Find out more about some of our staff members, the world-leading research they undertake and how they collaborate with industrial partners and institutions.
Professor Hazel Screen is Head of the School of Engineering & Materials Science, a Chartered Engineer, and a Professor of Biomedical Engineering.She is the Director of the UK-wide Organ-on-a-Chip Technologies Network and Co-Director of the Queen Mary Centre for Predictive In-Vitro Models and Emulate Organ-Chip Centre.
Her research includes using ‘organ-chip’ technologies, designed to mimic the structure and function of human organs in miniature form, to better understand how our organs function, how and why they become diseased, and how they change as we age. She has a particular interest in researching the tissues in our musculoskeletal systems, such as tendon, muscle, bone and cartilage.
Professor Kaspar Althoefer is the Head of the Centre for Advanced Robotics @ Queen Mary (ARQ), leading research into robot autonomy, soft robotics and tactile sensing. His work has applications in robot-assisted surgery, rehabilitation, assistive technologies and human-robot interactions in the manufacturing environment.He has been part of research teams awarded more than £10 million in funding from bodies such as the Wellcome Trust, EPSRC, Innovate UK and the European Commission. He also works in collaboration with St Thomas Hospital London, creating robotic solutions for the healthcare sector. He has authored more than 500 peer-reviewed papers and invented seven patents.
Dr Caroline Roney is a Reader in Computational Medicine and a world-leading expert in digital twins - virtual representations of real-life objects. She researches the integration of AI and machine learning techniques into healthcare, with a particular focus on cardiovascular applications.
Her pioneering work has earned her a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. She is also a passionate campaigner for women and girls in STEM.
Professor Liz Tanner is a leading figure in materials science and engineering, renowned for her work in the fields of biomaterials and tissue engineering. Her research interests are in the development, testing and use of biomaterials for bone and joint replacement. With over three decades of experience, she has made significant contributions to medical applications.
She is a Fellow of numerous academies and societies, as well as a Trustee of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Karin Hing is a Professor of Biomaterials whose pioneering research into synthetic bone grafts was honoured in a special series of Royal Mail stamps, commemorating great engineering progress of the past 50 years.
Her research team engineered materials that encourage bone growth in complex orthopaedic surgeries, improving outcomes for hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide.
Sir Harry Bhadeshia is a renowned materials scientist celebrated for his pioneering work in metallurgy. He has significantly advanced our understanding of steels and metallic alloys.
His research focuses on enhancing the mechanical properties and durability of steels, spanning phase transformations, microstructural evolution, and computational modeling. If you travel from the UK to France via the channel tunnel, your carriage is moving on rails made of a particular kind of steel that he invented!
Knighted for his contributions to science and engineering, Sir Harry has received numerous awards for his work.
James Busfield is a Professor of Materials and Deputy Head of the School of Engineering and Materials Science. His research expertise includes developing smart soft materials that can sense their environment, and soft actuating materials that can change shape in response to a physical stimulus.
He is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a National Teaching Fellow and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
Before beginning his academic career, he designed suspension components for an automotive industry supply company, working with clients such as Jaguar, Volvo and Mercedes.
Dr Paul Balcolme is a leading expert in Chemical Engineering and Renewable Energy, renowned for his research and advocacy in climate change mitigation. He is also the Programme Director for Chemical Engineering at Queen Mary.