Departmental news
New quantum technology research hub led by UCL in collaboration with Warwick researchers has been launched
A major new quantum technology research hub which is being led by researchers from University College London (UCL) and the University of Cambridge has been launched in collaboration with researchers from the University of Warwick.
Upcoming TIA Centre Seminar Series: An Opportunity to Engage with Leading Researchers in Computational Pathology
The Tissue Image Analytics (TIA) Centre at the University of Warwick is excited to announce the continuation of its esteemed seminar series for the 2024/25 academic year. These seminars are a prime opportunity for researchers, students, and professionals to delve into cutting-edge developments in computational pathology and related fields. Held on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month from 2 pm to 3 pm, these sessions are a hub for innovative ideas and collaborative discussions. Over the last three years, we have organised 55 seminars, hosting researchers from 42 different institutions from 13 countries and 7 US states, spanning Europe, North America, Australia and Asia.
Highlights from Last Year’s Seminar Series
The past year featured a diverse line-up of distinguished speakers who shared their ground-breaking work. Notable highlights include:
- Dr. Zhui Huang and Dr. Gabrielle Campanella delivered insightful talks on foundation models, exploring their applications and potential in computational pathology. Prof. Hamid Tizhoosh further discussed foundation models and information retrieval. Georg Wölflein offered a comprehensive comparison on many of these models.
- Prof. Inti Zlobec and Daan Geijs visited in person, discussing their pioneering work on studying tumour budding and skin cancer assessment, respectively, providing attendees with the unique opportunity to engage directly.
- Dr. Andrew Song introduced AI-driven methods for efficient patient prognosis using 3D pathology samples, whilst Prof Stefan Feuerriegal and Valentyn MeIynchuk discussed causal machine learning.
- Many, many more fantastic speakers!
Upcoming Seminar Series
We are excited to announce that the upcoming semester promises another stellar roster of speakers. We will kick off the series with a talk by Dr. Ming Y. Lu from Harvard Medical School on the new “PathChat” model (paper: "A Multimodal Generative AI Copilot for Human Pathology") on Monday 14th October. We will also be visited in person by Dr. Danielle Belgrave from GSK and Jack Breen from the University of Leeds, who will offer insights into their pioneering work, to name a few!
How to Participate
These seminars offer a platform to learn from and interact with some of the leading minds in the field. If you are interested in attending or wish to present your research at a future seminar, please contact Dr. Adam Shephard at adam.shephard@warwick.ac.uk.
Stay updated on seminar details by visiting our website and watch past presentations on our YouTube channelLink opens in a new window. We continuously update our webpage with new information about upcoming seminars, so be sure to check back regularly.
Warwick Law School Top Performers
Every year, several awards and prizes are granted to a selection of our graduating students to recognise and celebrate the success of our top performers! We are proud to announce this year's winners.
Celebrating 75 years of the Crop Centre’s pioneering agriculture research
The University of Warwick is celebrating 75 years of plant science research at its internationally recognised Crop Centre – the UK’s leading research facility for vegetable growers.
The Crop Centre, based at The University of Warwick’s Innovation Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon, was founded 75 years ago as the National Vegetable Research Station (NVRS) to address post-war pressure for food production. Research has continued on the site ever since, now incorporated into the University’s School of Life Sciences (SLS).
Press Release (23 July 2024)
Professor Celine Tan leads project on just energy transitions
A research team led by Professor Celine Tan from Warwick Law School has secured an award from the British Academy ODA Challenge-Oriented Research Grants programme 2024 to investigate the financing of just energy transitions in developing countries.
Celebrating 75 years of the Crop Centre’s pioneering agriculture research
The University of Warwick is celebrating 75 years of plant science research at its internationally recognised Crop Centre – the UK’s leading research facility for vegetable growers.
The Crop Centre, based at The University of Warwick’s Innovation Campus, Stratford-upon-Avon, was founded 75 years ago as the National Vegetable Research Station (NVRS) to address post-war pressure for food production.
Research has continued on the site ever since, now incorporated into the University’s School of Life Sciences (SLS).
With climate change challenging crop growth and leading to supermarket shortages, the work of the Crop Centre is as important as ever.
It continues to produce world-class research, contributing to sustainable agricultural practices for the future. It aims to equip the industry with innovative solutions, alongside providing a leading training and education facility.
Professor Rosemary Collier, SLS, University of Warwick: “Warwick Crop Centre is home to both the UK Vegetable Gene Bank, which is a globally important collection of natural genetic variation, and the UK’s Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network (VeGIN) which makes this genetic information available to breeding companies.
“Other research priorities include providing sustainable solutions to pest and disease control for fresh produce growers. We are also committed to raising awareness of our work in the community, by hosting briefings in the shape of popular webinars.”
A newly announced initiative is Warwick Agri-Tech, which combines the Crop Centre’s expertise in life sciences with world class engineering at WMG at The University of Warwick. This will drive the development of technologies that are needed to support the future of agriculture.
Alicia Feledziak, Business Development Manager for Warwick Agri-Tech, said: “Warwick Agri-tech’s great strength is its ability to transfer WMG’s advanced engineering capabilities in automation, robotics and AI systems, which have been developed through decades of working with industry in sectors like Aerospace, Automotive and Rail, into the agricultural sector. Together with the School of Life Sciences, we are able to move these technologies out of ordered factories and into the ever-changing and often harsh environments of agriculture.
“Our goal is to de-risk innovation for industry, to support the development of a sustainable and resilient food system. We are excited to be working closely with growers, technology developers and government to drive change for the industry.”
The Crop Centre will also pioneer genetic breeding, which will enable new varieties of fresh vegetable crops to be bred that are adapted to the changing climate and changing technologies.
Professor Richard Napier, SLS, University of Warwick, added: “We’re working for the next generation. Our research is de-risking crop production as we adapt to climate change, our education is equipping young people with practical knowledge about the challenges. We are providing the industry with a new generation of critical thinkers able to help solve the problems of the future.”
Inspiring the next generation of engineers
WMG at the University of Warwick's commitment to widening participation and fostering inclusivity took centre stage during a week-long work experience programme, aimed at inspiring local students to pursue a career in engineering.
The initiative was organised by WMG’s Outreach team and the University's Widening Participation Team to support under-represented students that might lack confidence or support when they consider a future in engineering. The High Value Manufacturing Catapult’s Inspiring Young Engineers project, which delivers engaging opportunities to students who might not otherwise have experienced the subject, also supported the week.
Throughout the programme, participants were mentored by WMG staff who provided valuable insights into various engineering pathways, research and careers.
Tours of the engineering facilities showed what research at a university is like - from battery development in the Energy Innovation Centre and automotive technology in the National Automotive Innovation Centre, to studying for an engineering degree at the School of Engineering.
The WMG Outreach Team also worked alongside colleagues from the University’s Creative Arts department who organised an arts-focused work experience programme to run at the same time.
The programme concluded in a celebration showcase where the students, from both the arts and engineering teams, presented their work to parents, carers,
teachers and University staff, including the Vice Chancellor Professor Stuart Croft.
Reflecting on the programme, WMG’s Widening Participation Co-ordinator, Dr Phil Jemmett, said: “We ran this event last year with the support of the University’s Widening Participation team and immediately thought that we could scale this up, and share the model with a wider group.
“We are delighted to have had the Creative Arts stream on board because it shows how different skillsets and expertise is needed to create solutions that will actually benefit people. I’m proud to have been able to give young students an experience of how collaboration really happens.
“Throughout the week we’ve had ups and downs, challenges and successes – but that is what engineering is really like! Nothing works the first time, so the students have had to learn problem solving and resilience. I couldn’t have been happier to see all six projects from the engineering stream up and running at the final showcase – what’s more each one of them had elements and decisions devised by the students themselves.
“They have all grown in their abilities and confidence, and I hope that they take that confidence back with them to their studies, and future careers.”
This year’s programme follows the mission statement of the 2023 event, but with the addition of creative arts: “The University of Warwick's initiative reflects its dedication to providing equal opportunities in engineering and creative arts education. By empowering less privileged local students and challenging misconceptions about the subjects, they are nurturing a diverse talent pool that will shape the future of engineering and creative arts.”
The event was supported by a host of staff and student ambassadors including Phil Jemmett; Margaret Low; Caroline Cannon; Marie Diebolt; Alex Band; Bruce Guild; Megan Clement; Robin George; Harry Gillions; Liv Griffiths; Martin Hill; Myles Ing; Karen Kudar; Samuel Leo; Zarin Miah; Ihsan Muhaddisoglu; Umair Paracha; Bradley Peirce; Adam Rich; Shawon Shanto; Elizbieta Titis; Jingyi Zhao; Caroline Cannon; Gauri Verma; Oksana Trushkevych; Bill Crofts; Richard Carney; Vidya Narayanan; Bradley Pierce; Laura Copland; Jay Carter; Paul Philipson; and the WMG Facilities team.
Find out more about WMG's Outreach programme here: Outreach and Widening Participation (warwick.ac.uk)
Professor Trevor Burnard
The department is very sad to learn of the death of Prof. Trevor Burnard.
Chemistry Work experience 2024 a great success!
From July 10th to July 12th, we have welcomed 40 A-level students to the Department for a three-day Work Experience Placement for a taste of a career in chemical sciences.
New paper about the force generating mechanism of kinesin molecular motors
Sumiyoshi et al. is a collaboration addressing a question Robert Cross and Jun Yajima first asked themselves almost 20 years ago – would monomeric kinesin molecular motors tethered via surface loops still drive microtubule gliding? It turns out yes! Scanning a dsDNA tether across all exposed loops reveals a core mechanical cycle of the kinesin-1 motor domain that underlies, and is amplified by, linker docking.