This autumn, the Department of Bioengineering is launching the first-ever Caro Alumni Lecture alongside our Bioengineering Industry Showcase.
These two events shine a spotlight on the translational impact of our research and the innovative spin-outs that have grown from our department. The industry showcase is a unique opportunity to connect with industry partners, discover entrepreneurial success stories, and highlight the breadth of collaborations happening within Bioengineering.
To make the most of the showcase event, we need your help. If you have industry contacts who should be part of the showcase, or if you yourself have a spin-out company that you would like to celebrate and exhibit, please complete our Industry Connections & Showcase Interest Form for academic staff or the form for PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and alumni so we can extend invitations to them.
Whether you’re interested in showcasing your own work, connecting with potential collaborators, or simply being inspired by the journey of our alumni and industry experts, don’t miss out!
Black History Month: Fireside Chat with Baroness Amos
Date: Monday 13th October 2025 | 13:00–14:00
Join the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for a special online Fireside Chat with Baroness Valerie Amos, a distinguished public servant, diplomat, and academic leader whose career has spanned British public life, global diplomacy, and higher education.
From her early days in Guyana to leadership roles in the UK Government, the United Nations, and Oxford University, Baroness Amos has lived a life of historic firsts.
This conversation will explore leadership, identity, and the importance of representation, with reflections on her career and insights into how we can all contribute to a more inclusive and equitable society.
Perspectives in Education – Book Launch: Productive Failure – Unlocking Deeper Learning Through the Science of Failing
Date: Monday 13th October 2025 | 17:00-18:30 Location: LT G34, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, South Kensington Campus
If learning from failure is intuitively compelling, why do we wait for it to happen? Why don’t we intentionally design for it and harness it for deep learning? In his latest book, Manu Kapur describes his research program on Productive Failure, explaining how, when, and why intentionally designing for failure in a safe manner can lead to deep learning. A must-read for every educator, parent, manager, leader, athlete, entrepreneur, or someone simply passionate about learning and growth.
Join us for the launch of this thought-provoking book as part of the Perspectives in Education event series. The event will feature a short presentation by Professor Manu Kapur, Director of the Singapore-ETH Center, and Professor for Learning Sciences and Higher Education at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, where he also directs The Future Learning Initiative (FLI). The presentation will be followed by a panel discussion from Imperial voices, along with a raffle where three attendees will win a signed copy of the book. This is a unique opportunity to engage with the ideas that are reshaping our understanding of learning and performance.
Suggested reading: Kapur, M. (2025). Productive failure: Unlocking deeper learning through the science of failing. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Date: Thursday 16th October | 12:00-13:00 Location: G47, Flowers Building, South Kensington Campus
Speaker: Dr Venizelos Papayannopoulos, Principal Group Leader of the Antimicrobial Defence Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute Host:Prof. Darius Armstrong-James
Date: Thursday 16th October | 17:00 – 19:00 Location: The Union Bar
Join Black @ Imperial for a Board Games Social in partnership with ICU on Thursday 16 October, 5pm – 7pm in the Union Bar for a chance to connect with other Black students at Imperial.
There’ll be free Afro-Caribbean snacks, vouchers for non-alcoholic drinks from the bar and a huge selection of games to choose from.
Date: Monday 20 October | 12:00-14:00 Location: Enterprise Lab, South Kensington
The Enterprise Lab is launching the Entrepreneurship Café – a new networking series to help students, staff, alumni and founders spark collaboration and connect.
At the Café you can:
Meet potential co-founders or collaborators
Share your skills and discover what others can offer
Copyright for Text and Data Mining (TDM) for Research
Date: Wednesday 12th November | 14:00 Location: SALC 7 (Access through SHERFIELD BUILDING)
Following an introduction by a copyright and licensing expert, you will have the chance to discuss common TDM scenarios with colleagues, share current practice and evaluate different options.
This workshop will cover:
Setting the scene: overview of copyright issues arising in TDM contexts, Alex Fenlon, Head of Copyright and Licensing, University of Birmingham.
Copyright challenges, options and tips. Small group discussions of common scenarios. What do publisher licences permit, and what barriers are you encountering when using subscription materials? When can you rely on a copyright exception for TD,M and what do you need to consider? What challenges arise in collaborative projects, and how can you address them?
Further support: how can the library help you navigate copyright and TDM? Find out about resources and networks that can support your TDM practice.
By the end of the session, you will be able to:
Understand how licences and exceptions support (or hinder) the use of TDM in research projects.
Evaluate options to make informed decisions.
Connect with other TDM practitioners to share current practice.
If you have questions about the event, please email our copyright expert and organiser, Irene Barranco Garcia, at i.barranco-garcia@imperial.ac.uk.
Imperial for Academic English: Academic Communication Primer Sessions
New to Imperial? Start strong with our primer sessions
Whether you’re an undergraduate or postgraduate, our academic communication primer sessions are designed to help you hit the ground running. They’re like your academic starter pack: short, focused sessions that introduce you to key skills you’ll need to thrive at Imperial.
Primers are live, 50-minute, interactive sessions held only during the first two weeks of term. Each session focuses on a core skill that will support your studies from day one:
Demonstrating criticality in your writing
Writing with coherence and cohesion
Using GenAI to evaluate your writing
Delivering effective presentations
Managing academic interactions
Listening actively and engaging thoughtfully
These sessions are a great way to build confidence, meet other students and get a head start on your academic journey. For more information and to register, visit our primers webpage.
Nucleate Activator: For PhDs and Postdocs
At Nucleate, a global, student-run nonprofit organisation, we support entrepreneurial scientists in translating breakthrough academic research. We run our flagship Activator programme, which supports academic trainees and researchers in building groundbreaking life science companies based on their research, with our global alumni having raised more than $550 million in the last 7 years and brought three assets to the clinical stage. We offer mentorship from experienced founders and biotech leaders, provide legal support on IP and spinning out, and much more — all at no cost and without taking any equity. The application form can be foundhere(deadline: October 20th).
Don’t have an idea yet? If you are excited about joining a founding team and gaining hands-on experience in biotech venture creation, you can apply as a scientific contributor!
If you have any additional questions, feel free to email Julia Breed at j.breed@imperial.ac.uk.
Global Fellows Fund 2025 – 26 – Applications now open!
Calling all Imperial PhD students! Do you want the opportunity to travel the world and be stretched beyond your comfort zone? Are you excited by the idea of experiencing how leading scientists, engineers, mathematicians and/or clinicians are tackling your area of interest in another country? Do you want to challenge yourself through immersion in a different research setting surrounded by new social, environmental and cultural perspectives? Do you want the opportunity to expand your professional and personal networks and leverage this support throughout your career?
Then you should apply for Imperial’s Global Fellows Fund 2025-26 and take up a placement in Africa, Asia, North America or Europe!
The Imperial Global Fellows Fund supports high-impact international placements for PhD students in labs at Imperial’s strategic international partners. Students, with the support of their PhD supervisor and host supervisor, will have the opportunity to spend between 1 and 3 months at one of the following partners:
Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai, India
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France (NB approval is needed from both the CNRS host supervisor and her/his head of department or institute)
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal, Ghana
The deadline for applications is Monday, 13 October 2025.
Financial support for this scheme is provided in part by the College’s 2025-26 Turing Scheme award.
For the 2025/26 academic year, the International Relations Office will provide top-up funding equal to the cost-of-living grant provided by the Turing scheme grant to help cover more of the overall costs. Enhanced funding is also available for those who meet the necessary criteria.
For further details, including full guidance, eligibility criteria, information on the partners and a link to the application form, please visit the webpage.
Sustainable Imperial Strategy – still time to engage
“Sustainability may be considered an economic, social and moral imperative. Above all though, it is a personal choice.”
What are your sustainability priorities for the next five years? Which direction would you like to see Imperial moving in?
With our staff and student survey still open (closes 30 September), sustainability influencers from across Imperial share their hopes for the new Sustainable Imperial Strategy.
🚀 Applications Open – Heads of Department Leadership Development Programme for Academics & Professional, Technical and Operational Staff 2025-2026
This year-long programme will help you:
Lead Self – Gain 360° feedback, strengthen self-awareness, and connect with your ‘why’.
Lead People & Teams – Build inclusive, high-performing teams and lead powerful conversations.
Lead & Work at Imperial – Understand Imperial finances, people policies, and how to influence them.
Build Leadership Skills – From AI essentials to strategic thinking and tackling complex problems.
Embed Habits – Peer coaching, effective 1:1s, and giving/receiving feedback.
Connect with Peers – Residential field trip and collaborative leadership learning.
📅 Eligibility: Current Heads of Department at Imperial with people management, operational and strategic responsibility
🔗 Apply now: Registration and more information
⏳ Deadline: 30 September 2025
Educational Development Unit: Workshops for 2025-26 are now available to book online
The EDU offers a range of educational workshops on various aspects of learning and teaching, designed to develop the skills of those teaching and supporting teaching at Imperial.
Introduction to: Intended as basic introductions to important aspects of teaching and learning in an Imperial context.
A practical guide to: Designed to be of help in your day-to-day teaching. It consists of a series of short, pragmatic workshops covering key practical aspects of teaching and learning.
Focus on: Workshops examining teaching and learning in greater depth, designed for those with greater teaching experience and wider responsibilities.
Faculty of Medicine: Catered to Imperial staff who teach undergraduate medical students. These workshops are aimed at Faculty of Medicine and NHS staff who teach Imperial students.STAR Framework: Workshops and support sessions aimed at supporting your journey towards Advance HE fellowship recognition.
A comprehensive list of workshop dates is available to view on the EDU workshop calendar.
Our Bioengineering community has had plenty of reasons to celebrate this season.
Feel Good News is all about the moments that make our Bioengineering community special. Unlike Staff and Student Successes, here we celebrate personal wins, fun achievements, and the everyday highlights that bring us together.
Take a moment to congratulate your colleagues and peers, and if you have good news to share, make sure to send it in for the next newsletter.
Celebrating Recovery and Supporting Cancer Research
My wife Nadine was diagnosed with breast cancer last September. Since then, she has bravely undergone chemotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery – and we are deeply grateful to share that she is now cancer-free.
Throughout this journey, Nadine received exceptional care at The Royal Marden Hospital. To show our gratitude and support the hospital’s incredible work in cancer treatment and research, we took part in the 15-mile Marden March on Sunday, 11 May, just a month after her surgery.
Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of friends, family and supporters, we raised £4,895. We are truly grateful to everyone who donated and stood with us.
Imperial Global Singapore celebrates a year of impact
by Professor Anil Bharath
Imperial Global Singapore’s (IGS) 1 Year Alumni Event.
The Imperial Global Singapore team celebrated a year of impact by hosting two events on April 8th to showcase Imperial Global Singapore’s impact in areas such as health, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and technologies for clean fuel. The events took place at the Hub’s home at the CREATE Campus, an international research campus and innovation hub operated by the National Research Foundation Singapore (NRF).
Imperial Global Singapore is supported by the NRF, and its major research programmes are run with strategic partners, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
(NTU Singapore) and the National University of Singapore (NUS). The Hub has hired around 20 members of staff since its launch last year.
The establishment of IGS was spearheaded by academics from Bioengineering, Professors Manos Drakakis, James Moore Jr and Anil A Bharath, together with colleagues from Computing, Faculty of Medicine and other Engineering Departments, including the former ISST.
During the afternoon of the anniversary, collaborators and fellow entities from the CREATE ecosystem joined Imperial Global Singapore for focused research updates, aimed at sparking new ideas and strengthening collaboration across the Hub. In the evening, the Hub welcomed members of Imperial’s alumni community in Singapore, engaging with the wider ecosystem to celebrate the anniversary and explore opportunities for future expansion and scientific impact
Celebrating Outreach Success
by Flo Reeve
Professor Rylie Green, presenting at the celebration
The Admissions and Outreach Team recently hosted a celebration lunch to thank the ambassadors and staff who make our outreach possible.
Thanks to their energy and commitment, the team has connected with around 2,750 young people this year, inspiring future engineers and scientists along the way.
At the lunch, Professor Rylie Green presented the Ambassador and GTA of the Year awards to Ella Silvester (Undergraduate Ambassador) and Maria Portela (Graduate Ambassador), recognising their outstanding and sustained contributions. A big congratulations to Ella and Maria, and thank you to everyone who supported outreach this year!
Professor Moore Shares His Research in the US
by Professor James Moore Jr
Professor Moore at the Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Centre
September was a busy month for Professor James Moore Jr, who was invited to share his expertise on two different stages in the United States. He gave a keynote talk at the 10th International Biofluid Mechanics and Mechanobiology Symposium in California, where he presented his work on lymphatic system flows and their role in immunology.
He then travelled to Minnesota to deliver a seminar at the Earl Bakken Medical Devices Centre at the University of Minnesota, sparking lively discussion on medical device innovation.
Sharing Our Expertise Beyond the Lab
by Nana Asante Asamoah-Danso
Nana Asante at the London Science Museum
This autumn, Nana Asante Asamoah-Danso, Bioengineering Laboratory Support Technician, has been recognised in The Biologist magazine’s “A Day in the Life” series. The feature shines a spotlight on Nana’s varied role supporting our researchers and his ongoing work with the London Science Museum’s careers initiative.
On top of this, Nana Asante was also invited to deliver a glimpse of his live workshop session and represent Imperial College London at this year’s Great Exhibition Road Festival at the London Science Museum’s Smith Centre, for the NextGen Zone. Using food colouring gels, he gave visitors a hands-on look at the lab technique of streaking yeast agar plates.
VE80 Special: Matthew Kibble on the French Horn
by Matthew Kibble
The Central Band of the Royal British Legion on the BBC One Show
On Monday, 5th May 2025, Dr Matthew Kibble, Research Associate, participated in a live performance on the BBC One Show as part of their VE80 special programme, alongside the Central Band of the Royal British Legion playing the French Horn. The programme can be rewatched on BBC iPlayer.
Matthew is a 2013 graduate of Imperial and the Royal College of Music’s BSc Physics and Music.
HybridNeuro Summer School at White City
by Ciaran McGeady
Attendees at the HybridNeuro Summer School
In July, Professor Dario Farina’s group, along with partners from Spain, Slovenia, and Sweden, hosted the HybridNeuro Summer School on Human Interfacing and Augmentation at White City.
Over five days, more than 60 participants from 15 countries joined in person, with others tuning in online, to take part in talks, hands-on training, and an industry panel. The event was a great success and received excellent feedback.
The Minister for Pensions, Torsten Bell, is given a tour of the Biotech Lab at Imperial College by Vice-Provost Professor Peter Haynes and Academic Lead for Engineering Biology for Sustainability Professor Rodrigo Ledesma Amaro. Mr Bell also met research staff alongside Andrien Meyers from London CIV and the CEO of British Business Bank, Louis Taylor.
Ministers from the UK, Sweden and Denmark, as well as delegations from Finland, Canada, Korea and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre, toured the facilities to learn more about the cutting-edge work taking place.
Their visits underline the global significance of Imperial’s research in shaping the future of food systems.
It’s been a fantastic summer for the Department of Bioengineering, with staff and students recognised for their hard work and achievements.
This Staff and Student Successes is packed with highlights, including funding awards, fellowships, competition wins and runner-up places.
We encourage you to read through the full list and, if you spot a familiar name, take a moment to congratulate them. Sharing in each other’s successes is a great way to share pride in the achievements of our staff and students!
UK Future Leaders Fellowship
Dr Sophie Morse
Congratulations to Dr Sophie Morse, one of the newest Assistant Professors in Bioengineering, who has been awarded a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. Dr Morse will use the over £2 million award to develop therapeutic ultrasound technologies to delay cognitive decline associated with ageing and neurodegenerative diseases, by modulating the brain’s immune cells.
Sophie said, “This fellowship will allow me to pioneer this non-invasive technology, enable me to acquire key expertise to clinically translate this technology and lead this ambitious anti-brain ageing programme, helping the UK meet its target for people to enjoy more years of healthy, independent life.”
The President’s Awards 2025
The annual President’s Awards for Excellence are awarded to individuals or teams to recognise achievements in four categories: Culture and Community, Education, Research, and Societal Engagement. The President’s Medal is then awarded to an exceptional winner in each category.
This year was a fantastic one for Bioengineering, with three individuals and one team from the department recognised across different categories.
President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Dr Angela Kedgley, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Biomechanics
Angela Kedgley was selected as the winner of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in recognition of her consistently going above and beyond in her effort to support and inspire her students. Her commitment to fostering inclusive and engaging learning environments was reflected in the overwhelmingly positive feedback from students, who described her as an approachable, patient, and enthusiastic lecturer.
President’s Award for Outstanding Early Career Researcher Dr Pete Lally, Assistant Professor
Pete Lally was selected as the winner of the Outstanding Early Career Researcher award due to his work in transforming neonatal brain imaging through innovative MRI research that is shaping clinical practice while championing inclusive leadership and outreach across the academic community.
President’s Award for Outstanding Research Team The RLA Lab, led by Professor Rodrigo Ledesma Amaro
The RLA Lab were selected as the winners of the President’s Award for Outstanding Research Team in recognition of their outstanding research that delivers impact.
Provost Award for Excellence in Health and Safety Morgan Edmonds, Bioengineering Technician (Teaching)
Morgan was awarded the Provost Award for Excellence in Health and Safety in recognition of her outstanding contribution to implementing Imperial’s new Corestream system as part of her secondment working to coordinate the Faculty of Engineering’s Biological Risk Assessments.
WE Innovate 2025
The Sekhmet Biomed team
Congratulations to Dr Magdalene Ho, Shani Katz and Sara Flod from the Almquist Lab, who took second place at Imperial’s WE Innovate Grand Final for their startup Sekhmet Biomed, which is developing ‘super-plasters’ that harvest the patient’s own therapeutic proteins to accelerate wound healing.
The WE Innovate programme, run by the Imperial Enterprise Lab, is a targeted pre-accelerator open to teams led by students, recent alumni, and Early-Career Researchers who identify as women.
Bioengineering Graduate Teaching Assistant of the Year Awards
Over the last academic year, Bioengineering has been collecting feedback from our students about how GTAs have been supporting their learning in study groups and lab sessions. We were very pleased to see a large number of very positive comments highlighting GTAs who have gone above and beyond to support our students and their learning, and as a way of capturing more of this good practice, the department has decided to expand the GTA of the Year Awards to three of our most outstanding GTAs each year.
We are delighted to say that our Bioengineering GTAs of the Year 2025 are:
Diego Ruiz Sanchis
Maegan Spiteri
Maciej Zajaczkowski
Congratulations! The Departmental Teaching Committee were really pleased by the overwhelming positive feedback and comments they received and wished to thank all three for their excellent work over the past year. Maegan Spiteri was additionally nominated for the Faculty of Engineering GTA of the Year and was selected as the runner-up. Congratulations, again!
Design and Professional Practice Project Winners
Group 13, winners of the 2024-25 Design Challenge
Congratulations to Ines Meyer, Lee Caspi, Mawin Banluelap, Sanford Chen, Demir Eryilmaz, Zixin Su and Yvonne Cui, who were the winners of the 2024-45 Design Challenge as part of the Design and Professional Practice Project module for first-year undergraduate students.
Their winning pulse oximeter was put together using a SparkFun Pulse Oximeter sensor combined with an Arduino Nano 33 IoT, making use of its WiFi capability to display live readings and graphs on a user-friendly online dashboard accessible from any device.
The device will be used as a showcase for prospective students during Open Days.
Games of Science Competition
Ioana Esanu
Congratulations to Ioana Esanu, PhD student in the vBS Lab, who came first in both the Romanian and English language heats of the Games of Science, a Romanian national science communication competition.
The competition challenges researchers to present their work to a lay audience in a series of timed “duels,” with rounds ranging from 15 seconds up to three minutes. Ioana impressed the jury of Romanian science journalists and communicators with her ability to spark interest and clearly explain her research, winning first prize in both the Romanian and English language sections. Alongside the recognition, she received a €3,000 award to support further training in science communication.
Global Earth Prize
Incoming undergraduate student Tomas Cermak has been named a winner of the global Earth Prize, the world’s largest environmental sustainability award for young innovators.
Tomas, together with a colleague from Slovakia, became the first European team to win the prize with their project PURA. The project combines photocatalysis and cold plasma to create a system that degrades harmful organic pollutants in water, including pharmaceuticals such as antibiotics and analgesics.
Breathrough Science Women’s Health Grant
Marc Soler, a 3rd year PhD student in the Ladame Lab, was recently awarded a £71,000 Breakthrough Science Women’s Health grant from the EQT foundation. This international award recognises Marc’s effort to continuously push the boundaries to close gender health gaps and improve outcomes for women.
This grant will help him to develop new tools to better diagnose gynaecological cancers via a rapid blood test, contributing to better care for women worldwide.
Imperial Union Award Winners
This year, our department is proud to celebrate the success of our students in the Imperial Union Awards. Their dedication to teaching, inclusivity, and student leadership has been recognised across multiple categories.
Outstanding Graduate Teaching AssistantWinner: Pablo Prieto Roca
