Water, peace and a mathematical prize - News from Imperial

From water’s anti-conflict role to a prize for a probabilist, here is some quick-read news from across Imperial.

Water vital for world peace

Water can be a catalyst for global peace and security, an interdisciplinary study involving Imperial researchers reveals.

Experts from France, Germany, India, Nigeria, Sweden, the USA, and the UK have devised a blueprint to ensure safe, equitable and sustainable global access to clean water.  They found that unfettered access to water plays a critical role in preventing conflicts and promoting cooperation among communities and nations. 

The researchers propose a holistic approach to water governance that combines community action, indigenous knowledge, gender equity and open science.  

Professor Wouter Buytaert said “Water is an essential life resource and vital for the survival of the ecosystems that humankind depends on. We can see that conflicts arise when water is scarce or when access is inequitable. Our seven-point strategy enables local communities and nations to better protect and share access to water, and to predict and prepare for water crises. This could take us one step closer to achieving world peace.”

Read the Nature Water paper (link) Image credit: SuSanA Secretariat

Maternity inequalities

A PhD project that aims to tackle ethnic inequities in maternity care using co-production with Black, African, Caribbean, and mixed-Black heritage families has won this year’s NIHR Imperial BRC Public Involvement in Research Award.

The project, led by Sarindi Aryasinghe, a PhD student within the Department of Surgery & Cancer, provides evidence of how efforts that bring together community partners, charities and community organisations in partnership with NHS and local authority professionals, can reap better results when tackling local and national health inequalities priorities.

The project’s first study, co-authored by community partners, NHS, and local authority professionals, was published last month in the BMJ Quality and Safety, and describes how the groups came together to agree priorities to improve maternity care experiences in West London.

Next, Sarindi will be collaborating with the University of Warwick to replicate this study within Coventry and Warwickshire and will be focusing on co-producing a maternity advocate programme.

She will receive a trophy and present her work along with a community partner at the next BRC Annual Event in March 2025.

Applied probabilist recognised

Professor Philip Ernst, from the Department of Mathematics, has received a prestigious Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) Medallion Award & Lecture for 2026.

The IMS Medallion Award & Lecture is one of the top honours in probability and statistics, awarded annually to just eight researchers worldwide for research excellence. Recipients are recognised for their significant contributions to the field and are invited to deliver a keynote address at an IMS sponsored conference, where they receive a medallion to mark the occasion.

Professor Ernst’s research interests include applied probability, exact distribution theory, mathematical statistics, operations research, optimal stopping, queueing systems, statistical inference for stochastic processes, stochastic control, and time series analysis.

Reflecting on the award, he said: “I am extremely honoured to receive a 2026 IMS Medallion Award & Lecture, one of IMS’s very top recognitions.” He will deliver his lecture in 2026, with details to follow closer to the event.

Neonatal medicines data boost

An award-winning database set up to help clinicians and improve healthcare for newborn babies could now help to develop new medicines.

The National Neonatal Research Database (NNRD), set up and run by researchers at Imperial, has joined the DARWIN EU network and can now be used by the European Medicines Agency and its collaborators.

Drug makers will be able to use NNRD data to improve the development and delivery of new medicines for newborns – an area which researchers say ‘desperately needs stimulation and improvement’.

Professor Neena Modi, who leads the NNRD group at Imperial, said: “There has only ever been one medicine developed specifically for a neonatal condition, and over 95% of medicines used in neonatal practice are prescribed ‘off-label’ or ‘off-licence’ which increases risks of harming patients as we have insufficient data on dosage, efficacy and safety."

“The fact the NNRD was invited to join DARWIN EU is testament to the contribution made by the UK to global neonatology. As the first and only neonatal database to join the network, we hope it will ultimately help drug manufacturers and regulators to get more vital medicines to patients.”

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