Queen Mary University of London

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-09

Almost 6000 exoplanets have been discovered, providing an unprecedented view of exoplanet demographics. Although existing surveys are biased towards finding planets with large masses and/or radii on short orbits, they show that super-Earths and mini-Neptunes are the most commonly occurring types of exoplanets. The forthcoming PLATO and Nancy Grace Roman missions, due to launch in 2026, combined with Gaia's DR4, promise to dramatically increase the number of known exoplanets, and probe unexplored regions of parameter space. The above discoveries raise fundamental questions about exoplanet origins, and improved models of planet formation are urgently needed to explain existing and forthcoming data. While progress has been made in population synthesis approaches to modelling planet formation, the prescriptions adopted in these rely on much more detailed studies that explicitly simulate the growth and evolution of planets embedded in their protoplanetary discs. This proposal is to undertake such a detailed study. It aims to dramatically improve our understanding of how super-Earths form and evolve in the inner regions of protoplanetary discs, corresponding to the locations where they are most commonly observed. Our understanding of what drives the evolution of protoplanetary discs has changed in recent years. The traditional model, in which turbulent viscosity causes angular momentum transport and heating through turbulent dissipation, has been replaced by one in which large-scale magnetic fields drive laminar accretion flows, and heating is dominated by irradiation from the star. The removal of turbulent viscosity causes the discs to be colder and thinner, with important implications for planet formation. Our recent work examined disc-planet interactions using 2D and 3D radiation-hydrodynamical simulations, and an important result is that even low mass planets containing only a few Earth masses can open deep gaps in inviscid discs and stall their migration. The role of radiation transport is crucial, since the ability of a planet to open a clean gap is regulated by the cooling time of the gas. The observed behaviour is completely different to that obtained in viscous discs, where super-Earths do not open gaps and instead migrate in a predictable fashion. Our recent work does not include the effects of magnetic fields, and here we propose to remedy this. This proposal is to build on our recent work and undertake a study of super-Earths embedded in the inner regions of protoplanetary discs, taking into  account the effects of magnetic fields and non-ideal magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) effects originating because the gas is not fully ionised. We will perform a suite of 3D radiation-MHD simulations that go beyond the current state-of-the-art, and examine both the migration of planets and their ability to grow by the accretion of pebbles. The formation of a gap can block the flow of pebbles towards the planet, and hence quench its growth. We will examine the importance of radiation transport and magnetically-driven accretion flows on the migration and growth of super-Earths. Our work will, for the first time, allow us to determine how super-Earths migrate and grow in the inner regions of modern protoplanetary disc models. It will allow us to determine whether the observed super-Earth population can have formed in situ, or if instead migration played an important role, and it will shed light on the role of pebble accretion in building these planets. The research team's expertise and experience should ensure success of the project.  

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-09

A cornerstone of the 'cosmological standard model' is that the universe undergoes a period of accelerated expansion, called ‘inflation', at very early times. The energy in the field, or fields, driving inflation is then dissipated into radiation and matter in a phase known as 'reheating' after inflation ends. During these epochs, the seeds of structure in the universe are first generated from quantum fluctuations and then imprinted as classical perturbations in the primordial fluid after inflation ends. Simultaneously, gravitational waves are also produced. On 'large scales' -- those within roughly four orders of magnitude of the cosmological horizon today -- density perturbations and gravitational waves produced by inflation are tightly constrained by observations of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) and of large scale structure (LSS). These constraints will continue to improve significantly with current and future experiments, such as the Simons Observatory and Euclid mission. In recent years, however, a new frontier has also opened up: What are the consequences of fluctuations generated by inflation for shorter-scale observations of the universe, and how these can be used to further constrain inflation and understand physics at very high energy scales? Short-scale observations include spectral distortions of the CMB, primordial black holes, and gravitational wave signatures relevant to LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA, LISA, Pulsar Timing Array (PTA) experiments, or more futuristic gravitational wave experiments. These new observational probes and the theory needed to connect them to the primordial physics of inflation are developing apace, and the discovery space in this exciting and topical area is enormous. The early universe group at Queen Mary is already at the forefront of developments in this area, with the expertise needed to make significant contributions. In this proposal, we ask for resources to continue our efforts to explore this new window into the physics of inflation. We will deliver new theoretical insight into the dynamics of inflation, produce novel numerical tools to simulate the physics of inflation and reheating, and produce forecasts for important inflationary models. A particular focus will be on the interconnection between short and large-scale observational signatures. In particular, we propose three interconnected work packages. 1) To make theoretical investigations into the non-linear dynamics of the phases of inflation that lead to short-scale observational signatures, including non-adiabatic evolution in single-field inflation and instabilities in multiple-field scenarios. This will include investigations of the loop effects these phases give rise to, and how these alter observations on large and short scales, addressing recent controversies in this area. 2) To make all-scale forecasts to constrain models of inflation utilising codes we are developing and have previously created that self-consistently model the dynamics of inflation and the fluctuations it produces including loop effects. 3) To derive the conditions needed for the formation of PBHs in slow-reheating scenarios of the early universe and other post-inflationary settings in which scalar fields dominate the dynamics, and hence determine the abundance of PBHs produced in these scenarios. This involves further developing numerical codes for solving the general relativistic dynamics in scalar field dominated cosmology that we are currently developing.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-09

One of the current grand challenges in solar system research is understanding how the variety of plasma processes in space in interact together to shape the environment that we see. One region of particular importance to us is near-Earth space, which is a complex and dynamic environment containing multiple processes at a variety of scales occurring simultaneously. The Earth’s magnetosheath, the plasma region between the bow shock and magnetosphere, is particularly important to understand as it modifies and controls the solar wind before it impacts the Earth’s magnetic field. It is also a prime example of this complex interaction between processes and different scales, from the large scale bow shock geometry (creating quasi-parallel and quasi-perpendicular regions) and magnetosheath structure (where flows are compressed, heated, and diverted around the Earth’s magnetic field) to transient structures such as magnetosheath jets (dynamic pressure pules that fill the magnetosheath to varying extents) and small-scale structures such as magnetic reconnection at current sheets, instabilities that generate plasma waves, and kinetic plasma processes that heat the plasma. The NASA Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission offers a unique and timely opportunity to understand precisely how these processes behave and interact, due the availability of its recent (2023-24) “unbiased magnetosheath” campaigns, which produced a comprehensive high-resolution dataset covering all regions of the magnetosheath that was not previously available. This allows, for the first time, the coupling between large- and small-scale magnetosheath processes to be understood, providing an important advancement in our understanding of near-Earth space. In this project, we will use the unique expertise of the team to employ recently developed techniques that make use of the new high-resolution MMS magnetosheath campaign data to understand how magnetic reconnection contributes to the magnetosheath energy budget, how it heats the plasma particle species differently, how this varies under different large-scale magnetosheath conditions (including during jets), and how it impacts the magnetosheath structure and variability. We will similarly investigate plasma instabilities, to determine how and why they vary under different magnetosheath conditions, how they interact with jets and magnetic reconnection, and how they contribute to magnetosheath heating and structure. Finally, we will use innovative methods to study the kinetic plasma mechanisms that lie at the heart of these processes to understand the full picture of the complex interaction between these multiple processes and scales. This project is highly feasible to carry out, as it involves an experienced team that together cover the range of expertise in studying the magnetosheath, the plasma processes it contains, and the MMS datasets, and it makes use of techniques and datasets which already exist, making the project low risk. The project is important as it addresses many of the major open questions that have been highlighted as being significant by the research community, for example in the STFC Science Challenges and the most recent (2022) STFC Roadmap for Solar System Research.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-03

My research aims to uncover new therapeutic strategies for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), a common inherited disorder that leads to kidney failure and currently has limited treatment options. Building on our recent discovery that the protein ANKHD1 is a key regulator of metabolism in kidney cells, my project will investigate how targeting ANKHD1 can slow or prevent cyst growth in ADPKD. The main objectives are to understand the molecular mechanisms by which ANKHD1 drives disease progression, to test siRNA therapeutic compounds that inhibit the functions of protein, and to validate findings using advanced 3D cell models. By focusing on human-derived, and sophisticated in vitro models, the research avoids the use of animal experimentation and ensures direct relevance to patients. This work is important because ADPKD affects thousands of people in the UK and millions worldwide, yet there are few effective therapies. By revealing how ANKHD1 contributes to cyst formation and growth, and by testing new ways to block its activity, my research could open the door to safer, more effective treatments for patients. The project is supported by world-class facilities at the William Harvey Research Institute and Queen Mary University of London, and benefits from strong interdisciplinary and clinical collaborations. My vision is to deliver high-impact, translational research that advances our understanding of ADPKD and brings us closer to meaningful new therapies.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-02

The original 4-year Fellowship aimed to promote the use of bio-derived resins and polymers in aerospace applications. The Fellow successfully developed bio-derived resin formulations for an air cargo pallet, which can result in weight savings. The bio-derived resin's unique properties were achieved through the synthesis of new bio-hardeners, which slowed the reaction time and maintained high-performance characteristics. Additionally, the Fellow discovered a method to further reduce the pallet's weight using an algorithm based on molecular dynamics. This breakthrough also has potential applications in aerospace potting and fixing compounds. An extension to the Fellowship is proposed to (a) further commercialise a bio-derived air cargo pallet via certification by the Civil Aviation Authority and (b) address fire safety concerns more generally across the aerospace and automotive industries, particularly related to the transport of lithium-ion batteries for the electric vehicle industry. Thermal runaway events in batteries release flammable and toxic fumes, posing significant risks. The challenge is to develop a lightweight, cost-effective material that can contain the energy blast and particulates releases during a thermal runaway event. The Fellow proposes exploring the use of a novel and intrinsically fire-retardant, bio-derived polymer derived from waste agricultural products, in combination with novel arrangements of fibres and particulates. This sustainbable thermoset polymer has poor mechanical properties and toughness, and its curing mechanism is still not fully understood. The proposed extension aims to (a) improve the mechanical performance and durability of this new bio-thermoset, (b) investigate its foaming mechanism, and (c) simultaneously develop test protocols that more accurately reflect extreme battery thermal events and can demonstrate the potential of composite materials to combat the risks associated with batteries. This extension will contribute to advancing sustainable and fire-resistant materials in both the aerospace and automotive industries, providing safer and greener solutions for battery containment and air cargo, while promoting the use of bio-derived polymers.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-02

The urgent need to transition to a fully renewable grid and sustainable reliable energy systems has prompted significant interest in new long duration energy storage solutions. Among these, flow batteries have emerged as a promising candidate due to their design flexibility, safety, and scalability. However, conventional flow battery systems often suffer from efficiency losses and performance degradation, particularly under high demand cycling conditions, limiting their deployment for intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power. In particular, this project will focus in one of the components of flow batteries: the electrodes. Commercially available carbon electrodes, which are produced from fossil fuels, often suffer from low wettability and poor kinetics. My research programme will design and optimise freestanding porous electrodes with tailored surface chemistries and porosities. These will be manufactured using electrospinning and biomass as carbon source. Electrospinning is a manufacturing technique that lead to the formation of a freestanding material consisting of nonwoven fibres. This technique enables a fine control of key properties of the resulting fibre electrodes, including fibre diameter, surface chemistry, density, porosity, conductivity and thickness. The proposed approach integrates novel electrode architectures that will combine freestanding carbon fibres decorated with metal and semiconductor nanoparticles. The addition of nanoparticles promotes ions absorption and accelerate electron transfer. Additionally, I will explore the use of light to promote charge separation and photocatalytic behaviour of the semiconductor nanoparticles. The key objectives of this research proposal are: 1. Development of sustainable freestanding electrodes. I will design and fabricate structured porous electrodes with a variety of structural features via electrospinning using sustainable electrodes. 2. Optimisation of electrode architectures to maximise mass transport. Multiple fibre diameters, thicknesses, fibre alignments and densities will be explored and optimised in terms of maximising flow dynamics, reduced losses and wettability of the electrodes using advanced characterisation techniques that combine structural characterisation and electrochemistry. I will also design knitted electrodes with electrospun yarns combining hydrophobic and hydrophilic fibres to help guide the electrolyte to the active sites. 3. Introduction of metal and semiconductor nanoparticles to promote faster electron kinetics. Faster charge transfer will be achieved by introducing metal and semiconductor nanoparticles that exhibit electrocatalytic activity. Additionally, a new flow battery that allows the irradiation with light will be used to explore the photoactivity of the semiconductor nanoparticles and enhancement of electron kinetics. 4. Performance evaluation and scalability. The electrodes will be tested under various operational conditions, assessing their performance, stability, and scalability for practical energy storage applications using electrolytes based on abundant low-cost chemistries. 5. Engagement with industry and other stakeholders. I will engage with industry collaborators to explore the application of the developed electrodes in commercial systems. This project will provide valuable insights into the use of tailored sustainable electrodes that can be effectively integrated into flow battery systems, paving the way for more resilient, efficient, and environmentally friendly energy storage technologies. Moreover, the project will contribute to advancing knowledge in the fields of materials science, electrochemistry, and renewable energy integration, ultimately supporting the transition towards a more sustainable energy future.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-02

RICH (Rights in Climate and Heritage) Network is a nine-month project (February-September 2026) coordinated by People’s Palace Projects/Queen Mary University of London (PPP/QMUL) and People’s Palace Projects do Brasil (PPPdoBrasil) that gathers organisations across the EU, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Latin America, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa to foster partnerships and strengthen rights-based approaches at the intersection of culture and climate action. The Network establishes an evidence-driven platform that unites diverse actors — policy institutions, academia, and civil society organisations — to generate and exchange knowledge across regions. Under the overall coordination of PPP/QMUL and PPPdoBrasil, it is composed of the following organisations: Redes da Maré (Brazil); Interactive Research & Development – IRD Global (Pakistan); Cultural Platform Zakarpattya (Ukraine); Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo – AECID (Spain/Peru); European Alternatives (France/Belgium); Brussels School of Governance – Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium); QMUL (United Kingdom/Madagascar); and the World Food Programme – WFP (Brazil/UN). This interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral network enhances complementary perspectives and methodologies, strengthening the social, cultural, and ethical foundations of climate justice. Implemented in two phases coordinated by PPP/QMUL, the initiative produces two core outputs — a Strategic Mapping on Cultural Heritage, Rights and Climate Action and a Rights in Climate and Heritage Roadmap — which will articulate concrete pathways for joint partnerships and policy innovation between the partners. The process ensures coherence across regional inputs while generating actionable insights to inform future UKRI and Horizon Europe proposals, including the Resilient Cultural Heritage Partnership. During the first phase of the initiative, the PPP/QMUL team will conduct a series of interviews with partners to deepen the analysis of how the climate crisis directly impacts the exercise of cultural rights and the safeguarding and transmission of cultural heritage — particularly in terms of access to, participation in, and contribution to cultural life. The interviews will also identify rights-based cultural responses that connect artistic and heritage practices to adaptation, mitigation, and resilience strategies. Each organisation, in collaboration with PPP, will select a portfolio of initiatives aligned with three Work Packages: Resilience, Well-being and Public Health; Innovation for Adaptation, Mitigation and Cultural Loss; and Governance, Heritage and Rights for Climate Justice. The second phase refines these synergies through two online consultations. The first focuses on strengthening South–South cooperation by contextualizing findings and identifying locally grounded strategies for implementing rights-based cultural and climate actions. The second brings together partners from higher-income contexts to examine policy integration, transnational collaboration, and research alignment. These discussions will consolidate the Rights in Climate and Heritage Roadmap, outlining concrete axes for advancing the Work Packages and deepening partnerships. RICH Network develops on previous cohort-strengthening projects led by Paul Heritage (Project Lead/PL), including ‘Roots of Resilience’ (AH/W006979/1), which documented and safeguarded threatened cultural heritage in Brazil’s Iron Quadrangle, and ‘Future Directions’ (AH/Y007417/1), an AHRC–DCMS commissioned study in which PPP shaped the design of a future Cultural Heritage and Climate Change Programme. It understands cultural heritage as a living, dynamic force, continually re-created by communities in response to contemporary challenges. Rooted in UNESCO’s 2003 and 2005 Conventions, the RICH Network affirms culture as a transformative force for climate justice. It recognises communities as right-holders shaping the narratives of resilience and sustainability. Through participatory collaboration, the Network connects cultural heritage, artistic practice, and climate governance, generating pathways for research and policy innovation.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Cooling is vital to modern civilisation on a rapidly warming planet, with uses from domestic air conditioning to computing clusters and transport and storage of food and medicine. Unfortunately, the currently dominant technology, vapour-compression refrigeration, is energy-inefficient and environmentally damaging. It relies on fluid refrigerants that are greenhouse gases and often ozone depletors, many of which have now been banned by a series of international treaties beginning with the Montreal Protocol (1987). A replacement is urgently needed. The most promising alternative technology instead uses barocaloric materials, which can be driven between low- and high-entropy phases by applying pressure. These materials can thus be used as refrigerants in a cooling cycle. Because both phases are solid, there is no risk of leakage or environmental contamination, and the refrigerant can easily be recycled. Until recently, such materials were thought to be rather rare. However, work over the past five years – including our own – has demonstrated that barocalorics can be found in a wide range of materials families, including metals, molecular crystals, molecular-ionic salts, and coordination frameworks of different dimensionalities. This discovery is certainly encouraging, but it brings its own challenges: in such a vast and chemically diverse parameter space, how are we to identify the materials with the best barocaloric properties, let alone to design new materials for this purpose? In fact, this problem is at the very forefront of modern crystal engineering. Almost all methods for interpreting scattering data in terms of atomic structure and dynamics rely on perfect crystalline order. Yet the high-entropy phases of barocaloric materials necessarily involve substantial structural disorder. Understanding this behaviour, therefore, will necessarily involve developing new theoretical and computational capacity. Here, we propose not only this, but to go one step further and design new materials with high-entropy states making them industrially applicable barocalorics. Both the structure and dynamics of a material contribute to its entropy. Neutron scattering is the ideal experimental method for understanding these, because it is exquisitely sensitive to both. To extract a maximum of information, these experiments must be supported by detailed atomistic modelling. Our team is expert in both the experimental and computational sides of this work, capable of leading the developments in sample preparation, characterisation, and simulation that will be needed. We will perform elastic, quasielastic and inelastic scattering studies of the most promising materials across a chemically and physically diverse range of families. Then we will use atomistic simulation, taking advantage of machine-learning-based potentials to achieve the length and time scales needed, to interpret our results. Thus in this project, first, we will develop the theoretical apparatus both to simulate the behaviour of barocaloric materials and to interpret experiment. This will be relevant to the study of disordered materials far beyond our own targets. Second, we will achieve an understanding of the atomistic origin of these materials' entropy encompassing all relevant sources – including configurational, rotational, and vibrational – and materials classes. Third and finally, our results will point the way to new materials that rival the properties of vapour-liquid refrigerants.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-01

This is the first long-term project to examine AI’s ‘unintended consequences’: the indirect (but impactful) harm associated with AI deployments. The objective is to develop a more holistic understanding of AI’s overall impacts and harms, thereby facilitating more effective human rights-based decision-making, to inform legal and policy approaches to the development and deployment of AI. The overall project is built around two overarching research strands. First, is an empirical examination into AI’s ‘unintended consequences’, specifically unintended human rights and societal harms. Phase 1 of the FLF focused on understanding the ‘chilling effects’ of AI-linked surveillance (such as facial recognition technology); if, and how, individuals modify their behaviour in light of surveillance, impacting their ability to freely develop their identity and to participate in political processes. Significant empirical work has been undertaken, and Phase 2 will further develop this analysis. The next phase of research aims to get ahead of the curve by anticipating the likely direction of travel with respect to governmental uses of AI in decision-making processes. This centres around the development of a computer model to simulate a future interconnected and interdependent AI decision-making ecosystem (where outputs from AI-assisted decisions, say relating to social welfare, are used to update an individuals’ profile, which then feeds into a range of further AI-assisted decisions – relating to health care, child protection, criminal justice, etc. – with these outputs in turn informing additional future decisions). The concern is that such an ecosystem may exacerbate existing discrimination, and may – over time – contribute to stratification within society. The testing made possible by this model provides a rare opportunity to anticipate and plan for, rather than react to, AI developments. This work will be conducted in partnership with Open Lab Athens, Lighthouse Reports and Amnesty International. The computer model will be made available open source, so that organisations around the world can adapt it to replicate local systems, and to inform advocacy and policy approaches. Second, this knowledge is used to rethink existing approaches to international human rights law, to adapt to the AI era. This adaptation is key to the development of appropriate legal and policy responses, and is explicitly interdisciplinary. A key focus is on better incorporating surveillance-related chilling effects, and protections for the free development of individuals’ identity (including the concept of ‘identity as a whole’), into decision-making processes. This up-to-date approach to human rights law is centred around evidence-based assessments of potential utility and potential harm. Lighthouse Reports and Amnesty International (independently/in collaboration) will collaborate on investigations into existing AI systems, and the ‘AI ecosystem’ model, and develop linked reporting and advocacy. The open source and modifiable nature of the computer model will facilitate impact, as it can be used by civil society and other actors to conduct their own research, investigations, and advocacy. This pursues a specific social justice objective, by making cutting-edge technology accessible. The continued deployment of biometric surveillance technologies (such as facial recognition) and ever-increasing digital surveillance, ensures that the project’s chilling effects research remains strategically relevant. Work to secure impact in this area will continue with project partner, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Assembly. This project is delivering ground-breaking interdisciplinary research while also contributing to the development of national policy and international standards adopted by the United Nations.          

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-01

‘When you go into a butcher's shop and see how beautiful meat can be and then you think about it, you can think of the whole horror of life’. Francis Bacon Scholarship on meat in the humanities and social sciences has burgeoned in recent years (Gewertz & Errington 2010; Specht 2019). However, whilst much attention has been paid to the slaughterhouse (Blanchette 2020; Pachirat 2011), the butcher’s shop has evaded investigation. This project fills this research gap. While meat may be a ‘quintessentially global object’ (Chatterjee & Subramaniam 2021), winding through unequal transnational geographies of empire, in this project we contend that it has simultaneously been a quintessentially local object, defining the spaces, daily routines and practices of high street localism. We take a novel and ambitious approach to studying local meat, delving into textual, audio-visual and oral history archives to reconstruct the history, geography and politics of the high street butcher's from the late 19th century to the rise of the supermarket in the 1990s. We will generate new ways of thinking about meat historically and geographically, reconceptualising the meat supply chain from a different social and spatial position and providing a springboard for new research agendas. We approach the butcher's shop as an overlooked space of articulation in the meat supply chain: a place where meat meets the consumer, and where global supply chains meet local spaces of retail and consumption. However, we propose that the butcher’s shop is much more than this. We understand it as a ‘contact zone’ (Pratt 2012) where gender is produced in the meeting between the ‘masculine’ butcher and the feminised ‘housewife’ consumer, where class is negotiated and remade in acts of butchering labour and consumption, where race is materialized in the killing, selling and buying of imperial, halal and kosher meat, and where ecologies are incorporated into domestic space and social reproduction through modes of consumption. Focussing on the intimate geographies of this contact zone, our analysis will be organised around four architectural features that mark the butcher’s as a distinct kind of place: the block, the counter, the window and the cold room. We will trace these forms and their shifting meanings across the twentieth century by reading across public, administrative and cultural archives to reconstruct the social world of the butcher’s. This period encompasses dramatic changes in the material geographies of meat, as British meat becomes a global product, and as purchasing power ebbs and flows with historical transformations and crises in food supply (Otter, 2020). Looking at these transformations from the perspective of the butcher's offers a lens for re-thinking meat in the colonial and post-colonial metropole. We will write two peer-reviewed journal articles and organise an academic workshop. We will also undertake public outreach through collaboration with the London Museum on an open access ‘meat map’ of London. This visual and cartographical tool will open the social, historical, urban and cultural geography of meat to wider audiences. References Blanchette,A. Porkopolis: American animality, standardized life, and the factory farm. Duke,2020. Chatterjee,S & Subramaniam,B(eds). Meat!: a transnational analysis. Duke,2021. Gewertz,D & Errington,E. Cheap meat: flap food nations in the Pacific Islands. UCPress,2010. Pachirat,T. Every twelve seconds: Industrialized slaughter and the politics of sight. Yale,2011. Pratt,ML.'Arts of the contact zone.' Negotiating academic literacies. Routledge,2012. pp.171-185. Specht,J. Red meat republic. Princeton,2019.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-01

Einstein's theory of General Relativity is the best theory of gravitation we have. It is a geometric theory describing gravity as a manifestation of the curvature of spacetime. One of the central predictions of General Relativity is that of black holes —that is, regions of spacetime with a gravitational field of such magnitude that even light cannot escape. The existence of black holes has been established in recent years by a number of observations and a theorem suggesting that black holes are the unavoidable consequence of gravitational collapse has earned its author, Sir Roger Penrose, the Nobel Prize in Physics. This great achievement is statement of the value and relevance of rigorous mathematical analysis in the understanding of the consequences physical theories. From a mathematical point of view, black holes are the simplest macroscopic objects one can envisage —the only ingredients required for their rigorous definition are our notions of space and time. One of the main realisations of the mathematical theory of black holes is that they satisfy a number of geometric inequalities —that is inequalities relating geometric properties of the black hole and physical observables. Geometric inequalities provide invaluable qualitative information about the generic behaviour of black holes. Usually, geometric inequalities have first come into existence through heuristic arguments, and in many cases rigorous proofs of their validity, or suitable counterexamples, do not exist. One of the most influential examples of geometric inequalities for which a general proof is still lacking is the so-called Penrose inequalities. This relation states that the area of a black hole provides a very specific (and in some circumstances, optimal) lower bound for its mass. The heuristics behind the Penrose inequality are closely tied to one of the most important open problems in General Relativity: the Cosmic Censorship Conjecture —namely, the expectation that singularities in a spacetime are hidden from far away observers. This project is a first step in a project aimed at the rigorous construction of geometric inequalities and the proofs thereof  by means of spinors. Spinors are mathematical entities first arising in the description of quantum system. Remarkably, the mathematical theory of spinors has a rich geometric structure which has proven invaluable for the understanding of the physical and mathematical consequences of General Relativity. A celebrated proof of the most basic and fundamental geometric inequality, the statement that the mass of a black hole is positive makes use of spinors in an essential way. This milestone of the mathematical theory of black holes suggests that spinorial arguments may also provide the key to unlock the proofs of other geometric inequalities. This vision has been obstructed by limitations on the amount of information about a spinor that can be encoded in the surface bounding a black hole. In this project we explore an alternative way of encoding spinorial information on the boundary of a black hole which, it is argued, could lead to the proof of a number of conjectured geometric inequalities and to the rigorous construction of new ones —thus providing a deeper insight on the general properties of black holes as a subject of mathematical study.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-01

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. The objects of study are spin systems. A spin system consists of some underlying network together with some temperature-type parameter that determines how strongly neighbouring nodes interact with each other. One then randomly assigns so-called spins to the nodes in such a way that spins of neighbouring nodes are correlated (e.g. in the ferromagnetic Ising model, nodes tend to prefer the more frequent spins amongst their neighbours). These spin systems exhibit remarkably rich behaviours; they originate in statistical physics, where they model gases, magnetism and other physical phenomena, but they have also found other applications e.g. in modelling voting behaviour. The partition function of a spin system is a complex function (in fact a polynomial) that captures a lot of important information about the system and about the underlying network. One of the major goals in theoretical computer science over the last 40 years has been to establish fast algorithms for approximating the partition function of spin systems: the project tackles several important unresolved questions here. The existence of such fast algorithms has recently been connected with the location of the zeros of partition functions, which in turn has been a topic of intense study in mathematics and statistical physics since the 1950s, and several challenges in this area are also addressed by the project. Another important goal of the proposal is to deepen our understanding of how strong spatial mixing for a spin system, that is the extent to which the spin of a node influences the spin at a distant nodes, affects the location of the zeros of its partition function. This proposal aligns most closely with the two EPSRC themes information and communication technology and mathematical sciences. The proposed research aims at establishing breakthrough results both in theoretical computer science and mathematics, and further aims to forge new connections with statistical physics to give a more unified understanding of problems in all three fields. Some of the specific highlights of the project are to attack the intensely studied problem of finding a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme for counting the number of proper colourings for graphs, 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. A powerful tool that we shall develop is to formulate and establish a general equivalence between strong spatial mixing of a spin system and the absence of zeros of the corresponding partition function.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-01

This is a 12-month research project in mathematical optimisation and applied probability. It provides additional research time to take advantage of recent advances of the Project Lead and develop prophet inequalities for mixtures of distributions. Prophet inequalities are a central object in the theory of optimal stopping, which studies decision-making under uncertainty regarding future opportunities. Optimal stopping is governed by elegant mathematics and has applications in statistics, economics, and business, for example to hypothesis testing, options trading, and inventory management. The two most fundamental problems in optimal stopping are the secretary problem and the prophet problem. In both problems a decision-maker observes a sequence of values and must select one of the values without knowledge of future values and without recourse. In the secretary problem values are arbitrary and arrive in a random order, and the goal is to maximise the probability of selecting the largest one. A well-known optimal strategy, known colloquially as the 37% rule, observes an initial 1/e˜0.368 fraction of the values and then selects the first value thereafter that exceeds all previous values. This guarantees the largest value to be selected with probability at least 1/e. In the prophet problem values are random variables and the goal is to maximise the expectation of the selected value. A prophet inequality is an inequality that establishes, for some a between 0 and 1, that the expectation of the selected value is at least a times the expectation of the maximum value in the sequence. Additional assumptions on the distribution of the random variables lead to different variants of the prophet problem. For the most restrictive variant, where values are independent and identically distributed (iid), an optimal strategy is known. The strategy is more complicated than that for the secretary problem and achieves a˜0.745. This project will study a variant of the prophet problem where values are drawn from a mixture, i.e., where they are iid from a distribution which is itself drawn from a distribution over distributions. It builds directly on recent work of the Project Lead which solved variants of the prophet problem where the distribution is unknown or where the values form an exchangeable sequence. The prophet problem for mixtures lies between the secretary problem and the iid prophet problem in the sense that the optimum value of a lies between 1/e and 0.745. The motivation for studying it is threefold. First, it models a property found in applications, where a decision-maker is faced with one of a number of possible scenarios and both the likelihood and structure of individual scenarios are well understood. Second, it provides a natural framework for studying an aspect of optimal stopping that is profoundly underexplored, namely the role of correlation. Third, it reveals a number of weaknesses of both our current understanding of prophet problems and known techniques for their analysis.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2026 · 2026-01

The fundamental scientific mission of the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) Particle Physics Research Centre (PPRC) is to understand the Higgs boson by measuring its interactions, to search for new particles and physical phenomena both directly and indirectly,and to address the matter-antimatter asymmetry of the universe by discovering CP violation in the neutrino sector. To achieve this and key global particle physics priorities, our strategy focuses on: fundamental scientific discoveries at the energy and intensity frontiers; technology development that (a) underpins future fundamental research, and (b) generates economic impact through knowledge exchange with UK industrial partners; sustainability, particularly leadership in sustainable computing (social impact); training the next generation of scientists and technologically skilled citizens (social impact). The group size is based on the need to maintain a range of expertise within each of our core scientific areas, including work on detector development, simulation, and construction contained within our Detector Development Group (DDG). We make major contributions to ATLAS at CERN LHC and a range of neutrino experiments. PPRC group members hold a range of leadership roles, nationally and internationally. In 2021-3, we organised 11 international conferences and 3 workshops. Including all grants active or awarded in 2021-3, we have leveraged our baseline Consolidated Grant funding into a total of £11.4M from sources beyond the Particle Physics Grants Panel (PPGP). These  successes demonstrate that our work in achieving world-leading scientific results and STFC objectives is widely recognised. Highlights in our implementation of group strategy for 2021-3 were: growing our neutrino group to 4 academics, with an enhanced international leadership profile focusing ATLAS analysis on timely priorities and to allow key staff to focus on leadership roles major results in neutrino physics, ATLAS, detector development and machine learning. Key initiatives in our group strategy for 2025-9 are: increasing PDRA physics exploitation in line with group size and reduced core staff; refocusing our core expertise as the ATLAS upgrade comes to a close, with a reduced team that supports objectives across the group; and widening the impact and research applications of the DDG, both in particle physics experiments and industrial partnerships.                                                                        

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-12

Reproductive health is crucial for fertility, and important for overall well-being. While reproductive capacity begins at puberty, reproductive development  starts much earlier, shortly after birth, during a preparatory phase called minipuberty. This period is important for future fertility in males, and brain development in both sexes. The same chemical messengers, or hormones, control minipuberty, puberty, and reproduction. These hormones, namely LH (luteinizing hormone) and FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) are produced by the pituitary, a crucial gland located underneath the brain. LH and FSH regulate both minipuberty, puberty and reproduction itself by acting on the reproductive glands, or gonads—testes in males and ovaries in females. They stimulate the gonads to produce steroid hormones, mainly oestrogen in females and testosterone in males. Steroid hormones are essential for the production of eggs and sperm, as well as sexual development, bone strength and physical and psychological health. In the pituitary, LH and FSH are produced by specialised cells called gonadotrophs. They first appear in the embryonic pituitary, before birth. However, I have discovered that in the mouse a second population of gonadotrophs appears after birth, during minipuberty. These come from pituitary stem cells, naïve cells able to become any specialised pituitary cell, that I have previously characterised. These postnatal gonadotrophs will go on to form the majority of adult gonadotrophs. In the light of my results, studies performed in primates suggest this may also happen in this species, implying the significance of my finding in humans. This discovery is important for our understanding of the reproductive function because it shows for the first time that all gonadotrophs do not have the same origin, which suggests in turn that prenatal and postnatal gonadotrophs  have unique roles or characteristics. It is also likely that these findings have an impact on diagnosis and treatment of a range of diseases affecting  puberty. The way pubertal abnormalities develop is mostly unknown, and specific treatments are lacking. My project aims to characterise these two populations of gonadotrophs, in health and disease. The role of the postnatal population is likely to be important because it represents such a large proportion of adult gonadotrophs. However the smaller group of gonadotrophs already present at birth persists, and we simply do not know which role each population plays. Therefore, I aim to characterise the role of each gonadotroph population. Furthermore, I wish to examine if and how the two gonadotroph populations are affected in an animal model of absent puberty, to better understand how this disease develops, and potentially suggest adapted therapeutic approaches. Finally, I plan to identify the signals that prompt pituitary stem cells to generate gonadotrophs exclusively during minipuberty, to better understand how this period is initiated. In addition, identifying these signals could be useful to create gonadotrophs in the lab; these “gonadotrophs in a dish” would help studying diseases, drug development and regenerative medicine. In conclusion, my proposal will give new insights into reproductive function, in health and disease. Since most gonadotrophs appear shortly after birth, my findings may guide early diagnoses and treatments, before diseases manifest at puberty. Furthermore, my project will potentially help characterising the action of endocrine disrupting chemicals. These environmental polluants are known to affect reproductive function, particularly during minipuberty; the emerging population of gonadotrophs at this stage may explain this sensitivity.      

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-12

Recent research found that by the end of primary school, two thirds of children who start school with limited English do not reach the literacy levels needed to fully access the curriculum (Strand & Lindorff, 2020). The needs of this group are not captured by the broad characterisation of 'English as an Additional language' since progress on school attainments varies substantially for different heritage language groups (Hutchinson, 2018). There is a growing recognition that we need to provide early tailored support for new to English (NE) children, yet we lack a fine-grained understanding of their language development patterns - partly due to the limited research on children from linguistically diverse communities (Kidd & Garcia, 2022). The overarching aim of this project is to understand how unique linguistic factors interact to predict early language and literacy development in NE children. I will take a language-specific approach to understand how structural differences between NE children's heritage language (L1) and English (L2) impact on foundational language skills, namely phonology and early reading development. To ensure a representative and culturally appropriate approach, I will work with community researchers and collaborate with key stakeholders from the target communities. Drawing on methods that transcend disciplines: sociolinguistics, multilingualism, psychology and education, the aims of this project will be achieved through two strands: Strand 1 is a longitudinal study of L1 and L2 phonological acquisition and early reading in 4-6-year-old Somali and Sylheti speaking NE children. Building on my previous research, I will create a detailed comparison of their L1 and L2 phonological structure (e.g., which sounds exists, how they combine in words). This will feed into a language-specific assessment battery that captures how the children's L1 and L2 phonological development is influenced by structural differences between their L1 and L2, and how these skills impact on the foundational stages of reading. This provides the crucial groundwork for identifying the language-specific needs of NE children. Strand 2 is the co-development of tailored resources for NE children. Based on the findings from Strand 1, I will collaborate with educational partners and key stakeholders (families, primary school leads, local authority) to ensure we understand the current early education support for NE children. I will take a community-based participatory approach to co-create tailored resources and specialist teacher training to support NE children in Early Years classrooms. Once established, this support programme will be sufficiently flexible such that it can be readily adapted to new languages (i.e., kept up to date as migration patterns change). This approach captures the need for highly targeted and language-specific support within a flexible framework that can be adapted to multiple heritage languages. This project will redefine our approach to child language development, to ensure an inclusive representation of heritage language communities in child language research. We know that early literacy development lays the foundation for later literacy abilities, as well as academic and societal success. To ensure equitable education, however, we first need to understand the advantages and needs that children from diverse multilingual backgrounds bring to school. The outcomes of this project will advance theories of multilingual early child language and literacy development, and create a much-needed framework for supporting NE children in the earliest stages of their educational journey.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-11

Engineers use computer tools to design complex structural components, be they airplane wings or high-rise buildings. The most common technique underneath such computer tools is finite element analysis (FEA). For not-so-demanding structural applications, simple linear elastic finite element models are sufficient to conduct the design process. However, when it comes to advanced structural applications such as gas turbine blades or nuclear reactor components, they experience severe loading conditions, which are high temperatures and/or high-pressure dynamic loads (impact). For such high-temperature applications, advanced structural ceramics and their composites are the natural choices of materials. Designing these structures made of ceramics against impact is non-trivial as it involves complex damage evolution mechanisms. Hence, engineers conduct a variety of experiments and large-scale computational (FEA) simulations to understand their behaviour. However, these experiments and simulations are time-consuming and costly. Most often, they have to conduct simple linear elastic FEA models which are far less time-consuming but do not account for complex damage mechanisms. Such a limitation naturally results in a sub-optimal design of these advanced structural components. One of the ways to overcome this challenge is to exploit the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to see if finite element computer simulations can be accelerated and yet reliably predict complex damage mechanisms. The proposed research addresses this industry-relevant problem and aims to develop an AI-driven accelerated FEA tool to simulate dynamic brittle fracture evolution in advanced structural ceramics. When we use AI models for such physical problems, the inherent problem is their reliability as they are often termed as 'black box modes' leading to uncertainties in their predictions. In this perspective, the proposed project takes a hybrid approach whereby data-driven deep learning models are adaptively combined with physics-based traditional FEA models in an integrated framework, thoroughly validated using experimental testing. Such a hybrid strategy aids in achieving accelerated, yet reliable simulations for complex physical problems such as the dynamic damage evolution in structures made of brittle ceramic materials. More specifically, engineers or end-users can specify the level of the desired accuracy depending on the design stage of the structural component. The adaptive simulation framework will then appropriately hybridise deep learning-based predictor and traditional FEA, resulting in an optimal damage prediction balancing the computational costs and accuracy. The global objective is to equip engineers with the necessary simulation tools whereby both accuracy and speed are ensured. This helps in transitioning the current industrial approach of using simplistic models into adopting AI-driven models that captures complex physical mechanisms, ultimately leading to the efficient and safe design of advanced structural components.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-11

This interdisciplinary project shifts the debates on ecological and mental health crises while decolonising knowledge production. It systematically engages an ancient yet living non-western thought, Daoism, with cinema, and brings a Daoist perspective of cinema to reshape our understanding of ecology and wellbeing. Constructing a Daoist conceptual framework, it seeks to expand how we experience cinema and perceive our place in the world through film. The project reveals that Daoism can activate cinema’s meditative power, highlighting its healing and restorative capacity in turbulent times. This project responds to the criticism of modernist Anthropocentrism, and to the critique of western-centric post-humanism that tends to homogenise differences among various species and entities. Instead, it aligns itself with wisdoms in many ancient non-western relational worldviews that long predate post-humanism. Such perspectives are rare in film studies, where most of our formal understanding of cinema and key debates are drawn from western philosophical, artistic and cultural traditions. The project thus offers a corrective by arguing for the conceptual power of non-western philosophies for an understanding of cinema. An essential part of traditional Chinese thought, Daoism, with its correlative and transformative cosmology and emphasis on nature-human oneness, has a long-lasting impact on Chinese cosmology, ecological sensitivity, wellbeing and traditional art. It has also influenced aesthetic formations globally in a transcultural context. This project: develops a new Daoist theoretical framework to explore cinema. Contributing to decolonising and de-westernising knowledge production, it excavates a hidden trajectory of cinema through the lineage of East Asian art history, putting cinema in the wider context of transcultural influences. proposes a new model to engage with cinema, through qi (breath, vital energy), challenging Euro-American film theorisations that follow ‘the model of the eye’ or ‘the model of the brain’. proposes ‘meditative cinema’ as a new category, analysing 30 global films of varying themes, genres and forms from the past decade, set against a backdrop of crisis. It examines how these films evoke a somatic experience of breathing, how their aesthetic features induce meditation, and how they resonate with traditional East Asian art forms. establishes a Research Hub for Cinema and Eastern Philosophies to facilitate cross-disciplinary dialogues and discussions. enhances the connection between theory and practice through practice-based research in filmmaking and curation, engaging broader audiences, the art world, and the exhibition industry. generates impact by building links with the wellbeing industry and creating a new form of ‘Film Meditation’ workshops.   Collaborating with two industrial partners and two international academic partners, this project will result in a single-authored monograph, to be completed by January 2027; a film to be completed by December 2027, to be shown at festivals and exhibitions; a project website featuring a list of ‘meditative films’ with links for individual viewing, and a comprehensive list of bibliographies on Daoism and Daoist interdisciplinary studies for future research; Two annual workshops and screenings organised by the Research Hub; a pilot of four ‘Film Meditation’ workshops at wellbeing retreats and office buildings; a moving image exhibition and an associated international conference in London; culminating in an edited collection to be completed after the project concludes; and one work placement opportunity at a partner organisation for a recent graduate to help organise the events.    

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-11

Context Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes that play a huge role in the global ecosystem and show outstanding potential for exploitation as solar-powered microbial cell factories. Their photosynthetic physiology is enabled by an unusually complex prokaryotic cell architecture, with sub-cellular compartments that include carboxysomes for CO2 fixation, and the thylakoid membranes, which are the site of the photosynthetic light reactions. The thylakoid membranes form an extensive set of flattened membrane sacs that reside in the cytoplasm and do not appear contiguous with the plasma membrane.  Maintenance of the complex cell organisation of cyanobacteria demands a precise protein sorting machinery, which remains poorly understood. In a current BBSRC-funded project (BB/W001012/1 “Membrane protein targeting and assembly in cyanobacteria”: 2022-2025), we have been following the sorting and translation of cyanobacterial proteins. We have done this primarily by looking at the locations and interactions of mRNA molecules, but also by tracking the locations of newly-assembled proteins and the ribosomes that translate them. Our results suggest that the sub-cellular sorting of some key proteins is determined by the structural features of mRNA molecules. In the case of thylakoid membrane proteins, we have identified a small family of RNA binding proteins that bind some thylakoid mRNAs and help to locate them at a specific thylakoid membrane surface, where they encounter a dedicated pool of thylakoid-associated ribosomes. This ensures that thylakoid membrane proteins are inserted into the correct membrane. Recognition of some thylakoid mRNAs appears to be mediated by a stem-loop structure at the 3’ end of the coding sequence. We can see that mRNAs encoding plasma membrane proteins are directed to the plasma membrane for translation. We have less information about the factors controlling this process, but it is clear that plasma membrane mRNAs have to bypass multiple thylakoid membrane layers on their way to the plasma membrane. Therefore, we can infer a requirement for mRNA chaperones to prevent premature translation and degradation of plasma membrane mRNAs during their journey from the nucleoid to the plasma membrane. Challenge Taking our understanding of protein targeting and the maintenance of cell organisation in cyanobacteria to the next level requires identification of the specific features of mRNA molecules that target them to different destinations in the cell. We can do this by combining the methods that we and our collaborators have developed for probing the locations and interactions of cyanobacterial mRNAs and proteins with a systematic approach to manipulating the sequences of test mRNA species. On the principle that “what I cannot create I do not understand” we can apply what we learn about the rules for mRNA targeting to locate a synthetic membrane protein in the plasma membrane or the thylakoid membrane. Objectives Identify the features of mRNA molecules that target them to different cell structures (thylakoid membrane, plasma membrane and carboxysomes), by fusing different regions of mRNAs to a test mRNA species. Test candidate mRNA chaperones that may be involved in locating plasma membrane mRNAs at the plasma membrane. Apply the rules for mRNA targeting to locate a synthetic fluorescent membrane protein in either the thylakoid membrane or the plasma membrane, as a proof-of-concept for precision engineering of the cell. Potential applications Targeting heterologous proteins to specific cell locations will enable more precise modification of cyanobacterial cells for solar-powered generation and export of products.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-10

Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) and Disruptive Behaviour Disorders (DBD) represent significant health concerns, affecting approximately 15% and 8% of children and adolescents, respectively, across the world. NDD (e.g., autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disorders) are characterized by challenges in cognition, communication, adaptive behaviour, and psychomotor skills, while DBD (e.g., conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder) are typified by underlying features of impulsivity, aggressiveness, and pathological rule breaking. Starting from childhood, NDD and DBD are associated with educational challenges, leading to important life-course cascading effects on health and socioeconomic outcomes. Despite sharing several common features, such as their developmental onset, their partly overlapping cognitive and affective profiles, and clinical observations of their co-occurrence, the overlap between NDD and DBD is critically under-researched. Previous studies, including ours, have shown that both NDD and DBD are partly heritable and that a high proportion of genetic and environmental risk is shared across them. Yet, there is a major gap in our understanding of their co-occurrence, which has not been investigated across most disorders identified by diagnostic manuals. This project seeks to bridge this gap in our knowledge by investigating the combined impact of NDD and DBD on education, considering both genetic and environmental risk and their interplay. We aim to pinpoint protective environments that can narrow the educational gap between children with different neurodivergent and behavioural profiles, a gap that is likely amplified when multiple disorders co-occur. The project, leveraging data from six longitudinal cohorts across the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United States, has three primary aims which have emerged as research priorities from focus groups with educators and clinicians working with youth with NDD and DBD.  First, we will map the co-occurrence of all NDD and DBD in youth and their shared aetiological risk. Second, we will assess the joint effects of NDD and DBD risk on educational outcomes, unravelling the underlying genetic and environmental pathways as well as causal links. Third, we will investigate how children and adolescents with a higher genetic risk experience and select differential environments (home, school, peer groups) that relate to educational outcomes (gene-environment correlation), therefore identifying protective factors that foster learning. These three objectives will be refined throughout the project in co-production with young people with lived experiences of NDD and DBD, parents, clinicians, and educators. The outcomes of this research will transform our understanding of NDD and DBD and their impact on education offering new perspectives on screening and intervention by addressing both the general (transdiagnostic symptoms and risk) and specific (unique symptoms and risks) features of these conditions. A first key innovation is our consideration of NDD and DBD as quantitative dimensions that overlap to different degrees, moving beyond a monolithic conceptualization of developmental conditions as separate entities, to embrace a transdiagnostic and dimensional approach. A second key innovation is our focus on all neurodevelopmental and behavioural conditions identified by diagnostic manuals, rebalancing research efforts towards less investigated conditions and resulting in new important discoveries. A third key innovation is our recognition of the role of genetic factors alongside environmental influences. By providing new knowledge on how genetic and environmental risk combine developmentally, we will identify causal environmental pathways and consequently provide a platform for successful interventions aimed at enhancing educational and developmental trajectories for youth with a wide range of behavioural and neurodiverse profiles.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-09

This project examines the scientific archive and legacy of one of Ireland’s most pioneering yet under-researched botanists, John Templeton. The Ulster Museum holds a nationally important collection of manuscripts, journals, drawings, correspondence, and specimens belonging to Templeton, including his unpublished five-volume manuscript known as the Hibernian Flora. No in-depth study of these manuscripts has ever been undertaken, and it will be the focal point of this research. The project comprises a multidisciplinary combination of digital and historiographical methods. Templeton’s Hibernian Flora will be digitised as both a research resource and the core data for an online edition. The text and illustrations will then be critically interrogated to mark-up important botanical and historical data, linked via a custom metadata schema to other archival material, enabling a reconstruction of his discoveries, collecting activities and networks. This will generate chronological, spatial, and contextual analysis, not only highlighting Templeton’s botanical contributions but also situating them within the political and cultural contexts of Protestant ascendancy, Irish rebellion, and the Acts of Union. Templeton’s Hibernian Flora was no isolated endeavour. His pioneering study of Irish plant biodiversity was achieved during a time in which ‘national’ Floras became an established botanical genre. The Hibernian Flora presents an opportunity to investigate inter-related questions around the formation of Irish national identity and advances in ‘scientific’ botany. The project will deepen our understanding of the Templeton collection held by the Ulster Museum, enabling enhanced curation, interpretation, and communication of this important collection for a range of publics.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-09

The Problem   An important part of remaining healthy when we get older, is remaining mobile or walking. Arthritis is the ‘wear and tear’ of our joints that happens as we age. Unfortunately, as we get older, arthritis can cause pain and stop our ability to walk and enjoy life. People with arthritis are then at a high risk of getting other long-term problems. An example of this is getting a mental health problem, like depression, because people live with pain for a long time. A knee replacement is a common surgery to help people with bad arthritis in their knees. However, 1 in 5 people have a bad results after their operation. The bad results might be for a variety of reasons. These include being unhappy with their new knee, still having pain after surgery, or they might suffer from a complication (where surgery goes wrong). We know people with mental health problems are more likely to have a bad result when compared to people without mental health problems. We don’t know which people with mental health problems are at the highest risk. This is because we haven’t studied their mental health closely enough. Before surgery, healthcare workers help treat physical problems, like high blood pressure. However, we don’t currently check or treat people’s mental health before their surgery. This might be why some people don’t recover as well as they should.   What we want to do   Our goal is to figure out which people with mental health problems, having knee replacements, are at highest risk of a bad result. The bad results we are interested in is patient happiness, pain and surgery complications. We believe that by looking at their mental health more carefully, using information collected by GP’s and community services, we can find these people and improve their experience. We are interested in 4 topics that have not been researched in detail: Does the specific mental health diagnosis matter? (e.g. - is anxiety or depression worse?) Does the severity of the MH problem matter? (e.g. – is severe depression worse than mild depression?) Does the timing of the mental health diagnosis matter? (e.g. – is a new diagnosis worse than a long-term issue?) What mental health treatments have been used before in surgery research? Do patients and healthcare workers think they are helpful and acceptable?   How will we do the research?   We will use healthcare data that is already collected in the UK from GP records, hospital data, and arthritis databases. The data will stay anonymous, so no one’s identity will be revealed. We will use computer models to help identify what makes a person more likely to have bad results after their surgery. We will then study previous research, to work out which Mental health treatments work best. We will then discuss the treatments with patients and healthcare workers to see if they are helpful and acceptable.   How this will help   This project will help identify people with mental health problems who are at the highest risk of not doing well after a knee replacement. Once we know who they are, we can work on treatments to help them recover better and feel happier after their surgery. This will help us to keep about 25,000 patients every year mobile, and healthy as they get older.    

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-09

Mirror symmetry is a modern research discipline that aims to mathematically prove a duality from string theory establishes new theorems in geometry. In particular, mirror symmetry links two areas of geometry by predicting that the symplectic geometry of a given space M is encoded in the algebraic geometry of a so-called mirror space M*. It has inspired deep theorems in mathematics and solved centuries-old problems in enumerative geometry. Moreover, it provided a pathway towards establishing new foundations which encode the study of geometric disciplines like symplectic topology and algebraic geometry using the language of homological algebra, following the ideas of Fields Medallist Kontsevich. Mirror symmetry transcends mathematical disciplines, having used techniques from geometry, algebra, combinatorics, integrable systems, number theory and mathematical physics. Given a symplectic space M, the first question we have to answer is how to construct a conjectural mirror space M*. Afterwards, one aims to prove that the mirror phenomenon occurs, i.e., the study of symplectic geometry of M are encoded by the algebro-geometric study of M*. Historically these two questions are handled separately, but the modern approach to constructing mirrors aims to build the mirror directly from geometric data of M, handling both steps in realising mirror symmetry simultaneously. Broadly speaking, this fellowship develops foundations towards building the mirror intrinsically in the case where M is a Landau-Ginzburg model. Roughly, a Landau-Ginzburg (LG) model is a function encapsulating geometry in its singularity theory. In the last decade, they have become crucial to the understanding of mirror symmetry as they can be found naturally by deforming certain spaces in symplectic geometry and algebraic geometry. However, they are interesting in their own right in the field of non-commutative algebraic geometry. In the first part of the fellowship, the open (and closed) enumerative geometry of Landau-Ginzburg models have been explored. Jointly with Ran Tessler and Mark Gross, we established a new approach to construct mirrors for (certain) Landau-Ginzburg models. This is done by building / generalising an open enumerative theory for Landau-Ginzburg models and writing a mirror LG model using the open enumerative invariants computed. The primary outputs of the first part of the fellowship included: developing an open enumerative theory in dimension two for Fermat polynomials, proving the first open mirror symmetry theorem for LG models, establishing the first wall-crossing structures for enumerative geometries for LG models, proving a new type of open topological recursion relation, and establishing a formula for primary genus-zero r-spin invariants. This renewal continues this investigation, breaking past dimension two. This involves new rich mathematical structures and develops closer tether to the approach to mirror symmetry via homological algebra by Kontsevich mentioned above.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-09

I am an environmental human geographer researching groundwater governance in India to identify pathways for just transformations in the era of climate change. This project examines a fundamental tension in Maharashtra, where drought and excess water appear side by side. What seems surprising, however, reflects critical issues regarding how surface and groundwater are known and how the politics of local, technical and scientific knowledge affect policy decisions. In my PhD, I explored the politics and processes of groundwater knowledge production, application, and circulation in Maharashtra, India. I encountered the idea of ‘wet droughts’ as I engaged with groundwater dependent farming communities, groundwater officials, civil society agencies, practitioners, scientists and consultants to trace which knowledges and practices inform governance. What I found was that drought sat side-by-side with concerns over ‘excess’ water, and that the interaction of groundwater and surface water was key to understanding climate impacts. Building on this, the fellowship consolidates these findings and develops a new research agenda for rethinking the place of groundwater in adaptation to climate change. Through three publications in leading geographical and interdisciplinary journals, I will advance critical debates on human-groundwater relations and governance. All articles emerge from my PhD work and have been presented in various conferences, seminars and workshop wherein comments and discussions have enhanced them. At QMUL, I will deliver seminar in 'Nature and Society' research theme to initiate discussions with fellow researchers working at nexus of water and society. I will organise panels in leading academic conferences of geographical and interdisciplinary nature, convening scholarship at the fore of groundwater governance and the knowledge politics of subterranean and climate adaptation policies. Collectively, these activities will facilitate me to advance my career as an environmental human geographer, focusing particularly on being a research leader in the socio-politics of groundwater governance and climate change. Drawing on my own experiences as practitioner and subsequent PhD, I aim to engage and influence research and practice of groundwater governance. I place significant value on how everyday practices and programmes implemented by state and non-state agencies in India matter to issues of ethics and justice. I will extend the impacts of my research beyond academia by engaging in dissemination and dialogue with practitioners, civil society organisations, and state agencies. Building on my PhD, I will focus on three key activities of knowledge exchange to inform groundwater policy and practice. I will convene a state level workshop on groundwater governance focused on two key areas: (1) reimagining landscapes in the era of climate-induced rainfall variability, and; (2) identifying pathways for participatory groundwater governance programmes that recognise multiple ways of knowing groundwater. The district (administrative unit) wherein my PhD was focused is representative of the regional groundwater challenges and a bellwether for emerging challenges internationally. Through creative dissemination activities, this project will open avenues for how we discuss, understand and respond to groundwater challenges and how our efforts towards just transformations can be embedded in concerns of justice and equity. I regularly maintain a blog that contains posts emerging from fieldwork experiences, data analysis, and sharing some of the preliminary outcomes emerging from the thesis. These were primarily undertaken in Marathi, the local language. I plan to further develop these posts to tie them together as a Marathi language book proposal on groundwater in Maharashtra.

UKRI Gateway to Research · FY 2025 · 2025-09

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