University of Leeds

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-11

Population immunity as a public health concern. The decay of immunity to an infectious pathogen can cause the replenishment of the pool of susceptible individuals and hence recurring epidemic outbreaks in the population. Think, for instance, at the recent outbreaks caused by the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant or measles. Additionally, understanding boosting of immunity through re-exposure to the pathogen is key when designing vaccination programmes, especially when the vaccine protection is imperfect or temporary, as in the case of chickenpox and shingles. Understanding the consequences of waning and boosting of immunity – acquired either through infection or vaccination – on the population-level epidemic is therefore fundamental for public health planning and, in this sense, this project aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 3 (“Good Health and Well-Being”) and the UKRI strategic themes “Building a secure and resilient world”, “Securing better health, ageing and wellbeing” and “Tackling Infections”. Mathematical models of waning and boosting of immunity. Immunity waning and boosting are particularly challenging to describe mathematically as their effects can be delayed, and overly simplified models can disregard interesting model outcomes like periodic oscillations. Models structured by the time passed since infection or recovery, formulated as integral or partial differential equations, are the most appropriate as they allow a flexible definition of the within-host dynamics informed by the underlying physiology, which are then related to the between-host infection rates. However, these models were under-exploited during the COVID-19 pandemic mostly due to their theoretical and numerical complexity and the lack of accessible software tools. This project combines state-of-the art theoretical and numerical methods to investigate the dynamics of structured models with waning and boosting of immunity when varying model parameters. The project aims to: O1. Develop new mathematical models for waning immunity that balance simplicity and flexibility; O2. Investigate the impact that different assumptions on the within-host parameters have on the population dynamics outcomes of the model; O3. Investigate complex dynamical behaviour –including the emergence of bistability and chaos– caused by waning and boosting of immunity; O4. Develop mathematical tools to predict the growth rate of an emerging variant of concern. Impact and timeliness. The team brings together modelling and numerical expertise on structured models and a strong experience in public health and policy advice. Theoretical and numerical results to study the dynamics of structured models have been rigorously developed only in the last decade, and this is the best time to combine those to generate new understanding. This project will provide evidence and understanding to modellers on how time-since-infection models and detailed within-host dynamics are essential to characterise and explore the population-level disease trends in the presence of waning and boosting of immunity. The models will be used to provide a pragmatic tool for intervention planning in response to the invasion of new, potentially immunoevasive, pathogen variants. This project is one of the first steps of a larger research programme by the co-leads aiming at highlighting the importance of time-since-infection models and, most importantly, creating easy-to-use tools to make them accessible in the future. Preparation to major national risks, such as a pandemic, is best conducted outside emergencies, and we are now in the best position to combine mathematical methods developed in the last decade with the expertise and large amount of data coming from the vivid experience of COVID-19.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-11

Our proposed research initiative seeks to propel machine learning into the forefront of geotechnical engineering, with a vision to address critical challenges and revolutionise the field for the betterment of society. The overarching goals of our project align with the need to confront uncertainty, combat climate change through zero carbon emission strategies, address soil parameter heterogeneity, expedite finite element (FE) calculations e.g., for reliability analyses, and enhance design efficiency to reduce material consumption, particularly in the context of concrete. By undertaking this multidimensional approach, our research aims not only to apply machine learning in geotechnical engineering but to fundamentally transform the field, ushering in a new era of efficiency, sustainability and resilience. Through collaboration and innovation, we aspire to make machine learning an integral and indispensable tool for addressing the complex challenges faced by geotechnical practitioners in the 21st century.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-11

It is widely recognised that the Engineering, Physical and Mathematical Sciences (EPMS) community faces many equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) challenges, particularly in relation to gender, ethnicity, and disability, both physical and neurological. All too often, funded EDI interventions have been small in scale, limited in scope, and time constrained, and importantly, lacking evidence to deliver widespread and sustainable transformation. Engaging with the broad EPMS community to identify and share good EDI practice, determine unmet EDI needs, and evaluate what does and does not work, our aim is to scale-up EDI interventions that demonstrate success at the pilot stage, and provide advice, funding and partnership-building support to progress them on the journey towards widespread implementation and adoption. The Hub was scoped in consultation with EPMS research and innovation community members. We will coordinate the work via seven workstreams. In WS1, we will build a broad network of EPMS community partners, including relevant learned societies, the UK EDI Caucus, industry partners, associations, professional bodies, and international collaborators. In WS2, we will create an online EPMS EDI Resource Centre that documents successful EDI activities and interventions and disseminates good practice from across the EPMS research community and beyond, both in the UK and internationally. In WS3, we will create, share, and utilise indices that assess the implementation readiness of EDI activities and interventions (from initial pilot to successful full-scale implementation across multiple settings), and assess the EDI maturity level of organisations and institutions. These indices will allow us to more effectively match interventions with institutions. In WS4, we will engage widely to identify unmet needs and co-create EDI interventions to address those needs. In WS5, we will provide flexible funding to pilot co-created interventions, scale up successful pilot projects, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions – both pilot projects and projects implemented at scale.  The most effective interventions will be scaled-up across disciplines, organisations, or nationally, working in partnership with funders, learned societies and other key stakeholders in WS6, enabling sustained transformation of practice across the sector. The Hub will be managed and coordinated via WS7, which focuses on project management, including risk management and evaluation. All of the leadership team have prioritised opportunities to drive forward EDI in their roles to date; the majority work in the EPMS space spanning different disciplines, and many have been engaged in cross-disciplinary EDI collaborations. Bringing this leadership team together in EDI Hub+ will allow us to build and draw on past initiatives and provide a platform to integrate and further accelerate these to wider adoption. As well as the close-knit leadership team from four northern universities: Leeds, York, Bradford, and Durham, we will have five hub Engagement Champions (Aberystwyth, Bristol, UEA, Heriot-Watt, Leeds). Not only will these Engagement Champions facilitate the project’s geographic reach to the wider UK research and professional services, but, uniquely, they will lead on challenges faced by underrepresented groups through their own distinctive expertise, track record and lived experiences in relation to gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and neurodiversity.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-10

Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Once melanoma has spread throughout the body, it is known as metastatic melanoma. At this stage melanoma becomes very difficult to treat and the standard treatment is effective only in a very small proportion of patients. In recent years new drugs have been approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. These drugs inhibit the molecules called PD-1 and CTLA-4 that are present on a subpopulation of white blood cells called T lymphocytes. Inhibition of PD-1 and CTLA-4 helps the immune system to attack the cancer. Although these drugs significantly extend lives of melanoma patients, complete responses upon combined inhibition of PD-1 and CTLA-4 are seen only in 11.5 % of the patients. It is therefore important to gain a better understanding of how these drugs work in order to be able to develop approaches that further improve their efficacy. Notably, the immune system works in different ways within different organs in the body. It is therefore important to understand how the drugs targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 work within the organs to which melanoma most commonly spreads. Our goal is to understand how the efficacy of PD-1 and CTLA-4 blockade could be improved in the brain, to which cancer spreads in up to 60% of metastatic melanoma patients. The resulting tumours are called brain metastases (BrM) and they are particularly difficult to treat. In comparison to the melanoma in general, we know very little about BrM; this is because - despite their high incidence - patients with BrM used to be frequently excluded from clinical trials and BrM are experimentally strongly understudied. Notably, brain has a very distinct cellular composition, with the blood-brain barrier hindering access of drugs and molecules, and it lacks lymphatic vessels that play an important role in initiation of immune responses. Ignoring these specifics of the brain poses a danger that - despite a progress in the treatment of melanoma in other parts of the body - treatment of BrM once again lacks behind and BrM become a limiting factor in patient survival. It is therefore critical to identify the mechanisms involved in the action of drugs targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 in BrM in a timely manner. There are only very few studies investigating how the drugs targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4 work in BrM. To study this, we previously established an in vivo model of melanoma BrM and demonstrated that a combined targeting of CTLA-4 and PD-1 significantly inhibits growth of BrM and prolongs the survival. This was mainly mediated by a subpopulation of T lymphocytes called Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). For T lymphocytes to develop into CTLs that can kill cancer cells, they need help from another population of white blood cells called dendritic cells (DCs). DCs take up molecules derived from cancer cells and present these to T lymphocytes, which induces their activation into CTLs. There are different types of DCs. Our studies demonstrated that type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) are required for the control of tumour growth in BrM. We therefore aim to determine how exactly are cDC1s involved in the control of BrM growth following therapy targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4, and how cDC1s in the brain differ from those outside the brain. Understanding how cDC1s support immune responses against BrM will enable the development of strategies that can enhance the ability of cDC1s to support CTLs in their attack against cancer and are therefore expected to potentiate the efficacy of therapy targeting PD-1 and CTLA-4. At least part of the newly gained knowledge is expected to be applicable to melanoma at sites other than the brain. Thus, the knowledge emerging from the proposed research has a potential to contribute towards improved outcomes of patients with BrM and those with metastatic melanoma in general, as well as other cancers.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Projections of future sea level rise rely on ice sheet models that are highly tuned to simulate the geometry and flow of the modern ice sheets despite uncertainties in the surface mass balance and unknown basal processes. Overfitting these models to the present day means that the sensitivity of the ice sheet to future warming is untested and unconstrained. Recent advances in cosmogenic dating (a method to measure how long glacially eroded rocks have been exposed to the sun) as well as ice sheet modeling and statistical uncertainty quantification now make it feasible to use reconstructions of past ice sheet changes to test and improve coupled climate-ice sheet models. While many ice sheets have been reconstructed with great detail, the deglaciation of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet that covered the Rocky Mountains in North America during the last ice age is poorly constrained. Yet, this ice sheet offers great potential to constrain models due to its similarities to modern ice sheets, such as the southern Greenland Ice Sheet (mountainous, high accumulation and strong precipitation gradients, marine/land terminating). The Cordilleran Ice Sheet is also thought to have played a key role in rapid sea level and climate changes during the last deglaciation (a transition 21-7 thousand years ago that took us out of the last ice age), but evidence of this is limited. Our team of researchers, with a proven track record in reconstructing and modeling deglacial ice sheets and climate, will produce the first 3-D reconstruction of Cordilleran Ice Sheet collapse during the last deglaciation based on a robust empirical-modeling approach. We will undertake a carefully designed field campaign across this large and mountainous region to apply the "glacial dipstick" approach, generating 135 Be-10 ages along ~15 vertical transects. Using a statistical Uncertainty Quantification approach, we will combine the field data with modeling of the Cordilleran and western Laurentide Ice Sheets with a complex yet efficient coupled climate-ice sheet model used for future projections. This will produce an ensemble of plausible reconstructions for the deglaciation of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Over the past four decades in the UK there has been a steady proliferation of civil/criminal hybrid orders, the aim of which is the anticipation of wrongdoing and, through this, the prevention of harm. This 'preventive' approach regulates, ostensibly in the interest of public safety and security, behaviour that is undesirable but - importantly - often not criminal. The hybridity of orders lies in how, under a civil process and civil standard of proof, they impose conditions - both positive and negative - upon individuals subject to them, while breach of those conditions results in criminalisation. Not only does this subject individuals to personalised regulatory regimes, it also means that, without ever having gone through a criminal trial, individuals in breach of the conditions imposed on them by such an order can find themselves facing criminal sanctions. Since my Everyday Challenges Fellowship project was conceived in 2018, there has been an explosion in the legislative use of this hybrid regulatory form. Initially understood as a novel means of targeting specific problems (football hooliganism in the 1980s, anti-social behaviour in the 1990s, and terrorism financing post-9/11), the contexts in which civil/criminal hybrid orders are used have expanded significantly. The past six years have seen the introduction of the Knife Crime Prevention Order (Offensive Weapons Act 2019), the Domestic Abuse Protection Order (Domestic Abuse Act 2021), the Serious Violence Reduction Order (Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Act 2022), and the Serious Disruption Prevention Order (Public Order Act 2023), while the Criminal Justice Bill - currently at Committee Stage in the House of Commons - introduces or expands no fewer than six more orders. At a pivotal time for activist group enterprise within this policy space, this project will stand upon Everyday Challenges' significant research contribution to draw greater policymaker, stakeholder, and public attention to this problematic regulatory form, and shape policy advocacy. Employing evidence produced during the original grant, and working closely with new non-governmental organisation Project Partners JUSTICE, Manifesto Club, StopWatch, Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, continuing Partner Liberty, and Tell Studio, this project will: -Co-design and produce educational resources, in the form of hybrid order-specific video-vignettes, for use by law reform and activist organisations with decision-makers and public audiences; -Provide a step-change in the level of engagement with public audiences on this issue by utilising expanded Partner networks and media/communications teams to engage new constituencies, and disseminate project findings to a wider range of stakeholders; -Inform Partner interventions in strategic litigation challenging this regulatory form in the courts; -Collaborate with Partner advocacy and Parliamentary lobbying activities, including scrutiny-question submission and front-bench engagement, -Create dedicated public-facing outputs, comprising a documentary-short film and a Bristol University Press-contracted book. At this critical juncture, I propose the active dissemination of key research insights directly to communities of interest in the wider public via the documentary and the affordable paperback. Published academic research insights will be delivered through innovative and accessible formats to enhance the value of the original project's reach, influence, and significance.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Set theory, and in particular the Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms, can be used to provide a robust foundation for modern mathematics. These axioms provide us with tools to prove that if a certain set exists, then we can build some additional explicit sets. Modern mathematics, however, will often add Axiom of Choice to these axioms. This axiom is different in its nature: it asserts the existence of objects, but without providing their description. Despite its "mysterious" nature, the Axiom of Choice has proved to be an incredibly useful axiom of mathematics, allowing us to bring order into the chaos of infinite sets which are central to modern mathematics. Still, it is always an interesting question whether or not something that can be done with the Axiom of Choice can be done without it, or with perhaps a weak fragment of this axiom. Knowing this allows us to classify how intangible mathematical objects are in relation to one another. This research project is part of a long programme to understand how the Axiom of Choice interacts with a family of axioms called "large cardinal axioms". Large cardinal axioms form a hierarchy of axioms which we can add to the Zermelo-Fraenkel axioms (with or without the Axiom of Choice). These axioms get increasingly stronger, but not only in the sense that they let us prove more, they also let us understand "how plausible a mathematical statement is". This is done by showing that if a mathematical statement is true, then there is a mathematical universe in which a certain large cardinal axiom is true, and vice versa. Using this we can measure the strength of various mathematical statements, even those coming from seemingly-unrelated fields of research. The standard large cardinal axiom comes in one of two flavours. The first is by asserting that there is a way to embed the mathematical universe (or a large part of it) into another mathematical universe. The second family of formulations assert the existence of combinatorial objects. We can always derive the second flavour of axiom from the first, but the other implication which makes these equivalent, relies heavily on the Axiom of Choice. The research programme here is to understand the extent of this reliance. What we want to understand is how badly things provable from the Axiom of Choice can fail in its absence. Towards that goal we need to first extend and better understand the methods which allow us to prove results related to the failure of the Axiom of Choice, and we need to improve and perfect the interactions of these methods with large cardinal axioms in order to make sure that in the process of breaking the Axiom of Choice we did not break the large cardinal axioms of interest.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

A global trend of glacier loss is leading to the development of high-mountain glacial lakes that can exceed kilometres in length and over 200 m in depth, therefore storing vast quantities of water. However, their poorly constrained estimates of current and future water stores restricts assessments of water resource availability and potential downstream flood risks. Glacial lakes can drain seasonally and catastrophically, leading to downstream flooding with high socio-economic impacts, particularly across High-Mountain Asia in countries such as Nepal. These flood events cause widespread concern, spanning mountain communities to development agencies and government departments. However, historical records suggest that most glacial lakes are inherently stable. To ensure that disaster risk-reduction resources are targeted to deliver maximum benefit, and that water resource trends are understood, it is therefore essential to develop a robust evidence base in the context of climate change, accelerating lake development, and urban expansion into mountain regions. High-mountain glacial lake water storage is measured for a small proportion of lakes globally due to logistically challenging survey requirements and the inability to derive depth observations using satellite data. Instead, glacial lake bathymetry datasets are produced through field surveys, and are subsequently used to inform empirical scaling relationships that relate lake area to volume. Estimating water storage using these relationships that are based on few datapoints globally (n~100) contains large uncertainties (>20-50%). Glacial lakes also promote a positive feedback, whereby the thermal energy stored in lake water and buoyancy forces acting on the glacier can accelerate glacier recession. However, similarly sparse observations of lake-glacier interactions mean these mechanisms are not parameterised in models predicting glacier evolution and downstream runoff trends. This Fellowship presents an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to assess both glacial lake development and downstream floods in topographically complex catchments. I will develop an innovative survey methodology to derive the bathymetry of glacial lakes using both a single beam sonar, combined with a cutting edge multibeam sonar system. The latter will produce complete maps of lakebed morphology and reveal the subaqueous glacier structure. Extensive bathymetry surveys in Nepal will underpin numerical modelling and machine learning approaches that conceptualise glacial lake geometry and development trajectories, and quantify current and future water resource trends. The models derived from these data will also provide a scalable solution to robustly estimate dynamic water storage at unsurveyed lakes, therefore reducing the requirement for costly and difficult field surveys. I will also address the critical requirement for high-resolution topographic data to enable robust flood modelling downstream of glacial lakes. These models will identify socio-economic exposure of buildings and infrastructure to flood events caused by precipitation extremes or glacial lake drainage events. The Fellowship's outputs will be operationalised in an online open access Glacial Lake Observatory (GLO) platform that will underpin a new era of collaborative glacial lake research by removing barriers to data access and knowledge exchange. The GLO will catalogue glacial lakes globally and will monitor near-real-time lake dynamics using optical, radar, and altimetry satellite data. Our research culture will advocate for ethical and inclusive overseas fieldwork practices that strengthen partnerships, research collaborations, and knowledge exchange, therefore maximising the long-term benefits of the Fellowship's outputs. Collaboration with leading academics, development agencies, and government departments in Nepal will enable co-production of knowledge that addresses global water resource challenges.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

The proposal aims to develop a durable, eco-friendly, cement-free, and self-sensing composite for strengthening masonry and cultural heritage structures. The composite, called Textile-Reinforced Smart Mortar (TRSM), will consist of natural textile fabrics embedded in a lime mortar containing electrically conductive carbon microfibers (CMF). TRSM enhances masonry's mechanical strength, while CMF enhances the composite's piezoresistive properties for strain measurement and damage detection. The project commences with the innovative development of carbon microfiber lime (CMFL) mortar, a smart solution designed to maximize performance with masonry substrates. Subsequent phases include developing TRSMs, evaluating the durability of CMFL and TRSMs under varying environmental conditions, and studying the influence of these conditions on mechanical strength and piezoresistivity. The culmination of the research involves a comprehensive exploration of the durability and piezoresistive performance of advanced TRSM-strengthened masonry panels. This endeavour bridges the divide between laboratory progress and practical industry application by combining innovative materials with self-sensing technology. The use of TRSM enhances the structural integrity of masonry and cultural heritage structures. It also enables the real-time monitoring of strain and potential damage, allowing the planning and execution of preventive instead of essential maintenance. Given increasing climate change and earthquake risks, the project is timely and has the potential to have a significant impact on preserving cultural heritage. To achieve the project's objectives, the fellow will join a research team with extensive expertise in bridging micro-technology, materials, and composite engineering to structural engineering. This partnership will broaden the fellow's research opportunities. The fellow will also gain versatile training, paving the way for a successful scientific career in this field.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Optimisation is a cornerstone of many mathematical theories and has driven multiple applications of mathematics for millennia. Game theory studies optimisation in situations where the outcome depends on actions of multiple individuals (players) and has been widely used in social sciences, operations research, and other fields as well as driving innovation in mathematics. It has underlain research that lead to multiple Nobel prizes, most recently in 2020. A zero-sum game is a two-player game in which gains and losses of one player are balanced by the losses and gains of the other player. The object of interest in such an interaction is a pair of strategies (called a saddle point or an equilibrium) such that each player's strategy optimises their outcome given the other player's actions. This project is concerned with stochastic zero-sum stopping games in which players choose a random time (for example, depending on the evolution of the underlying stochastic process) at which they exit the game. The outcome of the game is calculated at the first time that one of the players exits and depends on the value of the underlying process at that time and on the player that stopped the game. The years 1970s and 1980s saw the development of a beautiful martingale and (partial) differential equations theories which have fuelled most developments and applications of those games. The defining feature of the existing theory is that players select stopping times with respect to the same filtration. This project aims to develop a general theory for games in which players have different information flows, i.e., the aforementioned symmetry is broken. Such asymmetry of information has been observed in applications (e.g., insider trading, fraud detection) but could not be mathematically studied due to the lack of theoretical foundations. The first significant results for zero-sum stopping games with asymmetric information appeared in 2010s. They were based on insights unique to a particular model and lacked a general methodological pathway. This project aims to construct a unified approach akin to the classical martingale and Markovian theories for symmetric information zero-sum stopping games. The first step in this direction was made by the project lead with his collaborators in 2022. Using topological methods, unlike the classical theory, they showed that a general zero-sum game with asymmetric information has an equilibrium in mixed strategies (it is known that the equilibrium may not exist in pure strategies). This general approach does not, however, give any indication of players' strategies. Nor does any existing literature offer a general recipe for construction of player's strategies. The proposed research will: (1) develop a martingale theory akin to the classical one characterising each player's value process and equilibrium strategies, (2) demonstrate how this theory enables formulation of PDE problems in specific diffusive settings and how player's strategies can be obtained from their solution therefore enabling applications of the theory by a wide audience, (3) explore whether the topological approach can be used to prove existence of equilibria in non-zero sum stopping games with symmetric or asymmetric information.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

We recently discovered that over half of the ablation area of one of the world's highest glaciers, Khumbu Glacier, Nepal, comprises ice that is at the melting point. Moreover, ice within the upper ablation area has warmed by 2-3 degrees Celsius over the last 40 years and is out of equilibrium with local climate. Combined, these observations indicate that high-elevation Himalayan glaciers are unexpectedly vulnerable to 21st Century climatic warming, and approaching a tipping point beyond which greatly accelerated mass loss will occur. However, the processes that determine ice temperatures within this region remain poorly understood, making projections of future glacier change uncertain. The overarching aim of Losing their Cool (LtC) is to investigate the physical interactions between the atmosphere and the glacier surface at high-elevation (>6,000 m a.s.l.), providing insight into the snow and firn processes that prescribe Himalayan ice temperatures for the first time. The working hypothesis is that melting and refreezing within the accumulation area is sufficiently effective to raise firn-layer temperatures by several degrees prior to ice formation. To test this, LtC will collect the first robust and sustained measurements of firn conditions from Khumbu Glacier's accumulation area in the Western Cwm of Mount Everest. We will drill and instrument 20-25 m-long boreholes at elevations of 6,000-6,800 m a.s.l. to measure englacial firn and ice temperatures over a two-year period. We will also use a 360 degree camera to image the interior of the boreholes to characterise firn density and quantify the magnitude and frequency of previous re-freezing events. We will install automatic weather stations at elevations where they do not already exist, and take samples from the cores for collaborators working in relevant fields (e.g. biogeochemistry). We will use these empirical data to calibrate, and then validate, a numerical model that can simulate both the energy fluxes driving warming at the surface, and the consequent subsurface meltwater flow and refreezing processes. This will enable us to isolate the impact of meltwater re-freezing on ice temperature, and determine the extent to which this changes in a warming climate. Finally, we will simulate the whole glacier system, and track the evolution of ice temperatures with distance downglacier, to assess the extent to which firn processes can account for the unexpectedly high temperatures we previously observed in the glacier ablation area, as well as yield improved forecasts of ice loss up to 2100. This work will provide new understanding of firn processes that are relevant for all glaciers within similar settings world-wide. In particular it will improve the way we represent ice stiffness and processes of ice flow in dynamic glacier models. It will resolve outstanding debates in the literature about the possibility of net mass loss at the world's highest elevations, and indicate the extent to which other glaciers within the Himalaya may also comprise unexpectedly warm ice. Our work will provide insights into a rarely observed cryospheric zone that can inform agenda-setting reports such as those produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, as well as addressing, directly and indirectly, several key Sustainable Development Goals. We will further provide evidence for supporting agencies such as UNDP, and the Nepalese government, to help prepare for, and mitigate against, a now inevitable change in meltwater supply as climatic changes continue to impact this region.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Ultra-Low Velocity Zones (ULVZs) are structures with strongly reduced seismic velocities at Earth's core-mantle boundary (CMB) which have been associated with or linked to hot-spot volcanism, Large Igneous Provinces, core-mantle interaction, downwelling subduction and Large-Low Velocity Provinces (LLVPs) and thus are a critical component of global mantle dynamics. ULVZs are typically studied using waveform analysis of ULVZ-sensitive seismic probes (e.g., SPdKS, ScP, ScS), but previous studies suffer from large uncertainties in ULVZ parameters due to modeling trade-offs and lack a geophysical inference of ULVZs through rigorous parameter estimation. We seek to develop a transformative waveform inversion approach and apply it to characterize ULVZ properties including their seismic velocities, density, size, and shape. Specifically, we propose to (1) collect a new database of highly ULVZ-sensitive ScP and PcP waveforms utilizing publicly available seismic array data as well as new data from South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and the International Monitoring System (IMS) arrays, (2) advance our capabilities for full waveform Bayesian inversion for ULVZ properties in order to quantitatively distinguish regions with and without ULVZ structures (i.e., Bayesian model selection), and to perform joint inversion of ScP and PcP waveforms, (3) quantify the waveform effects from 2-D/3-D ULVZ structures, (4) search for additional, previously unlooked-for arrivals in the ScP wavefield consistent with 3-D ULVZ structure using array processing approaches, and (5) relate observed ULVZ localities and properties to lowermost mantle flow and dynamics through 3D geodynamic models.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

This project will contribute to knowledge about figurative language understanding and use among 9-13 year olds, termed 'tweens'. Tweens are at a vulnerable stage of life as they turn outwards from their immediate caregivers, and become subject to a range of external influences. This is also a critical time for social and educational development. The processing and production of figurative language have been researched in adults, and to a lesser extent, younger children (e.g. Carriedo et al., 2016), but the tween years have received little attention. Figurative language, largely but not solely metaphor, has been shown to be central in framing ideas and knowledge (Lakoff 1993). This means that we have limited knowledge about to what extent tweens are able to understand and use a major tool for thought and communication. The project will investigate tweens' understanding and use of the framing function of figurative language in two related areas: ideological arguments and new concepts. The first is important because through digital technology and social media, tweens almost everywhere have unprecedented unsupervised access to content from sources that may seek to distort and falsify reality. Wodak & Krzyzànowski (2017) argue that digital and social media are factors in the recent surge in right-wing populism and racism. Iyengar & Massey (2019) claim that misinformation, facilitated by the proliferation of internet news platforms, undermines faith in scientific findings. Musolff (2023) exemplifies the role of metaphor in misinformation, showing how Trump harnessed the widespread framing of the Covid-19 pandemic as a war to develop a metaphorical 'wartime president fighting against the China virus' scenario (2023: 263). This alluded to World War 2, cast China as a national enemy and was used to justify the US defunding of the World Health Organisation. The second function we research is the framing of new, especially abstract and non-immediate concepts. It is widely agreed that metaphors underlie many of the ways in which we think and talk about the abstract. They are often used as pedagogical tools in the classroom (e.g. Cameron, 2002), but there is relatively little research into how students understand them (Littlemore, 2017). The project will produce fine-grained descriptions of: the forms and functions of figurative language used in written texts and spoken discourse that tweens are likely to access in social and educational settings; tween readers' and listeners' reports of their understandings of such figurative language; the forms and functions of figurative language used by tweens in social and educational settings; tweens' reflections on their use of figurative language. We will thus develop a detailed description of figurative language used with and by tweens, and of their awareness of its potential framing functions. The project will make important contributions to metaphor theory within cognitive linguistics. The findings will have significance outside academia, for instance, in critical literacy education, which seeks to enable young people to engage thoughtfully with news and social media, with awareness of possibly distorted and false narratives (McDougall, 2019), and in science education, where pedagogical uses of metaphor are frequent.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Indigenous Peoples globally face profound threats from climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation - threats that are rooted in discrimination, land dispossession, and colonization, and span all of the IPCC's representative key risks. It is primarily through the nexus with Indigenous food systems that these stresses converge and interact to affect health and well-being. Indigenous knowledges and practices underpin resilience across the food-climate-health nexus, yet they are overlooked and undermined by government policy. New ways of working with Indigenous communities and informing decision making are needed if we are to make sense of and address these interlinked stresses. The Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network (IPON) transforms and rethinks how we understand the food-climate-health nexus from the bottom-up, building on multiple ways of knowing embodied in Indigenous knowledges and science, and in ways that strengthen community resilience to multiple stresses and support actions that benefit Indigenous Peoples. We will develop, operationalize, and maintain Indigenous Observatories that are composed of community leaders, Elders, and youth, decision-makers, and researchers among Indigenous communities across the global south and north, and spanning all of the UN's seven social cultural regions. The Observatories will document, monitor, and examine the lived experiences, stories, responses, and observations of how climate stressors interact with food systems, health, and well-being across partner regions and communities as they play out in real-time and across seasons. This allows us to tease apart the complexity of factors and drivers affecting community resilience and vulnerability and how they differ between and within communities, across seasons, and over time, rooted in the world views and cultures of our Observers. We will co-generate knowledge and capacity to inform policy development and catalyze actions that build on community strengths and address potential vulnerabilities. The Observatories provide a vehicle for strengthening the capacity of communities to document their own knowledge on the links between climate, food, and health, and a space to dialogue with decision makers at regional, national, and global levels on what actions are needed to build resilience. The global scope of IPON provides a grounding for developing scalable insights to inform decision making and advocacy for our partners in UN and Indigenous organizations.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

NOx, particularly NO2, is a key air pollutant causing approximately 50,000 premature deaths annually in Europe1. Diesel engines are one of the major sources of NOx emissions. Though light duty vehicles are transitioning to electrified powertrains in some territories, heavy duty vehicles and machineries are likely to continue to depend on diesel or compression ignition engines for the near to medium term due to their high power and load density requirement. To mitigate and control the impact of vehicular emissions, the EU has set the new and stringent emission legislation, Euro 7, to replace the currently Euro 6 emission standards for passenger cars and vans (EU Regulation (EC) 715/2007) and Euro VI emission standards for heavy goods vehicles and buses (EU Regulation (EC) 595/2009). A key requirement for the Euro 7 emission standards is highly efficient conversion of NOx during cold start and low power operation which requires effective low temperature catalytic conversion for NOx emissions. Diesel engines are also a major power source for marine vessels. Marine diesel engines emit about 20 million tons of NOx every year, account for 15% of global anthropogenic pollution. To curb the pollutions from marine engines, the international Maritime Organisation (IMO) introduced strict emission regulations such as MARPOL Annex VI and US EPA Tier III-IV emission standards for marine diesel engines Category 1-2. This has pushed marine vessels/engines to deploy more effective emission mitigation measures such as using cleaner alternative fuels and more effective exhaust aftertreatment systems. One of the challenges for exhaust aftertreatment systems is the inefficiency of NOx conversion at lower exhaust temperatures. We, at the University of Leeds, have developed a patented deNOx catalyst (LowCat) to be used in SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) exhaust aftertreatment system and able to convert NO2 at room temperature. The catalyst material was inspired initially by a STFC project investigating CO oxidation in Venus' atmosphere and synthesised in the lab as an analogue for meteoric material in Venus' atmosphere. This was further developed by a STFC IPS project "Demonstration of a base metal Low-temperature Catalytic converter for deNOx (LowCat Demo)" (Dec.2021-Feb.2024). Several prototype catalytic exhaust aftertreatment systems are being tested in our engine lab and demonstrated promising results. The aim of the project is to develop co-optimised low temperature deNOx catalyst (LowCat) based exhaust aftertreatment systems with various fuels including low and zero carbon fuels, and widen the applications of the LowCat to cover off-road and marine propulsions. The objectives include: a). Market research into future fuel strategies for engines and emissions b). Investigation of impacts of current and low/zero carbon fuels on the performance of LowCat based exhaust aftertreatment systems. c). Optimisation of configuration of LowCat based exhaust aftertreatment systems. d). Establish a low/zero carbon fuels and emission testing and innovation centre. e). Develop a design tool for LowCat based exhaust aftertreatment systems. The project will provide effective measures to control NOx emissions for on-road vehicles and off-road machineries, and marine propulsions. The project will boost the use of low/zero carbon fuels. The project will benefit manufacturers of exhaust aftertreatment systems, on-road and off-road (including marine) engines, low carbon fuels, and residents and workers exposed to highly polluted areas. The project will help UK manufacturers exporting to developing countries. [1]. European Environment Agency (2022),Health impacts of air pollution in Europe.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Doctoral Training Partnerships: a range of postgraduate training is funded by the Research Councils. For information on current funding routes, see the common terminology at https://www.ukri.org/apply-for-funding/how-we-fund-studentships/. Training grants may be to one organisation or to a consortia of research organisations. This portal will show the lead organisation only.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Worldwide rates of gender-based violence (GBV) perpetrated by the state, community, family, carers, and intimate partners against people/persons with disabilities (PWD) exceed those without disabilities (Van Der Heijden et.al, 2019). Despite disability affecting 16% of the world's population, efforts to research, prevent and respond to GBV rarely address the issue of GBV against PWD, and programmes designed to support PWD rarely pay attention to GBV. While increasing rates of violence during the COVID-19 pandemic have led to greater recognition that GBV has a disproportionate impact on PWD, there is a lack of data and understanding about the nature and drivers of this violence (Van Der Heijden et.al, 2019). Recent research on interventions addressing violence against women and girls (VAWG) with disabilities highlighted the methodological barriers to developing a robust evidence base on GBV against PWD, finding the most common methods used for collecting data on GBV ill-suited to capturing the experiences of PWD (Banks et.al., 2022; Palm & Le Roux, 2023). Without fully understanding how PWD experience GBV and the barriers they encounter when reporting and seeking support, existing GBV interventions will fail to prevent abuse and create structural, normative, and environmental obstacles for PWD. This project will research GBV against PWD in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) in South Africa (SA) using survivor and disabilities-centred methods. SA was selected as it has one of the highest levels of GBV outside war zones, and KZN-province is where this violence is most endemic. GBV affecting PWD in SA is particularly acute due to racial injustice, deepened inequality, and marginalisation, all exacerbated by COVID-19. Our research objectives are: To understand the nature of GBV experienced by PWD in KZN after COVID-19. To explore how different identity characteristics (e.g., religion, race, gender, type of disability) intersect with contextual variables (e.g., poverty, geographical location, unemployment) to contribute to PWDs' vulnerability to GBV. To highlight the lived experiences of GBV-survivors with disabilities using co-creative arts-based methods. To explore the structural challenges that survivors with disabilities encounter in reporting and accessing support for GBV. To develop training and intervention guidelines for working with PWD in GBV research and service delivery. We will adopt an intersectional approach to capture the diversity of PWDs: including different types of disability and all genders, to interrogate how gender and disability shape violence across diverse cohorts' lives. We will use creative, participatory, and arts-based methodologies (PhotoVOICE 2.0 and body mapping) to enable PWD to act as co-researchers in the study. By partnering with the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and Afrique Rehabilitation and Research Consultants (ARRC), an organisation for PWD, having co-investigators with disabilities and including PWD as co-researchers, we will ensure that PWD are at the centre of this study. The data co-produced with PWD will help challenge the root causes of, and improve responses to, GBV. Our project will connect those working on GBV and PWD in SA and globally, to share knowledge on 'what works' to address GBV against PWD. --- Banks, L. M., et.al, (2022). Adapting Disability Research Methods and Practices During COVID-19. IDS Bulletin, 53(3), 129-151. Palm, S. and Le Roux, E. (2023), A Synthesis Review of the UN Trust Fund to End VAWG with Disabilities: https://untf.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2023/03/a-synthesis-review-of-the-un-trust-funds-special-funding-window-on-ending-violence-against-women-and-girls-with-disabilities Van der Heijden, et.al, 2019. Ethical considerations for disability-inclusive GBV research. Global Public Health, 14(5), pp.737-749.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

This project has three goals: 1) to measure how muscles and bone adapt when a muscle/s are no longer able to function normally (e.g. injury). This will investigate the compensatory roles muscle develop in order to maintain functional movement, how their properties adapt to facilitate this movement, and how this affects bone growth; 2) to create and validate computational models that can predict how muscles and bone adapt when there is disruption to the "normal" functioning of the musculoskeletal system; 3) investigate the quantity of experimental input data required for the computational models to deliver accurate predictions. The outputs from this project will not only help researchers understand how the musculoskeletal system adapts to changes to "normal" function, but will also generate computational models that can replicate biomedical experiments that are frequently performed on animals. Such experiments are performed to test a range of things, such as the effects of disease/injury and biomedical devices on the musculoskeletal system. These experimentations, like many in musculoskeletal research, are highly invasive, and cause pain and distress to the animals before they are euthanized. Advances in computational modelling now enable models to predict how the body reacts to the dysfunctions of the musculoskeletal system caused by such experiments. Through replicating biomedical experiments, computational modelling has the potential to reduce, or even replace, the use of animals in musculoskeletal research and medical device design. The anatomy and behaviour of a computational model can be altered and re-tested without limitation to allow, for example: a model analysis to be extended to a different species by digital modification of the anatomy/behaviour; elements of anatomy to be modified in multiple ways (e.g. removal of muscle/bone) to examine the consequences of different surgical approaches; and for implant devices to be digitally inserted, all without the need for any harmful experimentation on real animals. The application of such computational modelling is still limited, so unfortunately a large number of animals are still used in biomedical experiments. There are many reasons for this, including the fact the building these models requires in-depth knowledge, and general scepticism that modelling can predict the outcomes of experiments with a high level of accuracy. We intend to address these issues by creating computational models of the rabbit that are validated against the form of experiments they are intended to reduce, or even replace. This validation requires a large amount of experimental data about how the rabbit bone and muscles adapt to dysfunctions of the musculoskeletal system. We will therefore collect detailed in vivo data on bone motion and muscle physiology at several time periods, to inform how rabbit bone and muscles adapt when there is alteration to the "normal" functioning of another muscle. This data will used to: 1) provide input data for the computational modelling; 2) determine the accuracy of the model predictions, thus determining the model validity. Rabbits have been chosen because they are widely used in a variety of research areas. They are the first-choice experimental animal for dental implant design and bone growth studies because of their size, easy handling and relative similarities to humans in terms of bone composition and healing. However, this project also has the potential to improve modelling of human biomechanics. Currently models are used widely to study healthy biomechanics (e.g. sports performance), ageing (e.g. sacropenia) and related diseases (e.g. osteoarithitis), dental procedures (e.g. orthodontic treatment) and injury (e.g. fracture). These human studies often estimate or predict parameters that cannot be measured directly in people, thus there is a clear need for accurate "off the self" computational models that we propose here.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Sustainable agriculture and food security requires uniformity of growth, starting with rapid, synchronous germination and continuing with successful seedling establishment. However, seedling growth is highly susceptible to environmental stresses including physical stresses (temperature extremes, light, oxygen and water availability) and biological stresses (fungus, bacteria and herbivores). It is unclear what determines the initial success of seedlings, but it has long been established that this early growth is highly dependent on how well the seed germinates. Our exciting new data has revealed new insight that provides a potential mechanism that connects seed germination performance with subsequent seedling growth characteristics. The project focusses on early seedling growth as they become established in the field, which is an important determinant of crop production, in particular under field stresses. In this project we will uncover the molecular mechanisms that underlie early seedling growth, revealing the cellular effects resulting from poor germination performance. This work is based our recent discovery that DNA damage incurred in seeds results in cellular DNA damage responses and inhibits seedling growth. Seeds naturally accumulate DNA damage, in part because the repair pathways become inactive when seeds mature and lose water. Levels of DNA damage can become extremely high after storage for a long time or under unfavourable environmental conditions. DNA repair re-initiates when the seed is hydrated, which helps to minimise mutagenesis and developmental defects that arise from damaged DNA. Increased levels of DNA damage in seeds results in the activation of signalling pathways that function to delay germination, allowing extended time for repair. However, even with the presence of these repair and signalling pathways, our data shows that poor seed quality results in the effects of DNA damage persisting into the crucial early stages of seedling establishment. This results in significant levels of cell death and is likely an important contributing factor to the reduced growth of seedlings as seed germination performance decreases. Here, we will elucidate the importance of DNA repair and DNA damage signalling pathways to early seedling growth. Using genetic resources available in our lab, we will determine which DNA repair and damage signalling factors are crucial to seedling establishment. Analysis of cellular processes in seedlings from high and low quality seeds allows us to determine the molecular basis of reduced seedling growth, providing important targets for the improvement of seedling establishment in the field. This will provide a detailed understanding of the growth inhibitory factors that persist after germination of low quality seeds, and thereby enable knowledge-based approaches to improve the performance of early seedling establishment in the field. The overarching aim of this work is to improve seedling performance in the field. Vegetable crop species, including the UK crop Brassica oleracea, display particular high losses at the seedling stage and represent ideal targets for enhancement. We will use the knowledge gained in this project to enhance the seedling performance of this crop and test early seedling growth under stresses typically encountered in the field. The project will thereby employ our knowledge of plant stress responses to enhance crop survival and support sustainable agriculture.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

Replication of human DNA is a cellular process required for the faithful transfer of genetic information from parents to progeny. This is driven by the timely assembly and disassembly on and off DNA of a complex molecular machine, known as the replisome. Cells have evolved sophisticated protein quality control mechanisms that ensure removal of replisome factors from chromatin, including protein unfolding and proteolytic turnover. Regulation of this cellular event is of central importance to ensure correct DNA replication and genome stability. The archetypical AAA+ unfoldase VCP/p97 is a major player in this process, and fascinating mechanistic insights of VCP/p97-dependent protein unfolding and degradation have been discovered over the past decade. However, it is not clear if VCP/p97 is the only AAA+ protein involved in regulating DNA replication and genome stability, or if other ATPase-driven macromolecular motors are also involved. We have recently identified the AAA+ ATPases SPATA5 and SPATA5L1 as key players in the proteolytic turnover of replisome factors during S-phase. We discovered that SPATA5-SPATA5L1, in complex with the heterodimeric partners C1orf109-CINP, form an enzymatic assembly (referred to as 55LCC) that interacts with components of the replication machinery and mediates their ATPase-dependent unfolding. Our work provides critical functional insights on a new macromolecular complex, and describes a new paradigm for replisome turnover on chromatin. Despite these considerable advances, a precise molecular and mechanistic understanding of how SPATA5 and SPATA5L1 modulate and contribute to 55LCC ATPase activity, substrate engagement and unfolding is still lacking. Throughout this Discovery Fellowship I aim to understand the molecular and mechanistic underpinnings of how 55LCC complex assembly directs substrate recruitment and regulates 55LCC enzymatic function. I will address three main questions: 1) How do SPATA5 and SPATA5L1 contribute to 55LCC enzymatic activities? I will use biochemical approaches to generate a complete mechanistic understanding of the specific contributions SPATA5 and SPATA5L1 provide to 55LCC ATPase and unfoldase function. 2) What are the structural determinants and conformational dynamics of SPATA5 and 55LCC? I will combine structural, biophysical and computational methods to gain insights into the determinants underpinning SPATA5 and 55LCC assemblies, and clarify the contributions SPATA5 and SPATA5L1 provide to 55LCC structural integrity and function. In doing this I will also obtain a deeper understanding of the conformational dynamics and activity-driven changes sampled by SPATA5 and 55LCC in different nucleotide-bound states. 3) How does 55LCC associate with its substrates? I will use biochemical and biophysical approaches to quantitatively characterise 55LCC interaction with its biological substrates, and generate critical mechanistic information on how substrate recognition and processing is regulated by 55LCC. The outlined proposal will transform our understanding on how this new protein complex functions as a macromolecular machine, and generate new molecular and mechanistic insights into 55LCC complex assembly, enzymatic activities and substrate recruitment. The outcomes generated throughout this Fellowship will also provide a strong platform for follow-up studies, including structural biology analyses of 55LCC:substrate assemblies as well as ligand/drug discovery projects within academic settings or by establishing connections with future industry partners.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2024 · 2024-09

This Fellowship emerges from my longstanding collaborative practice in inclusive arts, a globally recognised art form where learning disabled and/or neurodivergent artists create work with the support of professional facilitators. Its primary aim is to develop a method of Systemic Action Research (SAR) enriched by inclusive arts practice that enables learning disability communities to identify and challenge systemic inequalities and facilitate change in their lives. Learning disabled people remain a marginalised group within society who experience a range of complex and interconnected sociocultural, health and economic inequalities, referred to here as 'wicked problems', and are often not meaningfully heard in the issues that uniquely affect them. Learning disabled artists sit at an intersection of social care, disability activism, and the art world in a way which makes visible the systemic issues which prevent them from thriving i.e. negative experiences of engaging with decision-makers, inflexible care plans, limited access to supported studios, and a higher education sector that does not support and accredit their ways of being, knowing and creating. Working with Pyramid, a Leeds-based inclusive arts studio who support over 100 learning disabled and/or neurodivergent artists, I will support a team of artists to develop methods and lead strands of research into their experiences. I will also work with international collaborators in São Paulo, Brazil, allowing me to further develop methods and gain new skills in a nation renowned for arts-based interventions, radical pedagogy and action research. My work in Brazil will involve setting up a new inclusive arts studio with the São Paulo Museum of Modern Art. In the UK, I will then use inclusive arts methods to enable learning disability communities to undertake SAR to address wicked problems. Findings and best practices will be connected to national debates and formal decision makers to convene the crucial discourse needed to start to enact change, inclusive of learning-disabled people, alongside national and international arts and disabled people's organisations, social care providers, and mentors from action research, disability studies and policy. There are therefore two key contributions from my Fellowship. The first is a methodological innovation. The novelty of my Fellowship comes from the application of inclusive arts practice to SAR, allowing systemic research methods to become accessible to, and led by, learning disability communities. The second is empirical. I contend that that a transformative inquiry into how to enable learning disabled people to thrive can be generated through attentive agenda setting with learning disabled artists. While outcomes will be shaped by participants, benefits will include a deeper understanding of the interrelated problems that shape the lives of learning disabled people, strengthened relationships with state, voluntary, and private care providers, new ways to collaborate at local, national and international scales leading to improved commissioning and service provision. The scale of the award will facilitate my international collaboration in Brazil through an exchange of knowledge and practice. I will gain experience of working internationally in different cultural, governance and socioeconomic settings and build my profile in disability social care and policy. The duration of the award will enable slow scholarship, responsive to the time required to work with the care plans and support needs of learning disabled people. This ensures the rigour required to better value broader epistemological contributions, in line with the kind of leadership that I want to embody. In a world where inequalities are growing, ultimately my Fellowship enables me to ask; can inclusive art enable systems to imagine and be otherwise? To engage in different ways of knowing and being to collaboratively tackle wicked problems now and in the future?