Programme and Speakers

Programme

16:45 Registration and Drinks

17:15 Welcome, Speeches and Honorary Awards

Prof Colin Bailey (President and Principal, QM)
Prof Wen Wang (Vice Principal Science and Engineering, QM)
Dr Elizabeth Gardner (Kew Gardens, Deputy Director of Science)
Introducing three outstanding Queen Mary PhD students
Honorary Degree Presentations: Professor Yongyuth Yuthavong (Thai Government) and David Owens (Virgin Media)

18:00 Showcase Reception

Drinks and canapés
Learn about our world-leading science and engineering at our interactive stands
Network with our academics and our partners from industry, government, charities, and other stakeholders

20:00 Close

Invited Speakers and Honorands

Dr Elizabeth Gardener

Prof Yongyuth Yuthavong

Dr David Owens

Dr Elizabeth Gardener (Kew Gardens)

Eliza began her career as a researcher before joining Kew Gardens in 2022. She was formerly Head of Operations for the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials working in partnership with multiple universities. At Kew, Eliza is responsible for the services and strategic change programmes that support delivery of their scientific priorities, from planning, governance and policy through to innovation services and facilities management.

Queen Mary is delighted to work closely with Kew Gardens, with joint staff and impactful research projects in areas such a tree diseases, invasive beetles, climate changes, and biodiversity.

Prof Yongyuth Yuthavong (Thai Government)

Professor Yuthavong is a Thai scientist with interest in public policies. He studied chemistry as an undergraduate at Queen Mary, and spent a long research and teaching career at Mahidol University, where he was appointed Professor of Biochemistry. He was Director of the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology from 1985 until 1989, and became the first President of National Science and Technology Development Agency from 1991 until 1998.

His honours include the “Outstanding Scientist of Thailand” Award, the Nikkei Asia Prize for Science, Technology and Innovation, the “Person of the Year” Award, and the Dushdi Mala Medal and Silpawitthaya Pin (Pin of Arts and Science).

Dr Yongyuth served Thailand as the Minister of Science and Technology from 2006 to 2008, and as Deputy Prime Minister from 2014 to 2015.

Prof David Owens (Virgin Media)

David began his career as an apprentice telecommunications technician in the British Army (Royal

Electrical & Mechanical Engineers), later working on secure communications and early cellular networks

before progressing into senior leadership roles across Vodafone and BT Cellnet (O2). He 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 part-time research alongside industry leadership. He is a Chartered

Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.

PhD students

Emma Hayashibara

Daniel Gill

Zara Arain Saqlan

Emma Hayashibara

Emma's research aims to address mental health disparities in neurodivergent young people through an intersectional approach, with a focus on co-producing an inclusive mental health assessment tool tailored to neurodivergent young people from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds. Alongside her research, she runs the PhD Participatory Research Network, a cross-institutional initiative connecting PhD researchers across London to explore how participatory values can be meaningfully and realistically embedded in PhD-level research.

Daniel Gill

Daniel is an interdisciplinary PhD researcher within the Centre for Human-Centred Computing (EECS), working with roboticists and psychologists to study interactive motion patterns in neurodivergent people. This research aims to better understand differences in motor control and haptic interaction, allowing us to build more inclusive technology by centring neurodivergent voices and experiences in the design process.

Zara Arain Saqlan

Dr Zara Arain is a clinical research fellow in Obstetrics and Gynaecology and third year PhD student supervised by Dr Tina Chowdhury. Her research aims to develop machine learning models to predict preterm birth as part of the Air Pollution and Pregnancy Clinical Trial (NCT06340971) in partnership with University College London Hospitals..