Meet the Researcher Webinar Series
The Meet the Researcher Webinar Series offers the opportunity to hear from current PhD students and postdoctoral researchers about their research, interest in science, and journey to university.
At a glance
These webinars are aimed at students in Years 12 and 13 but everyone of all ages are welcome to register and watch.
Meet the Researcher Webinars Series
Have you ever wondered what researchers at Imperial actually do? Meet the Researcher webinars allow you to find out how our researchers got to where they are now, what excites them about their field of research and what their current projects are on. Each webinar will feature one of Imperial's researchers talking about their academic and research journey so far and you'll have a chance to ask them any questions you have!
We hope you enjoyed the recent series of Meet the Researcher! If you missed any of the talks, watch recordings in Previous webinars below.
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Upcoming webinars
Previous Webinars
Previous Meet the Researcher Webinars
Meet the Researcher - Vanessa from the Department of Mathematics
Vanessa Madu is a PhD student at the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Modern Statistics and Statistical Machine Learning at Imperial College and has an MSci degree in Mathematics also from Imperial College. Vanessa is passionate about better understanding our oceans and their influence on our climate; her research involves integrating techniques from machine learning, time series, and spatial statistics with physics-inspired models to model ocean surface currents and understand how they transport floating objects.
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Meet the Researcher - Jessica from the Department of Materials
Jessica Tjandra is a Materials Science PhD student at Imperial College and has a MEng degree in Aerospace Materials from Imperial College. In this webinar she will be talking about how 3D printing can be used to manufacture custom bone implants, examining the benefits and drawbacks of this new technology. A mix of physics, chemistry, engineering and design, the field of metals additive manufacturing is continuously developing, pushing new frontiers in orthopaedic medicine.
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Meet the Researcher - Emily from the Dyson School of Design Engineering
Emily Chan is a PhD candidate in Dyson School of Design Engineering at the College and also has a MSc degree in Computing from Imperial College. Her current research is focusing on traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sports head impacts, which lies in the intersection of sport science, neuroscience, and engineering. In this talk, she will be sharing the biomechanics of how the brain is deformed during sports head impact. You will be able to explore how the combined skills from Math, Engineering and Computing will enable exciting research.
Meet the Researcher - Gladys from the Department of Bioengineering
Gladys Diaz Armas is a PhD student in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial
College London and has an MSc in Biomaterials from Imperial College and a BSc in Biomedical Engineering from Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico. During this talk, she will share how blood properties are altered by different diseases and what kind of technology is currently used to study the blood flow at the microvessels to develop new diagnostic techniques. You will be able to explore how physics, engineering, and biology can come together to improve healthcare.
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Meet the Researcher - Nina from the Department of Chemical Engineering
Nina O’Toole is a Biophysics PhD student working on a co-supervised project between the department of Physics at UCL and Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College. She has an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Newcastle University and a master’s in Systems and Synthetic Biology from Imperial College. During this talk she will be discussing how researchers build microscale biological machines called artificial cells as well as how tools like light and electricity can be used to control these devices. You'll begin to consider how you’re A-Level subjects may lead you to this growing field of research at the intersection of synthetic biology, chemical engineering and membrane biophysics.
Meet the Researcher - Abdirahman, Civil Engineering Alumni
Abdirahman Ismail is a Structural Engineer working at AtkinsRéalis and has a degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering from Imperial College London. In this webinar he will be talking about how to predict garden irrigation demand, having developed a model for his final year project. This project involved mathematical modelling, interpreting climate data provided by Met Office, census data from the government to identify which water companies in the UK incorrectly estimating garden irrigation demand.
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Meet the Researcher - Amelia from the Department of Bioengineering
Amelia Clark is a Bioengineering PhD student at Imperial College London and has degrees in Biomedicine and Biological Sciences from the University of Reading. In this talk she will be discussing how engineering techniques can be used to uncover mysteries about fungi and other microorganisms at the cellular level. Bioengineering is where engineering strategies are applied to solving problems within medicine and biology and you will begin to consider how your A Level subjects may lead you into this innovative and life-changing field.
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Meet the Researcher - Mark from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering
Mark Boyd is a PhD student in planetary science and geology from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London. He has a BSc in Natural Sciences from Durham University and a MS in Geology from the University of Alabama (USA). In this webinar, Mark will discuss how tiny dust particles can be used to understand past environments, both on Earth and in the solar system. You’ll see the diversity of routes that can lead to a career in geoscience and discover the skills and opportunities offered by a career in Earth and planetary exploration.
Meet the Researcher - Jordan from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering
Jordan Stone is a PhD student at Imperial College using Organic Geochemistry lab techniques to look for life on Mars. In this webinar he will be talking about how the remains of life on a once-habitable ancient Mars might have been preserved for billions of years, and how we might detect those remains. This research will be presented in the context of astrobiology, a topic covering fields as diverse as microbiology, astrophysics, geochemistry and philosophy.
Meet the Researcher - Kosuke from the Department of Earth Science and Engineering
Kosuke Ikeya is a PhD student in Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London and has an MSc in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MEng in Engineering Sciences and Design from Tokyo Institute of Technology. His research at Imperial focuses on Space Resource Utilisation (SRU), also known as In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU), on the moon, which is an act of creating products, such as oxygen, to support astronauts from the soil on the moon, regolith. In this webinar, he will be talking about why SRU is important for human exploration on the moon and Mars, what are the challenges that we, space engineers and scientists, are facing, and how we tackle these challenges.
Meet the Researcher - Megan from the Department of Life Sciences (Alumna)
Megan Joseph is a PhD student with the London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Programme (LIDo) at University College London and King’s College London. Megan completed an undergraduate degree in Biology and a master’s in Immunology at Imperial College London before going on to her PhD. In this webinar she will be talking about her current research using new super resolution imaging technologies to investigate how T cells fine tune their actions in the immune system and what implications this can have for autoimmune diseases and cancer. You’ll begin to consider how your A-level subjects may lead you into the interdisciplinary field of the life sciences that strives to save lives.
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Meet the Researcher - Annie from the Department of Chemistry
Annie Sahota is a Chemical Biology PhD student at Imperial College London and has a degree in Chemistry. During this webinar, she will discuss cutting-edge single-cell technologies and how these can be used to expand our knowledge of the biological mechanisms that lead to disease. She will also give an update on her current research: Using nanotechnology to study individual neurons in the brain. You will learn how your knowledge from Chemistry, Physics and Biology can be combined in multidisciplinary research and applied to real-life problems such as in healthcare and medicine.
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Meet the Researcher - Ruthie from the Department of of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Ruthie Parsons is a PhD student in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Imperial College and has a BSc in Mathematics, a MSc in Global Health Science and Epidemiology and industrial experience in chemistry, manufacturing, and control statistics. In this webinar she will explain the link between the waste we generate and the risk of birth related issues (such as premature birth) and childhood developmental delays. You’ll get an idea about how you can use Maths and Science to help people stay healthy and protect them from health threats.
Meet the Researcher - Mercedes from the Department of Materials
Mercedes Baxter Chinery is a PhD researcher in Civil Materials at the College and has a degree in Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering from Cambridge University. During this talk she will be sharing insights into her research, which is looking to develop a new cement which uses waste as one of the main constituents and focuses on experimental work, so you can begin to consider how your A-Level subjects may lead you into research or pursuing an engineering-based career.
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Meet the Researcher - Philip from the Department Surgery and Cancer
Philip Leung is a Clinical Medicine PhD student from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College and has a BSc in Medical Biosciences. In this webinar he will be talking about how breath testing can be utilised for health monitoring and early cancer diagnosis. You'll obtain an insight towards how cutting-edge analytical chemistry techniques can be translated into a clinical setting to improve quality of life and survival of cancer patients.
Meet the Researcher - Department of Materials
Join us for an exciting event where you will have the chance to meet some of the fabulous researchers in the department of materials who will talk about their work in this multidisciplinary field. We will talk about many different materials including Liquid Crystals, Graphene and Turbine engines, in a journey to understand more about the great subject of Materials science.
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Meet the Researcher - Sofia from the Department of Chemistry
Sofia's research involves cutting and pasting bonds in order to accelerate drug discovery. If you're interested in finding out how modern drug discovery works and the role that organic synthetic chemists play in helping new drugs get to the market, then join Sofia to find out more about catalysis, Carbon-Hydrogen bond activation and functionalisation, and you’ll learn how this type of research can help speed up the synthesis of drug precursors.
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Meet the Researcher - Amin from Earth Science and Engineering
Amin's research combines the study of earth sciences (geoscience) and engineering. Join his talk to find out more about developing a heavy oil sands field in Alberta. Amin will discuss the geological features of the field, drilling strategy, designing the drilling tools and economics of the project. You’ll hear all the preparation and problem solving-skills that are required to overcome these challenges.
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Meet the Researcher - Sara from Earth Science and Engineering
Sara is working on instrumentation for the ExoMars 2022 Rover mission, a Mission looking for signs of Past and Present life on Mars. Join Sara's talk to find out more about designing an experiment to test the scientific capabilities of the instruments and developing new techniques to find signs on life on other planets.
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Meet the Researcher - Mike from Mechanical Engineering
Mike's research involves trying to improve our interpretation of creep crack growth in stainless steel used in high temperature applications such as nuclear power plants. Join Mike's talk to find out more about how putting this material under much higher load than it would be exposed to in operation affects its behaviour.
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Meet the Researcher - Nora from National Heart and Lung Institute
Nora works in the exciting field of cell and gene therapy, which involves delivering cells or DNA to patients to cure a range of diseases. Join Nora's talk to find out more about her work focusing on designing a therapy which genetically modifies cells of the immune system using lentiviruses.
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Meet the Researcher - Becky from Design Engineering
Join us for the first episode in our new Meet the Researcher webinar series where Becky from Design Engineering will talk about her research exploring the Bornean rainforest using sound and machine learning.
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Meet the Researcher - Pranjal from the Centre of Environmental Policy
Pranjal Mathur is a MSc Candidate under the Environmental Technology programme. He has a background in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Having lived in several countries across his life, Pranjal believes in interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving. In this presentation, he will speak about how interdisciplinary approaches can be integrated into environmental decision making to better inform policy decisions at-large. He hopes to help you see linkages between subjects that you study in school and dreams that you aspire towards.
Meet the Researcher - Gabriel from the Department of Materials
Gabriel Krenzer is Faraday Institution PhD Researcher at Imperial College London. He holds a degree in Chemical Physics from the University of Bristol. During this talk Gabriel will introduce how we can use theory and simulations to discover the battery of the future. You will begin to consider how your A-Level subjects may lead you into this field that is so critical to tackle the climate emergency, and which is at the frontier of Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science.
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Meet the Researcher - Lantian from the Department of Aeronautical Engineering
Lantian Pinkney is a MSc Composites student in the Department of Aeronautics at Imperial and graduated with a BEng Aeronautical Engineering from City, University of London. During this talk she will share what eVTOLs are, what’s the hype around them and how they have the potential to transform our lives! As well as the science behind flight and how you can pursue Engineering without an A Level in Physics!
Meet the Researcher - Melanie from the Department of Chemistry
Melanie Nutter is a Chemistry PhD student at Imperial College London. She has an MRes degree in Advanced Molecular Synthesis from Imperial, and an MChem degree in Chemistry from Heriot-Watt University. During this talk, she will be exploring the uses of light and reaction technology in Chemistry to 'unlock' chemical reactions. At the interface between Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, we can move away from the beakers and round bottom flasks and towards new, exciting reactors - leading to the Photochemistry of the Future.
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Meet the Researcher – Maya from the Department of Brain Sciences
Maya Abouzeid is a PhD student in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial College London, where she also did an MSc in Molecular Genetics. In this webinar, she will be talking about how biological data can be used to help us better understand the genetics of human diseases, in particular Epilepsy. You will learn how computer science and statistics can be applied to biological data to help solve real-life problems in healthcare and medicine.
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Meet the Researcher – Sanjee from the Centre for Environmental Policy
Sanjee Panditharatne is a Physics PhD student at Imperial College and has a degree in Chemical Physics – a mix of Chemistry and Physics. Her research is in support of an upcoming European Space Agency mission looking at how the Earth is losing its cool, particularly focusing on the role of cirrus clouds. In this webinar she’ll take you from the sea to the sky, exploring how satellite measurements can help us better understand our planet.
Meet the Researcher – Judy from the Centre for Environmental Policy
Judy is a second year PhD student at the Centre for Environmental Policy. She has an undergraduate degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and worked as a chemist at a Direct Air Capture (DAC) start-up in the United States. In this webinar, she will share her research experience and current work on the socioeconomic impacts of net-zero transitions. You can also hear how physics, computer science, and economics can be used to inform decision-making in climate and energy policy.
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Meet the Researcher – Khuluud from the Department of Surgery and Cancer
Khuluud Hussein is a Masters in Research (MRes) graduate in Cancer Biology from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London. In this session, she will be talking about her work on investigating potential new treatments for breast and pancreatic cancer. As well as how our immune system, in addition to fighting colds, can fight cancer and how her research aims to exploit this strategy. You will obtain an insight into the endless world of research and how the smallest detail can have such profound effects in transforming the lives of individuals with cancer.
Meet the Researcher – Annie from the Department of Chemistry
Annie Sahota is a Chemical Biology PhD student at Imperial College London and has a degree in Chemistry. During this webinar, she will talk about the importance of single-cell analysis for understanding disease and how her research uses nanotechnology for studying single neurons in the brain. You will learn how your knowledge from Chemistry, Physics and Biology can be combined in multidisciplinary research and applied to real-life problems such as in healthcare and medicine.
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Meet the Researcher – Al-Amin from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Al-Amin Bugaje is a PhD student at the Control and Power Group in the Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Imperial College London, working on low carbon electricity systems. In this webinar, he will be sharing how data-driven approaches can be leveraged to facilitate reliable grid operations in a future power system that is dominated by renewable energy sources.
Meet the Researcher – Prerana from the Department of Surgery and Cancer
Dr Prerana Gogoi is an MSc student in Surgical Innovation from the Department of Surgery and Cancer at the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial. She is a surgical trainee and has a degree in medicine, currently working in Artificial Intelligence in Medicine/Surgery and its nuances. A keen STEM ambassador, she believes that the future of surgery lies in integration of the friendship between robots and humans. As she is continually impressed by young dreamers from A-levels and the ideas they bring to the conversation, she believes that the question whether “Robots will take over the future” lies at the behest of the greatest minds in the upcoming generation.
Meet the Researcher - Cecylia from Biology
Cecylia Watrobska is a Biology PhD student at Royal Holloway, University of London and Imperial College London, looking at how bees learn and remember the world around them. In this webinar, she will introduce you to the intricate world of bee cognition, and ask questions about how an animal with such a tiny brain evolves such complex learning abilities. You’ll be able to apply your current A-level knowledge to research questions, and see the range of potential research avenues that a degree in Biology can offer.
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Meet the Researcher – Rita from Earth Science and Engineering
Rita Kounoudis is a Seismology PhD student at Imperial College London and has a degree in Geophysics. In this webinar she will be talking about how earthquakes can be used to image the deep Earth, specifically applied to East Africa where we examine the processes involved when continents break apart. With geosciences the whole world is your oyster, providing you with skills to explore the Earth and planets, in the past, present and future, from small to large scale.
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Meet the Researcher – Vivien from Bioengineering
Vivien Sotiriou is a PhD graduate in Developmental Biomechanics from the Department of Bioengineering at the College and has a MSc degree in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College London and a MEng in Applied Mathematics and Physical Sciences from the National Technical University of Athens. During this talk she will be sharing how ballet and biomechanics are related as well as why babies kick in the womb. You'll begin to consider how your A Level subjects may lead you into this interesting, life-saving subject which is the intersection of Maths, Engineering, Biology and Medicine.
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Meet the Researcher – Yiannis from Mechanical Engineering
Yiannis Simillides is a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering and has undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Mathematics and Scientific Computing. During this talk he will be describing how ultrasound waves can be used to investigate defects in various objects, such as aeroplanes. This will also give you an opportunity to see how concepts from your mathematics, physics and computer science classes are used in the "real world" to make us all safer.
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Meet the Researcher – Anna from Life Sciences
Anna Rydlova is a 3rd year PhD student in the Department of Life Sciences where she studies tissue regeneration. Anna has a Bachelors degree in Biomedical Sciences and MRes degree in Bioengineering, both obtained at Imperial College London. During this talk Anna will share how understanding of the mechanisms that lead to very efficient tissue regeneration in zebrafish can help us understand processed in human lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis.
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Meet the Researcher – Zainab from Earth Science and Engineering
Zainab Titus is a Computational Geoscience research student at the Earth Science and Engineering Department and has experience teaching science subjects, particularly maths and physics to students. She has a background in Petroleum Engineering and is passionate about using her knowledge and skills in this field to contribute to ending the world's energy poverty. In this talk, she will be sharing how the "heat beneath our feet" can play a major role in sustainable energy development, and how by using a data-driven approach and techniques from related fields such as oil and gas extraction, geothermal energy can pave the way for addressing climate change. You'll see how you too can consider a career in helping to save the planet.
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Meet the Researcher - Shafina from the Dyson School of Design Engineering
Shafina Vohra is a part-time PhD student at the Dyson School of Design Engineering. She is a psychologist, an A-level Psychology teacher, EPQ supervisor, is a LEGO lead and is a STEM ambassador. She has taught undergraduate and post graduate students in Psychology & Neuroscience at UCL & Birkbeck with a focus on critical analysis and research methods and is conducting her own PhD studies in education. In this talk, she will be sharing her research on whether hands-on learning in education enhances teaching and learning and her experience more recently with a newly launched Mars module at Imperial.
Meet the Researcher - Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment
This talk will feature multiple researchers from the Grantham Institute. The Grantham Institute is Imperial's hub for climate change and environmental research, training, innovation and translation. Our vision is a sustainable zero-carbon future. We aim to achieve this by undertaking and translating world-class research, training the next generation of leaders and supporting innovation on climate change solutions.