Excellence in research and innovation recognised by experts

The event, held in the University’s Great Hall, recognised the outstanding work and contributions of Queen Mary research colleagues across eight categories. Winners were chosen by a panel, each headed by an external expert. The winners for 2025 were:  

Early Career Researcher Winner: Dr Ruairi Roberston, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry  

Anna Vignoles, CEO Leverhulme Trust who chaired the panel for this award said Ruairi was this year’s winner due to “the excellence of Dr Robertson's research on the gut microbiome” and “the myriad ways in which he has contributed to the wider research community, particularly via his extensive scientific communication work.” 

Highly Commended: Dr Nadine Lavan and Dr Edward Gillen, both Faculty of Science and Engineering  

Postdoctoral Research Fellow Winner: Dr Elizabeth Simon, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences  

Elizabeth was selected as this year’s winner because, according to panel chair Peter Boddy, Head of Research and Evaluation for the Careers Research and Advisory Centre’s Vitae programme they “were very impressed with Elizabeth’s work supporting Queen Mary’s vital civic university mission, demonstrating impact well beyond what is typically expected at their career stage”.  

Highly Commended: Dr Tim Hopkins, Faculty of Science and Engineering; Dr Avinash Chandra, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry    

Research Support: David Lockwood, Faculty of Science and Engineering 

In the words of Stuart Wilkinson, CEO of Knowledge Exchange UK, David, a systems manager, was chosen as this year's Research Support winner because “showcasing research expertise and engaging partners is an essential part of driving collaboration and impact, David’s work is a brilliant example of supporting the research endeavour”.  

Highly Commended: Esther Dominy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Eva Wozniak, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry  

Impact: Civic, Community, Culture and Policy Winner: N2O: Know the Risks, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry  

This team, led by Professor Alastair Noyce and Dr Laura Smith have significantly improved treatment of nitrous oxide neurotoxicity in vulnerable groups in East London and have launched a prevention campaign with local charities and councils. Panel chair Helen Goulden, Director of the Young Foundation said: "The N20 team truly represent the principles and ethos which are core to Queen Mary and the Young Foundation - driving research which has real world impact and creates positive change which can be felt in our local communities and beyond."  

Highly Commended: Professor David Leslie, Digital Environment Research Institute (DERI); Professor Steven Eastwood, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences  

Research Technician: Dr Atanas Tomov, Faculty of Science and Engineering   

Speaking on this year’s winner, panel chair for this award Ian Hancox, Co-Director of the UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy said Atanas was the stand-out choice because of “the range of contributions they make to the research and technical community, from health and safety initiatives, supporting mental health and wellbeing, through to organisation of events for the technical community, all above and beyond their usual workload”. 

Highly Commended: Dr Petra Ungerer, Faculty of Science and Engineering; Dr Luke Gammon, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry  

Impact: Enterprise and Commercial Innovation: Elcella, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry  

Elcella was chosen as this year’s winner for enterprise and commercial innovation due to the hard work and tenacity of its founders. Speaking on the winners, panel chair Abdul Qureshi, Managing Director, Barclays Eagle Labs, said: "As a female led start up innovating in dietary health, Madusha and Ruby stood out for their amazing journey from research academics to business owners. From years of research, to developing a product, through to pivoting their strategy to secure funding and scale the business, Elcella represent an inspiring story of professional growth. Congratulations to them on winning this award". 

Highly Commended: Professor Alex Henshaw, Professor Gemma Harvey and David Miller, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Queen Mary Innovation for Investible Nature-based solutions; Professor Joe Briscoe, Faculty of Science and Engineering for AeroSolar  

Research Supervisor: Professor Alastair Owens, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences  

Tina Ramkalawan, Vice-Chair, UK Council for Graduate Education, outlined that Alastair was this year’s winner because he “is an outstanding and popular supervisor, exemplified by his impactful research, over a dozen doctoral awards, and the glowing testimonies and successes of his doctoral students”.  

Highly Commended: Professor Graham Foster, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry; Professor Marina Resmini, Faculty of Science and Engineering 

Research Excellence: Professor Steffen Petersen, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry   

The panel for this award was chaired by Jon Moulton, head of the Jon Moulton Charity Trust. They chose Steffen for showing ‘true leadership in taking brilliant research and making a tangible contribution to the world for the better’. The panel also praised how Steffen has ‘built a team that together have achieved great things individually and collectively.’  

Highly Commended: Professor Yang Hao, Faculty of Science and Engineering; Professor Claude Chelala and Professor Louise Jones, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry  

Previous Research and Innovation award winners have also been recognised externally. For example, Dr Kate Thornton who won 'Outstanding Technician' at the 2023 Awards and was shortlisted in the same category in that year’s Times Higher Education (THE) Awards, while Professor Julia Hörnle, who was a double-award winner in 2023, was shortlisted in THE’s Supervisor of the Year category.  

Commenting on the awards overall, the high standard of submissions and the excellence of the winners in particular, Professor Andrew Livingston, Vice Principal (Research and Innovation) at Queen Mary said: “Our Research and Innovation awards shine a light on not only the outstanding quality of research and innovation being carried out at Queen Mary, but also the incredible breadth of this work and the phenomenal impact it has, not only in our local communities but across the globe. 

“It’s fantastic to see this work being celebrated and I would like to congratulate all of tonight’s winners and those shortlisted and to thank our panels and panel chairs for their hard work and difficult task of selecting just one winner for each category – I know there could have been multiple!”.  

The Queen Mary Research and Innovation Awards 2025 Results - Queen Mary University of London