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Celebrating our academics on International Women鈥檚 Day

8 March 2021

To mark International Women鈥檚 Day (IWD), we are highlighting just some of the major contributions 果冻影院 women have made to the world in the last year, helping to inspire the next generation.

an image of two women talking

In the past 12 months, the women in our community have not only played a vital role in the response to vaccine engineering and the coronavirus pandemic, but have also continued to advance their disciplines, producing groundbreaking research, informing government policy, winning vital research grants, taking on prominent new leadership roles and much more.

While it is impossible to mention all their achievements, this snapshot provides an idea of the scale and scope of their impact here and across the globe.

Thanks to a team co-led by Professor Rebecca Shipley (果冻影院 Institute of Healthcare Engineering), a low-cost breathing aid developed in just 10 days by 果冻影院, 果冻影院H and Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, called the 果冻影院-Ventura, is helping to cut deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals around the world. The CPAP device is quick to produce and easy for staff to learn to use.

An image of Professor Rebecca Shipley discussing the CPAP device with a colleague.

Many of 果冻影院鈥檚 experts are also playing an important role in advising on the UK Government鈥檚 coronavirus response, both directly and indirectly. Professor Judith Breuer (果冻影院 Division of Infection & Immunity) is advising the Government on the use of viral genomics to help control the outbreak, and Professor Susan Michie (果冻影院 Psychology & Language Sciences) is advising the UK Government-convened advisory group, the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behavioural Science.

A member of Independent SAGE, Professor Christina Pagel (果冻影院 Mathematics) has influenced the debate on risks and benefits of lockdowns and many other coronavirus measures over the last year.听Several academics have appeared before Parliamentary Committees to provide their insight into how the pandemic is affecting their area of work. In June last year,听Professor Hazel Genn听appeared before the Lords Constitution Committee inquiry as an expert witness to give evidence on the impact of Covid-19 on the courts and justice system.

As well as informing Government and Parliament, our researchers have also been collaborating with external partners to tackle the virus. Professor Rachel McKendry (London Centre for Nanotechnology at 果冻影院 and i-sense) and Professor Ingemar Cox (果冻影院 Computer Science) are听听in collaboration with the听World Health Organization, Public Health England and Africa CDC. Meanwhile, a team led by Professor Martina Micheletti (果冻影院 Biochemical Engineering) helped provide the research base behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

An image of COVID-19 vaccines

果冻影院 has been working hard and fast to track the virus and its impact on society, as well as mitigate the risk of future pandemics. Dr Daisy Fancourt (果冻影院 Epidemiology & Health) has been leading on the , exploring the effects of the virus and social distancing measures on adults in the UK. Dr听Lucy van Dorp (果冻影院 Biosciences) has been leading a project tracking SARS-CoV-2 mutations.听Professor Kate Jones (果冻影院 Biosciences) is also investigating how humans鈥� environmental impacts put us at risk of further pandemics, and has recently been appointed as an expert adviser on the Adaptation Committee of the Climate Change Committee, providing governments with independent, expert advice.

To explore the impact of Covid-19 on people from BAME groups, Professor Monica Lakhanpaul (果冻影院 GOS Institute of Child Health) is spearheading a new initiative by a group of senior female Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority researchers. With a 拢2.5m award from UKRI, they will lead a series of multi-disciplinary projects looking at the combined impact of Covid-19 and racial discrimination on wellbeing and resilience across BAME groups, to provide a full picture of their vulnerabilities.听Hear more about the initiative in our .

a image of a covid-19 test

Whilst coronavirus and public health has been the focus of much of our听work over the last 12 months, many more academics have made notable contributions to their fields outside of this area. Professor Meg Russell, Director of the 果冻影院 Constitution Unit, has advised on every major reform of parliament since New Labour. In the last year, the unit has made high profile contributions on issues including the need for MPs to 'take back control' of the House of Commons, the running of any referendums on the future of the island of Ireland, Scottish independence voting options, appointments to the House of Lords and the role of monarchy in modern democracies. The unit was recently described by BBC Parliament Correspondent Mark D'Arcy as having ''.

Sociologist and gender studies expert Professor Sasha Roseneil, Dean of 果冻影院's Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences, has sparked new debates on how societies around the world view relationships with her ground-breaking publication,听The Tenacity of the Couple-Norm听(果冻影院 Press).

Women academics are also breaking boundaries in the field of science and technology. Dr Lidia Galdino (果冻影院 Electronic & Electrical Engineering) has been leading a team that has achieved the world's fastest "internet speed", transmitting data through a much wider range of colours of light, or wavelengths, than is typically used in optical fibre.

An image of Dr Lidia Galdino. Credit: James Tye / 果冻影院

Further afield, Professor Giovanna Tinetti (果冻影院 Physics & Astronomy) is the principal investigator of a European Space Agency mission scheduled to launch in 2029 that hopes to uncover distant planets.

In addition to the staggering amount and breadth of research undertaken since March 2020, 果冻影院鈥檚 academics have also taken on a number of prominent new roles in the last year; in October, Professor Dame Anne Johnson (果冻影院 Division of Infection & Immunity/果冻影院 Health of the Public) was elected as President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, and last month Professor Mariana Mazzucato (果冻影院 Institute of Innovation and Public Purpose) was appointed to the second United Nations High-level Advisory Board (HLAB).

As well as being leaders in their field, 果冻影院鈥檚 academics are also leading the way in communicating about their research; Dr Helen Czerski (果冻影院 Mechanical Engineering) was one of three scientists chosen to deliver the . Additionally, Professor Monica Lakhanpaul was recently selected to work alongside BBC World Service, whilst Dr Priti Parikh (果冻影院听Bartlett School of Construction听and听Project Management)听is currently .

An image of Dr Helen Czerski delivering her Christmas Lecture on oceans
Three 果冻影院 academics - Professor Dame Jane Dacre, Professor Anna David, and Professor Jugnoo Rahi - have also been included in , released today to mark IWD, celebrating inspirational women from across the academic medical sphere.


Join us as we celebrate 果冻影院鈥檚 women academics working to address the pandemic by listening to this week鈥檚 episode of our Coronavirus: The Whole Story podcast, featuring Professor Monica Lakhanpaul and Dr Amelia Roberts (Institute of Education).

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Images听

  • Image one - Credit: 果冻影院听
  • Image two - Caption: Professor Rebecca Shipley and Professor Tim Baker. Credit: 果冻影院
  • Images three听and four - Credit: 听and听听on听Pixabay (CC 2.0)
  • Image five - Caption:听Dr Lidia Galdino. Credit: James Tye/果冻影院
  • Image six -听Caption:听Dr Helen Czerski. Credit: The Royal Institution听听

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