linked to disturbed landscapes." Because Macaranga species are among the first to colonise cleared or damaged areas, weakened plants could impair wider forest regeneration. "If the plants lose their ant defenders and become less healthy, it could hinder forest recovery following disturbance," Dr Yusah added. Long-term evolutionary impacts could follow Senior author Dr Fayle from Queen Mary University of London emphasised the broader evolutionary implications: "When mutualistic benefits break down, it can drive long-term evolutionary change. If these structures become less valuable to the plants because wasps exploit them, the plants may stop investing in them. These subtle, long-term consequences of human activity are far less understood than straightforward biodiversity loss." The ant-plant relationship is one of thousands of tightly linked relationships in tropical ecosystems. If human disturbance allows new "invaders" - even native ones – we may see more mutualisms destabilised which could result in weaker natural defences in plants and shifts in which species dominate forests. This study serves as an early sign of how subtle ecological interactions can unravel long before species are driven to extinction. DOI and weblink. 10.7717/peerj.20984.

Queen Mary PhD Students Champion Neurodivergent Inclusion at Night of Science and Engineering

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Three Queen Mary University of London PhD students took centre stage at this year's Night of Science and Engineering, sharing research that pushes forward understanding, equity and inclusion for neurodivergent people. Their work—spanning mental health, human‑centred technology and maternal health—showcases the powerful role of research in creating more accessible futures. Emma Hayashibara: Co‑producing Mental Health Tools for Neurodivergent Young People PhD researcher Emma Hayashibara presented her work addressing long‑standing mental health disparities among neurodivergent children and adolescents. Her project uses an intersectional approach, focusing especially on the experiences of young people from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds—groups whose needs are often overlooked in clinical assessment. Emma is co‑producing an inclusive mental health assessment tool shaped directly by the voices of neurodivergent young people. She also leads the PhD Participatory Research Network, a cross-London initiative supporting doctoral researchers to embed participatory values meaningfully in their work. Her commitment to shared decision-making and community-led research reflects a growing movement toward mental health tools designed with neurodivergent people, not just for them. Daniel Gill: Understanding Motion and Interaction Through a Neurodivergent Lens From the Centre for Human-Centred Computing, Daniel Gill bridges robotics, psychology and design to study how neurodivergent people move, interact and communicate through touch and motion. By collaborating closely with neurodivergent participants, his work explores differences in motor control and haptic interaction—areas that remain under-researched despite their importance in daily life. Daniel's findings aim to influence the next generation of inclusive technologies. By identifying patterns that shape how neurodivergent people physically interact with the world, he hopes to contribute to tools, interfaces and systems that better reflect the diversity of human experience. Dr Zara Arain Saqlan: Using Machine Learning to Support Health in Pregnant People Clinical research fellow and third‑year PhD student Dr Zara Arain Saqlan presented work linking obstetrics, environmental health and data science. Her current research, part of the Air Pollution and Pregnancy Clinical Trial (NCT06340971) in partnership with UCLH, uses machine learning models to predict preterm birth. Predictive tools like the ones Zara develops have the potential to improve maternal care for all patients—but are especially valuable for neurodivergent people, who often face barriers in accessing consistent, personalised healthcare. Her project highlights how inclusive research can help ensure that medical innovation benefits every community. Celebrating Neurodivergent Voices in Research Together, Emma, Daniel and Zara represent Queen Mary's commitment to research that centres lived experience and challenges inequality. Their presentations at the Night of Science and Engineering not only showcased cutting-edge science, but also reinforced the importance of empowering neurodivergent communities through co-production, interdisciplinary collaboration and inclusive design. A fitting reflection for Neurodiversity Celebration Week, their work shows how research can drive more inclusive systems, technologies and healthcare that recognise and respect the full diversity of minds.

Queen Mary's Night of Science and Engineering celebrates innovation, partnership, and impact

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Yesterday (Tuesday 17 March) Queen Mary University of London's Faculty of Science and Engineering welcomed partners, collaborators, and invited guests to its annual Night of Science and Engineering. The event, now in its fourth year, showcases the world leading research, innovation, and partnership carried out across the Faculty. This year's event, themed 'Local Impact - Global Reach', explored how the Faculty of Science and Engineering's work is delivering positive impact locally and across the globe, in line with the Government's Industry Strategy. It brought leaders from industry, government, charities, and academia, together with senior figures from across Queen Mary. Guests engaged with a vibrant programme of speakers and interactive stands, each demonstrating transformative breakthroughs taking place across science and engineering at Queen Mary.  Speaking on the event, Professor Colin Bailey, CBE, President and Principal at Queen Mary said: "Our Night of Science and Engineering demonstrates the best of Queen Mary — excellence, ambition, collaboration and a powerful sense of purpose. This year's event showed how our work and partnerships are shaping a future that is more sustainable, connected, and equitable and which is delivering positive impact for our local communities and people across the globe."  Professor Wen Wang, Vice-Principal and Executive Dean for the Faculty of Science and Engineering added: "The Night of Science and Engineering stands as a testament to Queen Mary's commitment to advancing knowledge, inspiring innovation, and shaping a better world. The breakthroughs displayed during the event illustrate what happens when brilliant researchers collaborate across disciplines and sectors, and show our Faculty and University's commitment to translating discovery into real-world impact, which partnerships are central to achieving." Throughout the evening, guests explored interactive exhibits and were offered hands-on insights into research spanning energy solutions, robotics, biodiversity, advanced materials, and next-generation digital technologies, demonstrating how Queen Mary researchers are addressing critical global challenges. The event also clearly showcased how this research is supporting the Government's Industrial Strategy, which highlights how science, research, and innovation are central to the UK's economic resilience and global competitiveness – a principle that resonates strongly at Queen Mary.   Three outstanding PhD researchers demonstrated the breadth and impact of the Faculty's educational environment at the event. Emma Hayashibara shared her research developing an inclusive mental health assessment tool for neurodivergent young people. Daniel Gill highlighted his interdisciplinary work with roboticists and psychologists to understand interactive motion patterns, helping to inform more inclusive technology design. Dr Zara Arain Saqlan presented her machine‑learning research predicting preterm birth as part of the Air Pollution and Pregnancy Clinical Trial, showcasing the Faculty's strength in applying advanced methods to major clinical challenges. Celebrating excellence A highlight of this year's event was the recognition of Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong and Professor David Owens with honorary degrees from Queen Mary. Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong was awarded an Doctor of Sciences in recognition of his lifelong dedication to advancing science for societal benefit, as well as his deep connection to Queen Mary. Professor David Owens was also awarded a Doctor of Sciences for his contributions to the UK telecommunications industry and engineering profession. Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong is a distinguished Thai scientist whose career spans scientific discovery, national policy leadership, and international impact. A chemistry alumnus of Queen Mary College, one of Queen Mary's founding institutions, Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong subsequently studied at the University of Oxford, later establishing a prolific research career at Mahidol University, where he became Professor of Biochemistry. His leadership in Thailand's scientific landscape includes serving as Director, National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (1985–1989), First President, National Science and Technology Development Agency (1991–1998), Minister of Science and Technology (2006–2008) and Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (2014–2015). Professor Yuthavong's numerous honours include the Outstanding Scientist of Thailand Award, the Nikkei Asia Prize for Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Dushdi Mala Medal. During his time in the UK, he was also part of a senior delegation from King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand hosted by the Faculty, which aim to develop a new strategic partnership, which could launch joint engineering programmes in AI, electronics and robotics, while expanding research collaboration between the two institutions." Professor David Owens is a distinguished telecommunications engineer whose career spans more than four decades of innovation and leadership. He began his career as an apprentice telecommunications technician in the British Army's Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, later contributing to secure communications and early cellular networks, before progressing into senior roles at Vodafone and BT Cellnet (O2). Professor Owens holds an MSc in Mobile and Satellite Communication Systems and completed his PhD at the University of Surrey in 2023, following more than a decade of parttime research alongside his industry work. A Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, an Associate Fellow of the Women's Engineering Society, and a Chartered Engineer, Professor Owens continues to bridge research and real-world application, shaping the future of mobile and connectivity technologies.  Among other projects, he has overseen the development of 5G-enabled drone systems for search-and-rescue teams, equipping emergency services with airborne mobile-mast capability to operate in areas without traditional network coverage and his work has been recognised through several professional accolades, including the 2025 Mobile Industry Award for Innovation.

AI's game-playing still has flaws, research shows

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

New research published in Machine Learning shows pattern learning is not enough to train AI to tackle games – and abstract representations or hybrid approaches may help. Many AI researchers describe game-playing as the "Formula 1" of AI: it's a controlled test environment with clear rules and clear success criteria. This paper uses that idea as a diagnostic, by studying a very simple game Nim, a children's matchstick game whose optimal strategy is known exactly. Because the correct move is known for every position, we can measure whether an agent plays optimally across the state space. The research found that while small boards can work, despite heavy training agents show blind spots and can miss optimal moves, and performance degrades as the board grows, with predictions approaching random. This suggests impartial games often need analytic representations, not pattern learning. What does this mean for gaming with machines? Self-play AIs can be very strong, but in games where both players share the "pieces" and the winning strategy is an abstract arithmetic rule, pattern-recognition from raw positions may not be enough on its own.  Wider implications: The results don't diminish the achievements of self-play AI in games like chess and Go. Rather, they help map where today's methods can struggle, and where more abstract representations or hybrid approaches may be beneficial. More broadly, it's a reminder that systems can perform well in common cases while remaining brittle in rare-but-important ones. Dr Søren Riis Reader in Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London said: "Nim is a children's game with a complete mathematical solution, yet AlphaZero-style self-play can still develop blind spots—becoming competitive while missing optimal moves across many positions." "This suggests that, for future work in AI, impressive performance alone is not proof that a system has learned the underlying principle: methods that capture abstract structure may be needed to reduce blind spots." "Impartial Games: A Challenge for Reinforcement Learning" by Dr Bei Zhou, Research Associate at Imperial College, London and Dr Søren Riis, Reader in Computer Science at Queen Mary University of London, is published in Machine Learning. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10994-026-06996-1

Queen Mary scientists seek to slash carbon footprint of medicine manufacturing through new ...

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

By working with industry partners, bio-based solvents could replace fossil derived materials by the 2030s. A new British-based consortium aims to cut emissions by 60% compared to conventional fossil-derived solvents. Pharma's emissions per dollar of revenue are higher than the car industry. Solvents are a major culprit, but essential to making medicines. The consortium includes Exactmer, GSK, Queen Mary University of London, Atmospheric AI, Solve Chemistry, OXCCU, Celtic Renewables, University of Leeds, CPI, Croda, and Cytiva. The project is backed by £7m from Innovate UK and the Department of Health and Social Care. Solvents are central to making medicines. They help mix ingredients, enable chemical reactions, purify the drug and control product quality. They are also highly polluting. The production, use, and safe disposal of fossil-derived solvents create significant greenhouse gas emissions. It's one reason why the pharma industry has higher carbon emissions per dollar of revenue than the car industry. Now, a new industry-academic consortium seeks to reduce these emissions by 60%. The goal is to develop bio-based solvents which could replace fossil-derived solvents by the 2030s. Bio-based solvents are made from renewable biomass, and so do not release fossil reserves as carbon dioxide. Led by Exactmer, with strategic support from GSK, the British-based consortium also includes Queen Mary University of London, Atmospheric AI, Solve Chemistry, OXCCU, Celtic Renewables, University of Leeds, CPI, Croda, and Cytiva. The 36-month project is backed by £7m from Innovate UK and the Department of Health and Social Care. By bringing together key plays from pharma and chemical manufacturing and academia, the scientists intend to overcome the barriers which have scuppered previous efforts. The biggest challenge is to achieve the high purity and moisture control needed for making medicines, without it being too expensive and energy-intensive to be commercially viable. Manufacturers could use thin filters called membranes to separate different molecules, but today's membranes aren't up to the job of producing pharma-grade bio-based solvents. Scientists in the Livingston Lab at Queen Mary University of London will design and test new advanced membrane purification technologies capable of producing affordable, green, bio-based solvents at scale. This will allow manufacturers to replace fossil-derived solvents with bio-based solvents without needing major changes to their existing infrastructure or processes. By working with industry partners, the team will validate bio-based solvents in existing medicines manufacturing for small-molecules and oligonucleotides; de-risk regulation pathways; and establish a supply chain for producing pharmaceutical-grade bio-based solvents. Prof Andrew Livingston, Vice Principal for Research and Innovation at Queen Mary University of London, founder and CEO of Exactmer, and head of Queen Mary's Livingston Lab, said: "Projects like this are a prime example of how innovation can confront a major environmental issue which most people overlook, as well as promoting the growth in life sciences and advanced manufacturing that's key to the government's industrial strategy. The car industry is going electric, aviation is exploring hydrogen, now it's pharma's turn. Working together across industry and academia, with backing from government, is how we'll make the impact our economy and planet needs." Contact our Business Development team to learn more about industry-academic partnerships with Queen Mary University of London.

Why averages fail for bacteria in the open ocean

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

How can bacteria that forage on organic particles survive in vast ocean regions where such particles are extremely sparse? A new study by researchers from Queen Mary University of London and ETH Zurich shows that variability at the level of individual bacteria plays a central role. Using a probabilistic population model linking mathematics and microbiology, the team demonstrates that rare, high-impact encounters sustain bacterial populations even when average conditions suggest decline. Sinking organic particles, often called "marine snow", transport carbon from the surface to the deep ocean, accounting for roughly half of the ocean's total organic carbon export. As these particles sink, bacteria colonise and degrade them, influencing how much carbon ultimately reaches the deep ocean. For bacteria that rely on these organic particles, the open ocean presents a major challenge. After leaving one particle, they may spend long periods searching for the next one. Reasoning based on average encounter times has long suggested that this "particle hopping" strategy should rarely succeed, as most individual bacteria would exhaust their energy before reaching another particle. When averages fall short To probe this paradox more deeply, the research team combined environmental microbiology with stochastic modelling to derive a generalized branching-process model of bacterial foraging. Rather than relying on average encounter rates, the model represents the distribution of search times and particle interaction outcomes, including rare rapid encounters with large particles that generate many offspring. Although such encounters are infrequent, their outsized contribution can reverse what averages would predict for population growth. The authors describe this effect as "stochastic resilience". The results indicate that variability allows motile, particle-foraging bacteria to persist across a much broader range of marine environments than average-based reasoning would suggest, including parts of the open ocean and deep (bathypelagic) waters. Crucially, this persistence does not require bacteria to endure years-long periods of starvation. While many individuals fail to find another particle, a small number succeed quickly and generate enough offspring to sustain the population. Variability that shapes ocean-scale processes It is still difficult for ocean scientists to connect tiny microbial behaviours, such as movement or attachment to particles, to the much larger ecological and chemical processes in the ocean. Large-scale models necessarily describe microbial dynamics in terms of aggregate or average rates. Yet variability and rare events can influence population-level outcomes in ways that mean behaviour alone does not capture. By combining mathematical theory with environmental microbiology, this study shows how probabilistic frameworks can make those effects explicit. Sinking particles form the backbone of the ocean's biological carbon pump, transporting organic matter toward the deep sea. As bacteria colonize and degrade these particles, they influence how much carbon is respired back to CO₂ and how much continues downward. By highlighting encounter variability, the study suggests that models based solely on average rates may underestimate microbial contributions to carbon export. Dr Natasha Blitvic, Reader in Mathematical Sciences at Queen Mary, said: "It's counterintuitive that populations can persist when most individual searches fail. Rare rapid encounters make the difference, but you only see that when you step away from averages and think probabilistically. Bringing mathematics and marine microbiology together made that perspective possible." Professor Roman Stocker, Head of the Environmental Microfluidics Lab at ETH Zurich, added: "We have investigated the movement behaviour of marine bacteria quite extensively to date, but it was only thanks to the mathematical framework that Natasha and Vicente contributed that we were together finally able to scale up the effect of that behaviour from single cells to the ocean ecosystem and thereby demonstrate that the probabilistic nature of that behaviour is a key ingredient in understanding microbial foraging strategies and ultimately the important ecological and biogeochemical processes they underpin". Stochastic resilience enables particle foraging in oligotrophic marine environments, published on PNAS can be viewed here: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2508238123

Delocalised Electronic States: Powering Molecular Photovoltaics

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Queen Mary Researchers Help Unlock the Secrets Behind 20% Efficient Organic Solar Cells. Researchers at Queen Mary University of London, working closely with collaborators at Imperial College London and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), have uncovered how the latest generation of organic solar cell materials achieve record‑breaking efficiencies of over 20%. Their findings provide long‑sought answers to a major puzzle in the field and lay out new design rules for future molecular photovoltaics. Organic solar cells — which use carbon-based molecules or polymers to absorb sunlight — offer a lightweight, flexible and potentially more sustainable alternative to traditional silicon photovoltaics. Over the past two decades, their power‑conversion efficiency has climbed from around 2% to over 20%, thanks largely to a new class of molecules known as non‑fullerene acceptors (NFAs), particularly the highly successful "Y‑family" of materials such as Y6. But until now, scientists have not fully understood how these materials reach such high efficiencies. Rethinking How Charges Are Created Traditionally, organic solar cells rely on a junction between two molecular materials — an electron donor and an electron acceptor — to split tightly bound excitons into free charges. This process normally requires a large energetic "offset" between the materials, which comes at a cost: the larger the offset, the lower the voltage and overall efficiency of the device. However, the latest NFAs break this rule, achieving high efficiencies with much smaller energy offsets. Some studies have even suggested that charges could be generated directly within the molecular film, without needing a clear donor–acceptor interface. A Combined Experimental–Computational Breakthrough To solve this puzzle, a team from Queen Mary's School of Engineering and Materials Science, with researchers at Imperial College London, combined experimental device measurements with a new computational model capable of simulating how excited electronic states spread out, or delocalise, across the molecular network. By comparing simulated and experimental data, the team found that this delocalisation plays a critical role in enabling efficient charge generation at low energetic cost. "What our results make clear is that we can no longer look at these molecules in isolation," said Dr Flurin Eisner, Lecturer in Green Energy at Queen Mary University of London and co-author of the study. "The secret to their high efficiency lies in how the energy is shared and spread out across an entire molecular network. It's this teamwork at the nanoscale that allows the charges to separate so effectively without needing a massive energetic push." Lead author Lucy Hart, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Imperial College London, added: "There has been a lot of debate about exactly how these exciting new materials generate electricity so efficiently when the traditional driving forces are so small. By combining our experimental measurements with a new computational approach, we were able to pinpoint the molecular features driving this efficient charge generation." Co-author Daniel Medranda (Imperial College London) highlighted the challenge of studying these ultrafast processes: "These mechanisms occur at incredible speeds and at the molecular scale. Our integrated approach acts like an advanced magnifying glass, allowing us to see how the specific shape and packing of these molecules dictate the performance of the entire solar cell." New Rules for Molecular Design The team identified key structural characteristics of the highest‑performing materials — including both their chemical structure and their nanoscale arrangement — that make them exceptionally effective at transferring energy across the film. The researchers also tested whether the new materials were capable of generating photocurrent without a traditional heterojunction interface. While this is not yet achievable, the results point clearly to how the materials could be improved to move closer to this goal. Towards Next‑Generation Solar Materials This work provides practical, evidence‑based design rules for chemists and materials scientists looking to push organic solar cell performance even further. Future efforts, the team suggests, should focus on: lowering the energy required for molecular reorganisation reducing structural disorder increasing intermolecular interactions The research was supported by UKRI (ATIP programme grant), the UKRI ERC underwrite scheme (POTENtIAl), and the Spanish CSIC via collaboration with Prof Campoy‑Quiles at ICMAB, Barcelona (project DOMMINO). Molecular factors controlling charge pair generation in organic photovoltaic materials was published in nature materials and can be viewed here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41563-026-02509-6

Three women leading research in Science and Engineering

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0100

To mark International Women's Day, we spotlight three women leading research in Science and Engineering. Meet Silvia Liverani (Head of the Centre for Probability, Statistics and Data Science) Mona Jaber (Head of the Centre for Networks, Communications, and Systems) and Ana Sobrido (Head of the Centre for Centre for Sustainable Engineering). Silvia Liverani I love uncovering the structure hidden in messy data using statistical models to find those patterns. My research focuses on developing advanced statistical methods for complex datasets, and one aspect I really enjoy is that I get to collaborate with researchers in other fields, including biologists, psychologists, clinicians, etc. I have been the Head of the Centre in Probability, Statistics and Data Science since 2023. The Centre is an exciting group of academics, PDRAs and PhD students, spanning from pure mathematics to applied statistics and image processing. Mona Jaber As a child, I was fascinated by how engineering could solve real-world problems and I knew then that I wanted to be an engineer. That early curiosity has grown into a lifelong passion that now drives my research in artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technologies, accelerating our progress toward more sustainable urban environments. Today, as Head of the Centre for Networks, Communications, and Systems, I have the privilege of working alongside exceptional colleagues on truly inspiring projects. What excites me most is not only the individual breakthroughs, but the possibility of bringing these innovations together, connecting ideas, systems, and disciplines, to then help shape a more sustainable future. Ana Sobrido My love for science started as a kid in school, when watching chemical reactions unfold felt like witnessing magic, sparking a curiosity to understand the hidden rules behind them. This led me to pursue a career in Chemistry where I developed a particular interest in materials for energy. My research pioneers sustainable materials and innovative manufacturing approaches to enable the next generation of energy storage and conversion technologies, helping accelerate the transition to a more resilient and low-carbon future. As Head of the Centre for Sustainable Engineering, I am excited about building on strong existing foundations to address the most pressing sustainability challenges. I look forward to working with fantastic colleagues, driving innovation and impactful research and excellence in teaching and learning, while fostering an open, inclusive, and inspiring environment for all.

Meet one of our academics: Stefaan Verbruggen

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

I am a lecturer in Medical Technology and a member of the Centre for Bioengineering at Queen Mary University of London. My research focuses on biomechanics and organ-on-a-chip technologies, particularly how mechanical forces influence musculoskeletal health and disease. My work sits at the intersection of biomechanics, mechanobiology and advanced in vitro modelling. I develop microphysiological systems and organ-on-a-chip platforms that allow us to model human joints, tendons and cartilage in the laboratory. I am especially interested in how cells sense and respond to mechanical loading, and whether we can model joint ageing in a controlled, predictive way. A key question in my research is whether ageing and degeneration are predetermined or whether they can be influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors. Ultimately, I want to build better, more human-relevant models that reduce reliance on animal experiments and accelerate the development of new therapies for musculoskeletal diseases such as osteoarthritis. I have always been fascinated by how physical forces shape biology. The musculoskeletal system is a perfect example of this: our bones, cartilage and tendons are constantly adapting to the loads we place on them. Bioengineering allows me to combine engineering principles with biology to answer fundamental questions about health and disease, and to translate those answers into technologies that can have real clinical impact. For me, scientific excellence and inclusive culture are inseparable. Diverse perspectives make research stronger, more creative and more impactful. I lead Pride@ORS within the Orthopaedic Research Society (the world's largest orthopaedic research society) where I work to increase visibility and foster community for LGBTQ+ researchers in orthopaedics. I also serve on the EDI panels of the UK Biomedical Engineering Society and the European Society of Biomechanics, and I am an academic representative on the SEMS EDI Committee at Queen Mary. Through these roles, I advocate for equitable practices, inclusive leadership and meaningful structural change. Creating environments where everyone feels they belong is not separate from research, it is fundamental to doing research well. I enjoy the interdisciplinary nature of our community and the opportunity to mentor students and early-career researchers from diverse backgrounds. Watching students grow in confidence, scientifically and personally, is one of the most rewarding aspects of my role. At Queen Mary, I feel part of a community that values both research excellence and social responsibility, and that balance is very important to me.

QMUL Researchers Help Advance Practical Quantum Computing with New Low-Depth Algorithms

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

A new study published in Science Advances presents a major step forward in the development of quantum algorithms that are more accurate, more efficient, and better suited to the capabilities of early quantum computers. The research from Queen Mary University of London focuses on improving the way quantum computers calculate the fundamental properties of quantum systems—known as eigenstates. These calculations are essential for progress in fields such as chemistry, materials science, and physics, where understanding how particles behave at the quantum level can lead to breakthroughs ranging from new medicines to advanced materials. Traditional quantum algorithms can be highly demanding: they often require deep, complex circuits and large numbers of qubits, making them difficult to run on today's noisy or early fault‑tolerant quantum hardware. The team behind this new work addresses these challenges by designing high‑precision algorithms that significantly reduce circuit depth and minimise the number of difficult controlled operations, making them far more practical for current and near‑future machines. A key innovation explored in the study is the use of randomised linear-combination-of-unitaries technique for realising general quantum operations. This approach allows an efficient implementation of spectral filtering—a technique that allows the quantum computer to 'filter out' the information it needs with high precision. Combined with advanced quantum dynamics simulation methods, the approach lets researchers estimate properties like ground‑state or excited-state energy with near‑optimal efficiency, all while keeping hardware demands low. The work offers rigorous theoretical guarantees and detailed analysis of how these algorithms perform, demonstrating advantages over existing methods. Crucially, the work provides concrete resource estimates for both noisy quantum devices and early fault-tolerant quantum devices. This offers a realistic roadmap for quantum usefulness. With quantum technologies progressing quickly, these findings bring the scientific community a step closer to real‑world quantum simulations that could transform multiple research fields. This advancement highlights the growing impact of quantum algorithm research and its crucial role in unlocking the potential of emerging quantum hardware. This work is led by Dr Jinzhao Sun at the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary, in collaboration with academics at Imperial College, University of Cambridge, and University and Chicago. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aeb1622

Sea turtles are nesting earlier – but producing fewer eggs, less often: new research

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Climate change is reshaping life on Earth at an unprecedented pace. Across the globe, species are shifting their ranges, altering migration routes and breeding earlier in the year in response to rising temperatures. But while some of these changes appear adaptive, scientists are increasingly finding that hidden costs may undermine long-term survival. A new 17-year study of loggerhead sea turtles nesting in Cabo Verde reveals exactly this tension. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and conservationists from NGO Associação Projeto Biodiversidade report that warming oceans are triggering earlier nesting in one of the world's most important loggerhead turtle populations. Yet at the same time, declining ocean productivity is reducing how often females reproduce and how many eggs they lay. The study, published in Animals, shows that climate change impacts sea turtle reproduction through multiple, interacting pathways. "Sea turtles are adjusting their timing to warmer temperatures, which shows a remarkable capacity for flexibility," says Fitra Nugraha, the study's lead author at Queen Mary University of London. "But at the same time, the part of the Atlantic oceans they depend on for food are becoming less productive – and that is quietly eroding their reproductive output." Earlier nesting, shorter breaks – but longer waits between breeding seasons The researchers found that warmer sea surface temperatures cause turtles to arrive and nest earlier in the season. Higher temperatures also shorten the interval between successive nests, likely because warmth speeds up egg development. However, the story changes once the turtles leave the beaches. As ocean productivity declines along their West African feeding grounds, females now take longer breaks between breeding seasons: over 17 years, renesting intervals has increased from about 2 years to 4 years. When they do return, they lay fewer clutches and fewer eggs per nest. "From the beach, everything is a conservation success – more nests, earlier nesting, lots of activity," says Kirsten Fairweather, co-lead author and scientific coordinator at Associação Projeto Biodiversidade. "But when you follow individual turtles over many years, a more complex picture emerges. The turtles are working harder for less return." Why food matters as much as temperature Sea turtles are "capital breeders": they rely on energy stored during years spent feeding at sea to fuel reproduction. The study shows that declining ocean productivity – measured using satellite estimates of chlorophyll – is strongly linked to longer remigration intervals, smaller clutches and fewer nesting events. This means climate change iaffects turtles through multiple pathways at once: warming alters timing, while changes to marine food webs reduce reproductive capacity. "Temperature alone doesn't tell the full story," says Christophe Eizaguirre, senior author of the study and Professor of Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics at Queen Mary University of London. "You must protect sea turtles on the nesting beaches, but not only. What happens thousands of kilometres away, in their feeding grounds, directly determines how many eggs they can produce and therefore the next generation of turtles." Implications for conservation Cabo Verde hosts tens of thousands of nesting loggerhead females each year, making it a population of global importance. The study highlights the value of long-term, NGO-led monitoring efforts, which make it possible to detect subtle but consequential biological changes that short-term studies would miss. For conservationists, the message is clear: protecting nesting beaches remains essential, but it is no longer enough. "To safeguard sea turtles in a warming world, we need conservation strategies that extend beyond the shoreline," says Fairweather. "That includes protecting feeding habitats, reducing pressures on marine ecosystems, and recognising that climate change can undermine reproduction even in populations that appear to be thriving." As oceans continue to warm and productivity shifts, the study suggests that the future of sea turtles will depend not just on their ability to adapt – but on how quickly conservation can adapt with them. Read the paper, Warming and change in ocean productivity alter phenology of an expanding loggerhead population in Cabo Verde.

Queen Mary Spinout Dragonfly AI Secures £5m to Accelerate Global Growth

Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Queen Mary University of London is celebrating the success of its spinout company Dragonfly AI, which has secured £5 million in new investment to fuel its next phase of international expansion and product innovation. Dragonfly AI, co-founded by Dr Hamit Soyel, Chief Scientist and inventor of the underlying technology, has rapidly become a market leader in predictive visual analytics. The technology is rooted in neuroscience research carried out at Queen Mary, where Dr Soyel and colleagues developed a biological algorithm that predicts human attention in real time. Today, the platform is used by major global brands including Nestlé, Coca-Cola and L'Oréal to optimise the performance of their creative content across digital, in‑store, and omnichannel environments. Speaking about the company's continued success, Dr Soyel said: "Marketing teams compete for three things: attention, emotion and memory. Dragonfly AI is built on a biological algorithm we developed at Queen Mary University of London which allows global brands like Nestlé, Coca‑Cola and L'Oréal to optimise their creative performance across digital, in‑store, and omnichannel environments." He added: "Our science‑led approach can predict how people will see, feel, and remember creative content before it goes live. Crucially, because we rely on neuroscience and not training data, we can avoid the biases which plague many generative AI models. It's why we're trusted by some of the most valuable brands." The new £5m investment—led by 24Haymarket with participation from Guinness Ventures, Foresight for Growing Companies, and others—will enable Dragonfly AI to expand globally and further strengthen its product suite.

Sanity check warns EVs and heat pumps deliver "no proven carbon savings" ahead of ...

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

New analysis warns that UK electric vehicles and heat pumps are delivering no proven carbon savings — and urges urgent focus on grid capacity, renewables and carbon capture instead. The conclusion: the UK is prioritising the wrong things. UK electric vehicles and heat pumps have not yet delivered any proven carbon savings and may offer little benefit even with a decarbonised grid, according to a major new analysis by researchers at Queen Mary University of London. The study argues that current net‑zero policy is "misplaced", with the UK prioritising electrification before it has enough clean power to support it. The researchers — Professor Alan Drew and Professor David Dunstan — re‑examined the UK's plans to decarbonise electricity generation by 2030 using real‑world 2023 data. They found that the variability of wind and solar power has been "grossly underestimated", leaving substantial gaps in supply that must still be met by gas‑fired power stations. Because EVs and heat pumps increase electricity demand during these shortfalls, the study concludes they currently offer no measurable emissions savings. Grid can't keep up with turbines The paper highlights rapidly rising costs from wind curtailment — when turbines are paid to shut down because the grid cannot accept the energy. Curtailment cost more than £1 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach a cumulative £20 billion by 2030 without major grid upgrades and new ways of using surplus renewable power. Instead of accelerating electrification, the authors say the UK should focus urgently on four priorities: Strengthening the electricity grid to reduce curtailment of wind generation in order to carry the generated power from source to demand; Accelerating the installation of renewable generation such as wind and solar and low-carbon energy generation; At the same time, introduce technologies that can absorb the large surplus of renewable energy, such as green hydrogen production or synthetic fuel generation; Rapidly introducing carbon capture and storage for gas plants, which will continue to run for roughly half of all hours in 2030; Described as a "sanity check", the study challenges several common assumptions in net‑zero planning. The authors argue that EVs and heat pumps will play an important role in the future — but only once the UK has significant surplus clean generation. Urgent rethink needed Professor Alan Drew from the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary University of London said: "The UK urgently needs to rethink its priorities. EVs and heat pumps will be valuable later — but for now, we must stop pretending they are reducing emissions when the data shows they aren't. The real work right now is strengthening the grid, building renewables and addressing the enormous challenge storage for surplus electricity that renewables create." Professor David Dunstan added: "We hope this paper empowers policymakers and the public to engage with the real numbers. Decarbonisation is achievable — but only if we focus on the bottlenecks that matter." The authors stress that their intent is to help decision‑makers prioritise what will actually make the UK power system cleaner, faster, rather than relying on optimistic assumptions about storage that does not yet exist at scale, or about electrification benefits that have not yet materialised. https://doi.org/10.1088/2753-3751/ae4235

"This engine is grinding to a halt" - Nature slowing down as climate change gains pace

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

New research from Queen Mary University of London shows nature's renewal has "significantly" slowed down with rising temperatures, against expectation Ecologists have long assumed that, as global warming accelerates, so do changes in nature. The received wisdom was that as temperatures rise and climatic zones shift, species threatened with extinction will move on and colonise new habitats at an ever-increasing rate, leading to a rapid reshuffling of ecological communities. But a new study by Queen Mary researchers published in Nature Communications shows this is far from the case – in fact, the opposite is true. The researchers analysed a massive database of biodiversity surveys, spanning marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems over the last century. The evidence showed that not only had the "turnover" of species in local habitats not sped up, but instead, it had significantly slowed down. Dr Emmanuel Nwankwo, lead author of the study, explained: "Nature functions like a self-repairing engine, constantly swapping out old parts for new ones. But we found this engine is now grinding to a halt." Species turnover declined by one third The study focused on the period since the 1970s, a time marked by a documented acceleration in global surface temperatures and environmental shifts. The researchers compared 'species turnover' rates—the speed at which species replace each other—before and after this climate acceleration. Contrary to what they expected – that external climate forces would drive faster change – the data revealed that turnover over one- to five-year periods actually became slower. This slowdown was consistent across diverse environments such as terrestrial bird communities or the seabed. Professor Axel Rossberg, co-author of the study at Queen Mary University of London, said: "We were surprised how strong the effect is. Turnover rates typically declined by one third." New insight into ecosystem dynamics To explain this counter-intuitive finding, the researchers point to the fundamental way ecosystems organise themselves. The study suggests that the communities analysed are not merely reacting passively to external climate drivers. Instead, they appear to be operating in a state known as the "Multiple Attractors" phase that was predicted by theoretical physicist Guy Bunin in 2017. In a 'multiple attractors' phase, species continuously replace one another due to internal interactions—like in a giant, unending game of rock-paper-scissors—even without environmental changes. The new study now provides strong empirical evidence that this 'multiple attractors' phase does exist – and that it actually dominates nature. "Worrying" sign of degradation If ecosystems are driven by these intrinsic dynamics, why is the turnover slowing down? The authors argue that the observed deceleration is a side effect of environmental degradation and the shrinking of regional species pools. In a healthy 'multiple attractors phase' ecosystem, a large pool of potential colonisers keeps the revolving door of species turnover moving. However, as human activity degrades habitats and reduces these regional pools, the number of potential colonisers drops. This slows the pace at which species replace one another. Dr Nwankwo said: "In other research we are seeing clear indications that human impacts cause the slowing of turnover. It is worrying." The findings suggest that a lack of change in local species composition should not be mistaken for stability or ecosystem health. Instead, the widespread slowdown may indicate that the internal engines of biodiversity are losing momentum due to the depletion of regional life.

Queen Mary Astronomy Unit awarded £1.5 million for astrophysics and space science research

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Researchers in the Astronomy Unit (AU), in the School of Physical and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary, have been awarded a total of £1.5 million from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) to fund 3 research projects over the next 3 years. The research grants cover Queen Mary's internationally leading research in space plasma physics, planetary science, and cosmology and will support 3 postdoctoral researchers and 4 academic staff in the AU. The funded projects are: a project, led by Dr Christopher Chen (PI), Dr Heli Hietala (Co-I), and Dr Davide Manzini (RIA), to understand how multi-scale plasma processes in near-Earth space work together to shape the energy transfer and control the dynamics in this key environment. a project, led by Dr David Mulryne (PI) and Dr Laura Iacconi (RIA), to connect inflationary cosmology to observations on all scales by confronting the interplay between predictions for large-scale structure observations and small-scale gravitational waves and primordial black holes. a project, led by Prof Richard Nelson (PI) and Dr Eleftheria Sarafidou (RIA) to investigate how planets interact with the protoplanetary discs in which they are born during the epoch of planet formation. This project is an essential step in understanding what determines the architectures of planetary systems and will play a central role in comparing the predictions of models of planet formation with forthcoming discoveries of exoplanet systems. In a funding round that was particularly competitive this year, this is a significant achievement that reflects Queen Mary's leading Astronomy research.

Claudia Garetto receives Suffrage Science Award for Maths and Computing

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Many congratultons to Claudia Garetto who has been awarded the 2026 Suffrage Science Award for Maths and Computing, a prestigious peer-to-peer award recognising outstanding women in science for both research excellence and their commitment to inspiring others. The Suffrage Science Awards are unique in their format and ethos: each recipient nominates another woman to receive an heirloom award, creating a growing network of inspiring and supportive women across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The nomination says "Professor Claudia Garetto is a leading scholar in Partial Differential Equations and Mathematical Analysis. Claudia has shaped the field with clarity, depth, and originality, inspiring colleagues and students to think boldly and rigorously. [...] This award celebrates not only her scholarly achievements but her tireless efforts to make the mathematical sciences community more equitable, vibrant, and welcoming".

Unsupervised strategies for naive animals: New model of adaptive decision making inspired by ...

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Precocial animals, the ones that move autonomously within hours after hatching or birth, have many biases they are born with that help them survive, finds a new Royal Society paper led by Queen Mary University of London. The new model proposed by the researchers suggest that naïve animals like newborn turtles and chicks are not blank slates but are supported by the presence of multiple biases that interact. Researchers found that early biases are surprisingly widespread among newborns of various species. However, these choice biases are not robust and consistent, but instead, weak and transient. They noticed that young animals can combine many weak inbuilt biases to make better choices, such to locate their mother, or target flowers, for example biases about sound, movement, and colour, without the need for learning. The paper also gives a mathematical model to develop and test ideas on enhanced decision making that do not require any prior learning. This 'unsupervised strategy' has implications for developmental psychology and artificial intelligence where decision-making with sparse evidence is a crucial challenge. For instance, the co-occurrence of reddish colour, upward movement dynamics, and changes in speed is a much better predictor of the presence of the mother hen, than each cue considered in isolation. When two or more preferred characteristics co-occur despite being encoded in different modalities, such as face-like pattern and cluck sounds– the convergence provides strong evidence the stimulus is relevant, because the random co-occurrence of these different stimuli would be extremely rare. This unsupervised strategy can help not only inexperienced animals, but also artificial intelligence, as it reduces the need for training. It is surprising how much intelligence is present in animals at the beginning of life that can not only shed light on adaptive behaviour but also inspire the development of new technologies. Elisabetta Versace, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Queen Mary University of London said "Reviewing the literature on inexperienced animals helped to identify an underlying reason for why animals exhibit "soft" preferences.' At first it is counterintuitive that evolved preference might be weak and transient, but it's this feature that allows them to reduce false alarms in decision making, and to benefit from the multiple cues available in the environment." Benjamin L. de Bivort Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University said: "Modelling this phenomenon has shed new light on experiments conducted over the last 100 years, which can now be better understood as partial clues helping organisms navigate early life." As the model has clear predictions, it will be interesting to test these both on animals and on artificial cognitive systems. Cite this article: Versace E, de Bivort BL. 2026 Multiple weak biases support adaptive choices without prior experience: a self-supervised strategy. Proc. R. Soc. B 293: 20251878. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.1878

Meet one of our academics: Nadine Lavan

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

I am a Senior Lecturer in Psychology in the Centre for Brain and Behaviour, where I study how humans perceive voices. Human voices don't just tell us what someone is saying, voices also convey a lot of information about a speaker's intentions, feelings, and attitudes. Crucially, voices also help us make sense of who we are talking to. My research tackles questions such as: - How do we form first impressions from a voice within a fraction of a second and what shapes these impressions? - How do we become familiar with a voice, and what changes in our perception as we get more familiar? - How do we recognise someone purely from the sound of their voice? This work has become especially exciting in the era of rapidly advancing voice technology and AI voice synthesis. Alongside studying human voices, I now also get to investigate how people perceive increasingly realistic AI‑generated voices, and what it means for our interactions (be they human-to-human or human-computer interactions), when AI-generated voices and content become part of our everyday lives. One of my recent papers can be found here. Beyond my research, I am an EDI co‑lead for the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences. With LGBTQ+ History Month approaching and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I am always impressed with the university's a busy programme of events for both LGBTQ+ History Month and Pride Month. The kinds of events and QMUL's commitment to push forward important policies, including QMUL's trans‑inclusion statement, help make the university a supportive place for all

How people moved pigs across the Pacific

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Genomic study reveals the routes taken by people as they island hopped across Indonesia. A new study, published today in the journal Science, reveals how millennia of human migration across Pacific islands led to the introduction of invasive pig species all over the Asia-Pacific region. The study was led by Laurent Frantz, Professor of Palaeogenomics at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), and the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich (LMU), David Stanton, from Cardiff University, and Greger Larson, from the University of Oxford. Why were pigs one of the only species to cross the 'Wallace Line' in Indonesia? Plants and animals have not always spread naturally across the islands of Indonesia. The evolutionary biologist Alfred Russell Wallace identified a major biogeographic boundary, the "Wallace Line", noting that wildlife on either side rarely crossed. Leopards and monkeys, for example, are found on the Asian side, while marsupials and cassowaries are largely limited to the Australasian side. One notable exception is pigs. Pig populations occur on both sides of the Wallace Line and extend across Southeast Asia to New Caledonia, Vanuatu and remote Polynesia. Pigs are highly effective ecological invaders, and they are also culturally important across the region, raising a key question: what role did people play in their spread? Pigs appear in c. 50,000-year-old cave paintings The new paper looked at the genome of over 700 pigs, including from living and archaeological specimens. This allowed the reconstruction of their movement across southeast Asia and identify when they arrived on certain islands and how they might have interbred with various native pig species. The researchers found that people of different cultures have moved pig species in the region for millennia. The earliest evidence points to people living in Sulawesi perhaps as early as 50,000 years ago, known to be the earliest cave painters, who both depicted and transported warty pig species as far away as Timor, possibly to establish future hunting stock. Domestic pigs transported for agriculture "escaped and became feral" The introduction of pigs in Island Southeast Asia dramatically accelerated, around 4,000 years ago, when early agricultural communities transported domestic pigs in the region. Their journey began from Taiwan, extending across the Philippines, northern Indonesia (Maluku), into Papua New Guinea, and on to the outlying islands as far as Vanuatu, and remote Polynesia. The authors also found evidence for the introduction of pigs from Europe during the colonial period. Many of these domestic pigs escaped, and became feral, in some cases, like on the Komodo islands, hybridising with the warty pigs brought by people from Sulawesi thousands of years earlier. These hybrid pigs are now a major source of food for the endangered Komodo dragons. Study highlights human impact on local ecosystems The findings of this study highlight the dramatic and enduring impact of human activity on local ecosystems in the Pacific, raising conservation conundrums. Pigs in the region today have dramatically different statuses and impacts across islands: some are considered spiritual beings, others pests, while some are now so ingrained in local ecosystems that they could almost be considered native. Efficient conservation policy will need to navigate these complexities, going beyond the traditional paradigm of conserving only native fauna. The study included collaborators from around the world, with more than 50 authors being involved, including scientists from Cardiff University, the University of Oxford, the National Research and Innovation Agency of Indonesia, National Museum of the Philippines, and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre. What counts now as a "native species"? Prof. Laurent Frantz, senior author of the study: "It is very exciting that we can use ancient DNA from pigs to peel back layers of human activity across this megabiodiverse region. The big question now is, at what point do we consider something native? What if people introduced species tens of thousands of years age, are these worth conservation efforts?" Dr. David Stanton of the University of Cardiff and Queen Mary University of London, the lead author of the study said "This research reveals what happens when people transport animals enormous distances, across one of the world's most fundamental natural boundaries. These movements led to pigs with a melting pot of ancestries. These patterns were technically very difficult to disentangle, but have ultimately helped us understand how and why animals came to be distributed across the Pacific islands." Prof. Greger Larson, of the University of Oxford said: "Wild boar dispersed across all of Eurasia and North Africa and certainly don't need people to help them disperse into new areas. When people have landed a hand, pigs were all too willing to spread out on newly colonised islands in South East Asia and into the Pacific. By sequencing the genomes of ancient and more recent populations we've been able to link those human-assisted dispersals to specific human populations in both space and time."

Meet one of our PhD students: Daniel Gill

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0100

To celebrate Disabilty History Month we introduce one of our PhD students: Daniel Gill. "I am a PhD Student primarily based in the Cognitive Science Research Group within the School of Electronical Engineering and Computer Science, though I am also associated with the Centre for Brain and Behaviour. My own research spans a few areas, specifically robotics, psychology, and human-computer interaction. Through a robotic interface, I am investigating how adults perceive, process, and combine different sensory inputs to create a motor output. I'm doing this specifically with autistic individuals whose sensory experiences and processing may be different in various ways. For example, when humans perceive the world, they do so by predicting what they expect to sense next based on what they've just sensed, and their own knowledge of how the world operates. In autistic people, it is theorised that they rely less on their prior knowledge of how the world works, but more on their current sensory information (see Predictive Coding in Autism) - this might mean that autistic people are more "in the moment" which could impact task performance in specific ways which we aim to test. I'm also autistic myself, meaning this research and work is very close to my heart, and drives me to work with neurodivergent people and other stakeholders to ensure that the aims of this research are in line with the desires of this population. As part of this goal, I co-run a network called MINDS (Mutual Inclusion through Neurodiversity in Science) which aims to bring together neurodivergent people, researchers, and neurodivergent researchers to discuss how we can include neurodivergent voices in research. I also try and share my work with neurodivergent non-academics who wouldn't otherwise see it through public engagement activities, including doing science-themed stand-up comedy, and via blogs/podcasts. I also support disabled and neurodivergent students here at QM as president of the Society for Neurodivergent and Disabled Students (SANDS). To celebrate Disability History Month, we're hosting an event to highlight the work and experiences of disabled and neurodivergent PGR students, to which I'd like to extend an invite to anyone reading this (including non-PGRs - everyone is welcome!). More info here."

Musician Will Young visits Queen Mary to explore alternatives to Animal Testing

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0100

A group of high-profile guests visited Queen Mary's Centre for Predictive In Vitro Models on Tuesday 11th November, to explore the university's cutting-edge organ-on-a-chip facilities. The delegation included musician and animal advocate Will Young, a Director and Toxicologist from Lush cosmetics, and representatives from the charity Animal Aid. The group took part in presentations and workshops showcasing how organ-on-a-chip technology has the potential to revolutionise personalised medicine, speed up drug discovery, and significantly reduce the need for animals in scientific research. Professor Martin Knight led hands-on demonstrations of the technology in action, assisted by post-doctoral researchers, who showed the group commercial organ-chip platforms from Emulate, CN Bio and Mimetas, which are used for different applications. The visitors enjoyed pipetting into the chips and learning about how the different models work to mimic the environment of the human body. Organ-on-a-chip innovations have the potential to revolutionise treatments for cancers, heart, liver and kidney diseases, and much more. The visit took place on the day the Government announced a new strategy to reduce the use of animals in science, which names organ-on-a-chip technology as a priority area for future investment. Professor Hazel Screen, Head of the School of Engineering and Materials Science, said: "It was incredibly exciting to host the visit on the day the new strategy was announced, and we're equally excited to continue sharing our understanding of this technology with a wide range of stakeholders." Speaking at the visit, Karl Bygrave, Director at Lush, said: "Given that the Government announced its strategy for phasing out animal testing today, it was an amazing time to be here to see new models being developed, and the future of non-animal labs." "This technology is very exciting for Lush, what we're seeing is the future. As a cosmetics manufacturer, this technology will filter down to us, and in a number of years we will be using this for our own purposes, to check the safety of our products." Will Young said: "I feel very excited about the future. The aim is to have better science, better medicine and no abuse to animals – and today has shown me that that's possible." Queen Mary has recently launched the world's first taught master's degree in organ-on-a-chip technology, along with a Centre for Doctoral Training that will equip the next generation of specialists in the field. The university's organ-on-a-chip research is carried out in close collaboration with more than 150 affiliate organisations across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, and regulatory sectors, ensuring that the technologies developed directly address industry needs.

Queen Mary Bioengineers provides expert comment on new Government strategy

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Bioengineers at Queen Mary University of London, have provided expert comment to the BBC about the new alternatives strategy launched today (11 November) by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Watch Queen Mary experts speak to the BBC about the Government's new alternatives strategy on 11 November from 6.10am. This new strategy outlines the Government's vision of eliminating the use of animals in research and development in all but exceptional circumstances, and sets out a plan to achieve this by replacing animals with alternative methods wherever possible. To explain more about this strategy, what these alternatives are and how they work, BBC's Pallab Ghosh spoke to Queen Mary academics Professor Hazel Screen, who co-directs the Queen Mary's Centre for Preventative in vitro Models (CPM) with her colleague Professor Martin Knight, and Professor Fran Balkwill, Deputy Lead at the University's Centre for Tumour Microenvironment. Listen to Professor Hazel Screen and Professor Fran Balkwill speak about the strategy on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on 11 November at 7.30am-7.40am. Professor Screen spoke to Pallab about the world-leading research work she and her colleagues are carrying out at Queen Mary. Researchers use state-of-the-art organ-on-a-chip technology to develop the next generation of predictive in vitro models that can be used to reduce the use of animals in research. Researchers are developing a wide range of approaches to study conditions such as arthritis, inflammation, cancer and cardiovascular disease. By working with pharmaceutical companies and other end users, researchers aim to maximise the adoption of these alternative methods in order to drive human-relevant science and accelerate the development of better medicines. Professor Balkwill spoke to Pallab about her research into complex multi-cellular models of ovarian cancer, which include the tumour microenvironment. These models, often referred to as organoids, provide a 3D multi-cellular model of ovarian cancer which allows Professor Balkwill and her team to understand things like cell-to-cell communication in the tumour microenvironment, test new biological therapies and study sensitivity and resistance to T cell killing. As well as delivering world leading research developing and using these alternative methods, Queen Mary is also pioneering in the UK and globally when it comes to educating and training the researchers in this field. They are doing this via their EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in next generation organ-on-a-chip technologies, which has welcomed its first cohort of PhD students, and the world's first Master's Degree Programme for organ-on-a-chip technology, which has recently opened to applications. Through these education programmes, world leading research and industry engagement, Queen Mary is ideally placed to help achieve the Government's aim of reducing the use of animals in science.

Research work in the Centre for Brain and Behaviour explores the pathways from neurodivergent ...

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0100

To mark UK Disability History Month, which runs from November 20 to December 20, we showcase the research of Giorgia Michelini, a senior lecturer in the Centre for Brain and Behaviour. Dr Michelini leads research on the lived experience of neurodivergent adolescents and young adults from diverse ethnic backgrounds, in collaboration with QMUL Disability and Dyslexia Services. A recent paper, soon to appear in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Phychiatry, written in collaboration with colleagues from the Centre for Brain and Behaviour and King's College London, explores the pathways from neurodivergent traits to mental health outcomes, highlighting the role of sleep as an important factor influencing mental health in neurodivergent young people. To learn more about disability, particularly the support provided to staff, visit the Staff Disability Networkpages.

From biodiversity to artificial intelligence

Wed, 15 Oct 2025 23:00:00 +0100

We showcase the research work of Kabiru Abubakari, a PhD student in the Centre for Probability, Statistics and Data Science, and the research work of Dr David Mguni, a lecturer in the Centre for Multimodal AI. Kabiru Abubakari Kabiru's research focuses on Bayesian spatial modelling for biodiversity. His PhD project is devoted to developing and applying Bayesian spatial and spatio-temporal modelling techniques to enhance understanding of the association between plant species at risk of extinction and areas in need of protection in the face of climate change, changing land use (especially agriculture), and pollution. Working together with his supervisors — Prof Silvia Liverani (SMS), Prof Andrew Leitch (SBBS), and Dr Ilia Leitch (Royal Botanic Garden, Kew) — Kabiru combines statistical modelling and ecology to develop methods that better capture uncertainty in biodiversity data. His academic journey began with a degree in Economics at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale, Ghana, where he graduated in 2020. Since joining Queen Mary, Kabiru has also been very active in supporting students of Black heritage as a tutor in Levelling Up Maths and as a panellist at the Black Heroes of Mathematics Conference. Read more about Kabiru's research in this poster. David Mguni David is a Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence. His research spans reinforcement learning, game theory, and optimal control, with a focus on developing self-improving, cooperative learning systems. His work contributes to a broader vision of building AI that can reason, adapt, and learn autonomously in an open-ended world. Together with his PhD student Yaqi Sun and master's students, David is working towards one of the grand goals of artificial intelligence: creating systems that can not only learn from existing training data but also learn how to learn and invent their own challenges. The group's research on the Recursive Meta-Learning Framework explores how intelligent systems can evolve their own learning rules and generate and solve new problems that push them beyond the limits of human-derived data. A central focus of the group's work is reinforcement learning — particularly understanding how multiple intelligent systems can cooperate, compete, and coordinate in open, dynamic environments. The group's research seeks to overcome the limitations of traditional reinforcement learning algorithms by enabling AI to learn the rules of learning itself. This approach has far-reaching implications. By allowing AI systems to invent new challenges, discover hidden structures, and maintain stability as they learn together, the research moves toward the long-term goal of artificial general intelligence: machines capable of generalising knowledge, adapting creatively, and cooperating safely across domains. Possible applications range from AI programs that autonomously generate novel mathematical proofs to agents that continually refine their understanding of molecular structures for drug discovery. The group's work blends theory with practical experimentation, drawing on dynamical systems, game theory, category theory, stochastic control, and variational optimisation. These mathematical foundations ensure that the learning mechanisms they develop are not only powerful and flexible but also grounded in principles that make them interpretable, stable, and safe. To learn more about David's research, read also here.

Dr Christopher Chen appointed as a Fellow of the American Physical Society

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 23:00:00 +0100

We are delighted to announce that Dr Christopher Chen, Reader in Space Plasma Physics in the Astronomy Unit of the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, has been made a Fellow of the American Physical Society. This prestigious honour recognises Dr Chen's "…outstanding use of in-situ solar-wind spacecraft observations to probe the detailed physics of turbulence and kinetic processes in astrophysical plasmas, bridging observational space plasma physics and fundamental plasma theory." Dr Chen was selected to be an APS fellow for his research in Plasma Astrophysics - an interdisciplinary field at the intersection between fundamental plasma physics and astronomy. His research involves using spacecraft throughout the solar system to study how the different processes in the solar wind work at a fundamental level, how these control the variety of conditions in the space environment, and how they impact space weather. He said: "It's a great honour to be selected as a Fellow of the American Physical Society. I'd like to thank the APS Topical Group in Plasma Astrophysics and my colleagues for supporting my work through the years. I will continue to do my best to advance Plasma Astrophysics and promote the values of the APS for the benefit of science and society."

Queen Mary hosts the UK Organ-on-a-chip Symposium

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Queen Mary's Centre for Predictive in vitro Models hosted a fastic afternoon of science and bioengineering at the UK organ-on-a-chip Annual Symposium. The event was attended by nearly 300 people, including 100 online, with representatives from academia, industry, Government, charities and other stakeholders. There were flash talks from four talented Early Career Researchers at the Centre, and then four inspiring keynote presentations from: Professor Ignacio Ochoa (University of Zaragoza) Professor Rocky Tuan (Chinese University of Hong Kong / University of Pittsburgh) Professor Roisin Owens (University of Cambridge) Professor Cathy Merry (University of Nottingham) Dr Anthony Holmes from NC3Rs gave an excellent presentation. His talk entitled "Innovate, Integrate, Regulate: MPS technologies in the global life sciences arena" explored initiatives across the World which are building momentum in the drive to deliver more human relevant science and replace the use of animals. Prof Martin Knight and Prof Hazel Screen, presented the journey from running the UK Organ-on-a-chip network, to co-directing the Centre for Predictive in vitro Models, which now has over 70 academics, the most extensive organ-chip facilities in the UK, industrial affiliates from over 100 organisation, and a new Centre for Doctoral Training. The Centre hosts the Annual Symposium and will soon be running a eSymposia series enabling researchers from across the Globe to join monthly online seminars sharing exciting research associated with organ-on-a-chip technology, organoids, and other forms of predictive in vitro models. Finally, Dr Emily Richardson from CN Bio presented some of their lovely work on the development, qualification and validation of microphysiological systems for translating safety risks to the clinic. The Symposium also celebrated the launch of Queen Mary's new EPSRC Centre for doctoral training in next generation Organ-on-a-chip Technology (COaCT). We have a fantastic group of 15 new PhD students, all with industry sponsors, tackling a wide range of projects associated with the development of innovative organ-chip models and underpinning technology. The PhD students, joined with supervisors, and industry partners for a launch party after the symposium, and are now beginning an intensive few weeks of events including an organ-chip training course in our in vitro models facilities.

Weini Huang invited to give the prestigious 2025 LMS Mary Cartwright lecture

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Dr Weini Huang, a reader in the Centre for Complex Systems, will be the 2025 LMS Mary Cartwright lecturer. The Mary Cartwright Lecture is an annual event organised by the London Mathematical Society to celebrate the achievements of distinguished women mathematicians The event was established by the LMS in 2000 and is named after Dame Mary Lucy Cartwright, the first female mathematician FRS, the first woman to receive the Sylvester Medal, the first woman to receive the LMS De Morgan Prize and the first female President of the LMS. Dr Huang is the first QMUL academic to give this prestigious lecture. The lecture will take place online on November 7. More details here.

EPSRC Grant Success: "Zeros, Algorithms, and Correlation for Graph Polynomials" led ...

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 23:00:00 +0100

An EPSRC standard grant has been awarded to Viresh Patel (Project Lead) and Mark Jerrum (Project Co-lead) for the project "Zeros, Algorithms, and Correlation for Graph Polynomials". Read on to find out more about their plans. This project is at the interface of theoretical computer science, mathematics and statistical physics. It aims to establish and leverage formal connections between different notions of phase transitions in these three different areas to make breakthroughs on long-standing questions. A phase transition is the phenomenon where a small change in some measure of a system (e.g. its temperature) results in a large change in its macroscopic behaviour (e.g. a material turning from a solid to a liquid). Phase transitions are currently at the forefront of study in several disciplines. We study phase transitions in spin systems. Spin systems are networks where each node is randomly placed in one of several possible states but where the states of neighbouring nodes tend to influence each other. These spin systems exhibit remarkably rich behaviours; they originate in statistical physics, where they model gases, magnetism and other physical phenomena, but they can also help explain complex group behaviours like voting (here the vote of an individual in a social network may be correlated with the votes of their neighbours). The partition function of a spin system is a polynomial that encodes much of the system's behaviour. A major goal in theoretical computer science and of this project is to develop fast algorithms to approximate these partition functions. The existence of such algorithms has recently been connected with the location of the zeros of partition functions, a topic of independent interest in mathematics and statistical physics since the 1950s. The project addresses several challenges here including that of understanding how strong spatial mixing for a spin system, that is the extent to which the state of a node influences the state at other distant nodes, affects the location of the zeros of its partition function. Some of the specific highlights of the project are to attack the intensely studied problem of finding a an approximation algorithm for counting proper colourings in graphs (a.k.a configurations in the zero-temperature antiferromagnetic Potts model), to understand the algorithmic behaviour of the hardcore model when the underlying graph has some structure, to develop deterministic algorithms for approximating the Ising and monomer-dimer models, and to do all of this by understanding the zeros of the partition function in each of these cases. We have an international project partner, Dr Guus Regts, at the University of Amsterdam, and there are several research visits planned in both directions between the groups at Queen Mary and Amsterdam, starting with PhaseCAP, a research semester programme at CWI, Amsterdam. We will also soon be advertising for a postdoc to join the project.

Animals in Science Committee visit to Queen Mary

Mon, 08 Sep 2025 23:00:00 +0100

We were delighted to host a visit from the UK Government's Animals in Science Committee and the associated policy unit at the Home Office. The group visited the Queen Mary in vitro models facilities, part of the Centre for Predictive in vitro Models, where we were able to demonstrate some of the organ-on-a-chip platforms in use within the Centre. These platforms enable researchers to build complex in vitro models which provide an valuable alternative to the use of animals in science, and help to deliver highest quality human-relevant science, and to accelerate the delivery of new therapeutics. Queen Mary's Centre for Predictive in vitro Models and Centre for Bioengineering are at the forefront of this field, leading exciting research, training and translation. We host the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in next generation organ-on-a-chip technology providing world leading PhD training, delivering over 60 highly skilled PhD graduates through 4 successive cohorts. And we work closely with industry and other stakeholders through our affiliates club which has representatives from over 100 companies and organisations in this rapidly developing field.

Prestigious Simons Foundation grant awarded to Dr Katy Clough for black hole research

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Dr Katy Clough has been named Principal Investigator (PI) in the newly established $8-million Simons Collaboration on Black Holes and Strong Gravity. This highly competitive grant will bring together 12 co-PIs from institutions worldwide, alongside a wider network of experts, to develop a robust theoretical framework for deciphering secrets encoded in gravitational wave (GW) data. Queen Mary Professor Pau Figueras and postdoctoral researcher Aron Kovacs will also act as associates in the grant's wider network of collaborators, underscoring the university's key role in cutting-edge gravitational research. Gravitational wave science offers an unparalleled opportunity to probe the physics of strong gravity – the extreme conditions found in the vicinity of black holes. With planned upgrades to the Advanced LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA gravitational wave detectors set to double their sensitivity in the coming years, the volume of the universe accessible through GW data will increase by a factor of eight. This advancement ushers in an era of precision gravitational wave physics, demanding a deeper understanding of non-linear gravity. "It's a great honour to be part of this international collaboration and to be recognised by the Simons Foundation," Dr Clough commented. "These grants are very competitive, and I'm proud that Queen Mary is playing a key role. This is an exciting moment in the study of non-linear strong gravity, and we are looking forward to contributing to the discoveries that await us." The collaboration's ambitious goals include developing the theoretical framework necessary to demystify persistent astrophysical puzzles and shedding new light on the fundamental nature of black holes. This work could lead to breakthroughs in understanding the universe's matter-antimatter asymmetry, the nature of dark matter, and physics that extends beyond Einstein's theory of general relativity. The research will involve analytical calculations, extensive computer simulations, and rigorous testing against observational data. The ultimate aim is to develop sophisticated models of "smoking-gun signals" that will enable scientists to decipher the profound secrets hidden within gravitational wave observations. Queen Mary will play a leading role in the numerical simulations of gravity that are required to build and test these models. Dr Clough, Professor Figueras and Dr Kovacs are members of the Centre for Geometry, Analysis and Gravitation in the School of Mathematical Sciences, and experts in the formulation of theories beyond Einstein gravity and their study using computer simulations – the field of numerical relativity. They have used some of the largest supercomputers in Europe to study extreme dynamical gravity as a way of shedding light on problems in fundamental physics and play a lead role in the UK-based GRTL Collaboration that develops software to test the limits of Einstein's theory of General Relativity. The Simons Collaboration aims to bridge disciplines, drawing on expertise in theoretical physics, mathematics, numerical computation, AI-assisted data analysis, and gravitational wave observation. Professor Nicolás Yunes of Illinois Physics, who will serve as the collaboration's director, emphasised the timely nature of this multidisciplinary effort. "We're moving toward the era of precision gravitational wave physics," he notes. "This new era must be accompanied by a multidisciplinary effort to deepen our understanding of non-linear gravity. Otherwise, we will miss secrets encoded in the gravitational wave data, or worse, misinterpret our observations and be led in the wrong direction." The Simons Foundation grant will support postdoctoral and graduate-student positions, foster travel and collaboration between member institutions, and facilitate numerous meetings throughout the year. Queen Mary's involvement ensures its continued prominence in the global effort to understand the most extreme astrophysical environments in the universe, and the fundamental nature of strong gravity. The 12 co-PIs include Nicolás Yunes at Illinois, Emanuele Berti of Johns Hopkins University, Vitor Cardoso of the Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark, Katy Clough of Queen Mary, University of London in the UK, Neil Cornish of Montana State University, Jonathan Gair of the Albert Einstein Institute (a Max Planck Institute), Daniel Holz of the University of Chicago, Gary Horowitz of the University of California Santa Barbara, Luis Lehner of the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Canada, Alex Lupsasca of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, Matias Zaldarriaga of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, NJ, and Mihalis Dafermos of Princeton University. These co-PIs are physicists and mathematicians, who specialise in strong gravity from theoretical, computational and observational perspectives.

Queen Mary researchers awarded MRC funding to develop human tendon-on-a-chip technology

Thu, 10 Jul 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Queen Mary University of London has secured funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to launch a pioneering research project aiming to transform the understanding and treatment of tendinopathy—a painful and often chronic tendon condition affecting millions worldwide. The three-year project, Human Tendon-CHIP, will combine cutting-edge bioengineering, materials science and cellular biology to develop novel human-relevant, vascularised organ-on-a-chip models of tendon disease. The interdisciplinary team is led by Professor Hazel Screen alongside Dr Nidal Khatib at the School of Engineering and Materials Science, as well as collaborators Professors John Connelly and Dr Liisa Blowes at The Blizard Institute, and clinical liaison Professor Xavier Griffin at Queen Mary and Barts Health. Dr Nidal Khatib, Postdoctoral Research Associate and researcher co-lead on the grant, said: "Our goal is to develop tendon models which capture how tendons function and get injured using cells extracted directly from human tendon placed in microengineered environments. These 'tendon-chips' will allow us to recreate the physical, cellular, and immune landscape of tendon tissue, giving us an unprecedented window into human disease progression and ways to explore possible new treatments." The project will be delivered at Queen Mary's new state-of-the-art in vitro models facilities, which provides access to a range organ-on-a-chip platform technologies as well as the CREATE Lab for advanced tissue engineering. The project will create two advanced organ-on-a-chip systems. One will use an existing commercial platform to model how tendon cells interact with blood vessels. The other will be a custom-made, three-channel chip developed in-house. This will allow researchers to study different tendon cell types and how they interact with blood and immune cells, which is important due to new findings in tendon biology. By recreating key physical and inflammatory stimuli that drive tendon disease, the team hopes future research will be able to leverage these novel platforms to identify new disease pathways and potential drug targets. These platforms could offer a breakthrough in drug discovery for tendon disorders, accelerating progress towards effective regenerative treatments while reducing reliance on animal models. Professor Hazel Screen, lead investigator, commented: "This project marks a major step forward in tendon research. Our tendon-chips are designed not just to simulate disease but to actively drive it, enabling us to probe its causes and test potential treatments in a controlled, human-relevant system. The initiative also supports Queen Mary's broader commitment to replacing animal models with more predictive, ethically responsible alternatives for biomedical research." The research builds on Queen Mary's world-leading expertise in organ-on-a-chip technologies, facilitated through its Centre for Predictive in vitro Models. The outcomes have the potential to benefit patients, clinicians, and the wider healthcare system by improving diagnostic precision and supporting the development of targeted, effective therapies.

Queen Mary Professor secures £1.2 million British Heart Foundation programme grant

Wed, 09 Jul 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Professor Thomas Iskratsch, Professor in Cardiovascular Mechanobiology and Bioengineering, has been awarded a highly coveted Programme Grant of £1.2 million from the British Heart Foundation (BHF). This significant funding will support groundbreaking research into how mechanical forces contribute to cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Professor Iskratsch's research aims to understand why our blood vessels sometimes change the stiffness and contribute to heart disease. Imagine your arteries as flexible pipes that carry blood. When blood flows through them, it creates pressure and stretches the pipe walls. This research focuses on special cells in these walls, called vascular smooth muscle cells. "We're trying to figure out how these everyday mechanical forces like the pressure from blood flow or the stiffness of the artery wall itself cause these cells to change," explains Professor Iskratsch. "Normally, these cells help the artery contract and relax, but in disease, they lose this ability and start to remodel the artery wall, making the problem worse. Our new data suggests that increased blood pressure alone can trigger a change, and we believe it's linked to alterations in the fats (lipids) within the cells, which then affect how genes are controlled. This grant will allow us to investigate this crucial connection between increased pressure and these lipid changes." Understanding this fundamental process is vital. By uncovering the precise molecular pathways involved, the team hopes to identify new targets for drugs and therapies that could prevent or reverse the progression of cardiovascular diseases, ultimately improving heart health for millions globally. This ambitious project is a truly collaborative endeavour, bringing together leading experts from various institutions. Key collaborators include Professor Qingzhong Xiao from Queen Mary's William Harvey Research Institute, Professor Duncan Graham and Dr Nicholas Rattray from Strathclyde, and Professor Cathy Shanahan from King's College London. Crucially, the project also benefits from an industry partnership with AstraZeneca, who are providing specialised analysis methods, including high-resolution mass-spectrometry imaging. This collaboration enhances the project's capabilities, allowing for deeper insights into the complex cellular changes. The research programme is poised to make significant discoveries. The team anticipates uncovering the molecular pathways that link hypertensive pressure to the formation of lipid droplets within cells. They will also investigate how these lipid droplets might fuel the detrimental changes in cell behaviour, their effect on cell and nuclear mechanics, and ultimately, how these processes lead to altered gene regulation. These findings are expected to pave the way for innovative new therapeutic strategies. "I'm really excited about the news that this project will be funded," Professor Iskratsch concluded. "The role of vascular smooth muscle cell mechanosensing in cardiovascular disease onset and progression has been a key area of research interest in my group that previously received funding from the BHF and industry partners. Receiving longer-term funding in form of a highly prestigious programme grant marks a key step in my career as researcher in cardiovascular mechanobiology and bioengineering."

UK Ash Trees Evolve to Resist Dieback

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Research (published in Science) led by Profs Richard Nichols and Richard Buggs has uncovered early-stage signs of natural resistance to ash dieback—a fungal disease expected to kill half of the UK's 80 million ash trees. By comparing the DNA of older trees, present before the fungus arrived in 2012, with younger saplings, the team identified subtle genetic shifts across thousands of locations around the ash genome. These shifts suggest that the natural selection is favouring variants that confer greater disease resistance in young trees regenerating on the woodland flour under the dying mature trees. This adaptive response offers hope that future generations will be able to enjoy ash woodlands, and the research will be used to design human interventions to accelerate the adaptation, including avoiding unnecessary felling to maintain the populations' genetic diversity. The Guardian and the BBC reported on this story.

Prestigious Network Science Award for a former PhD student in the School of Mathematical Sciences

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 23:00:00 +0100

Federico Battiston, currently an Associate Professor in Network Science at the Central European University, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Erdős-Rényi Prize. The Erdős–Rényi Prize is awarded each year to a selected young scientist (under 40 years old on the day of the nomination deadline) for their research achievements in the area of network science, broadly construed. Federico has a strong link with the School of Mathematical Sciences, since he did his PhD here at QMUL under the supervision of Prof Vito Latora that has been highly praised in the award acceptance speech for his inspirational role. Congratulations to both Vito and Federico!

Queen Mary presence at the International Meeting of the Society of Molecular Biology and ...

Mon, 09 Jun 2025 23:00:00 +0100

The project on diversifying the curriculum in SBBS has been presented at this year international meeting of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE) in China. Matteo Fumagalli, who co-leads the project together with Sally Faulkner, has also taken part in a roundtable on inclusion, equality and diversity in molecular evolution, and in academia and science in general. This activity is in the remit of CAISE and our Faculty EDI strategy.

Dr Florian Koller Awarded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship to work in the QMUL Astronomy Unit

Thu, 29 May 2025 23:00:00 +0100

QMUL Astronomy Unit member Dr Florian Koller has been awarded a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship to continue working in the AU's space plasma group. Dr Florian Koller, a current postdoctoral researcher in the Astronomy Unit of Queen Mary University of London's Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been awarded a highly competitive Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship for his project titled SHOCKWAVE – Spacecraft Heliospheric Observation of Collisions and Kinetic Wave Analysis in Various Environments. The MSCA Postdoctoral fellowships, awarded by the European Commission, support scientists' careers and foster excellence in research. A record number of 10,360 proposals from researchers across multiple disciplines applied for the fellowship in the latest call, making Dr Koller's selection a significant achievement. Dr Koller's project will investigate plasma shocks—ubiquitous phenomena in space that form when fast plasma flows encounter obstacles such as planetary magnetic fields or slower wind regions. These shocks vary in strength depending on the Mach number of the flow. While strong shocks have been extensively studied using spacecraft in Earth's vicinity, the lower Mach number range—characteristic of many astrophysical shocks—remains underexplored, particularly at high time resolution. This work will not only enhance our understanding of shock physics in the solar system but also contribute to broader astrophysical applications, including insights into the drivers of space weather events and geomagnetic storms. Commenting on the award, Dr Koller said: "I am beyond excited to receive this award and thank the European Commission for this opportunity. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Heli Hietala for agreeing to supervise this fellowship, and to my current supervisor, Dr Christopher Chen, for supporting my development as a space scientist at Queen Mary. I also thank my PhD supervisor, Dr Manuela Temmer from the University of Graz, for the invaluable mentorship that brought me to where I am today." The SHOCKWAVE project will be carried out over 24 months at QMUL in the Space and Astrophysical Plasma Physics group of the Astronomy Unit, a growing and dynamic research group tackling core phenomena that shape the behaviour of plasmas across the heliosphere and beyond.