Month: November 2025

Each year the King’s Doctoral College gives out a limited number of awards to celebrate truly outstanding research and theses completed by King’s doctoral students.

The King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize Winners receive their awards at their graduation ceremony and also receive a £250 prize.

The Winners of the Second Round are:

Luke Vano, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

“Multimodal Imaging Links Elevated Striatal Dopamine Synthesis in Schizophrenia with High Neuromelanin and Brain Iron Deficiency.”

Luke Vano

I am deeply honoured to have been awarded a King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize. I joined the Maudsley Psychiatry Training Programme with the ambition of contributing to cutting-edge research. After many unanswered emails to prospective supervisors, I began to think it might not be possible—until I attended a lecture by Oliver Howes on the biological basis of schizophrenia. Captivated by his insights, I reached out, and he responded. Since then, Oliver has been an exceptional mentor, providing constant support and guidance. I am also grateful to Ian Everall, whose encouragement and inspiration have been invaluable throughout my research journey.

My PhD investigated how changes in brain iron and neuromelanin—a product of dopamine metabolism—relate to dopamine dysfunction in schizophrenia. Using MRI and PET imaging, I provided evidence that patients with schizophrenia have higher neuromelanin levels but lower brain iron compared to healthy controls, and that these changes are linked to elevated dopamine synthesis. The findings suggest that disruptions in iron homeostasis and neuromelanin production contribute to striatal hyperdopaminergia in schizophrenia—a hallmark of the disorder. Investigating the origin of these abnormalities may offer new biomarkers and treatment targets.

The analysis pipelines developed for this thesis are rooted on the pioneering work of Robert McCutcheon. His ability to demystify the most complex topics has often left me in awe. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had him as a supervisor. I am also indebted to Jan Sedlacik, Stephen Kaar, Grazia Rutigliano, and Mattia Veronese for their guidance and for making my time in research so enjoyable.

I am currently continuing my research at King’s as a postdoctoral researcher, alongside continuing my psychiatry training. 

Find out more about Luke’s postdoctoral research on LinkedIn.

Uxio Hermida Nunes, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

“Computational Approaches to Unveil the Hidden Fetal Arch Shape and Flow Signatures in Coarctation of the Aorta.”

Uxio Hermida Nunes

I completed my BSc in Biomedical Engineering at Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF) in Barcelona, where I first became interested in cardiac modelling and how computational simulations can help us better understand cardiac disease. During my final year, I joined Philips Research Paris for an internship, working on simulations of cardiac valves using numerical methods. I then moved to London for an MSc in Healthcare Technologies. After a successful MSc project with Professor Pablo Lamata, I began my PhD journey under the supervision of Professor Lamata and Dr Adelaide De Vecchi.

My doctoral research focused on developing computational approaches to study fetal aortic arch morphology and haemodynamics in cases of coarctation of the aorta using novel fetal magnetic resonance imaging. This work was made possible through a close collaboration with the clinical team at St. Thomas’ Hospital (Dr Milou Van Poppel, Dr David Lloyd and Dr Kuberan Pushparajah). Working within this multidisciplinary environment of engineers and clinicians was deeply rewarding and reinforced my belief in the power of collaboration for clinical impact.

Throughout my PhD, I presented my work at international conferences, published in journals, and was nominated as Best Postgraduate Researcher by the School of Biomedical Engineering and Imaging Sciences. I also represented King’s at the STEM4Britain competition at the UK Parliament and won the HS-DTC Best Scientific Image Award.

After completing my PhD, I moved to Paris to join Dassault Systèmes as a Research Engineer in the MEDITWIN project, developing digital twin technologies for paediatric cardiology. This role allows me to continue pursuing my passion for computational modelling and digital twins in paediatric and fetal cardiology.

Receiving the King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize is an honour and a meaningful recognition of this journey. I’m deeply grateful to my supervisors, Professor Pablo Lamata and Dr Adelaide De Vecchi, for their guidance, encouragement, and for fostering such a collaborative and inspiring research environment.

Check out Uxio’s research profile on Google Scholar and connect on LinkedIn.

Ilaria Di Dedda, Faculty of Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sciences

“Type A symplectic Auslander-Reiten theory”

Ilaria Di Dedda

I am honoured to have been awarded one of the King’s Outstanding Thesis Prizes. I am grateful to my supervisors Professor Yankı Lekili and Professor Konni Rietsch, and to my peers and colleagues for their steady support throughout my PhD. I would also like to thank my examiners and the panel for this recognition.

I came to King’s to study for my MSc in Mathematics, after completing a BSc at the Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy. I enjoyed my course, but above everything I loved working on my MSc Final Project, which gave me a first taste of what research in Maths looked like, and which pushed me to pursue a PhD. My PhD thesis studies interactions between symplectic geometry and representation theory, two fertile areas of Mathematics, concerned with the study of both abstract and physical objects. Each area has its own individual set of problems and open questions, which researchers in the respective fields tackle every day, but it is often thanks to these unexpected connections that we are able to find new answers to them.

During my PhD, I have presented my research at international conferences and seminars, my work has been accepted for publication, I was the co-winner of the third year “PGR research competition” prize (2023), and I have been nominated for an Outstanding Teaching Assistant (2022) and a King’s Education Award (2023). I am especially pleased to be receiving this Prize after being awarded the equivalent one for my MSc Project in 2019, also under the supervision of Professor Lekili, which makes me feel like my experience at King’s has come full circle.

I am now fortunate to have a postdoc position at the University of Edinburgh, where I am looking forward to work on new research problems.

You can read more on Ilaria’s Google Page.

Victoria Charlton, Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy

“To what extent can NICE defend its claim to be an ethical priority setter?”

Victoria Charlton

I am honoured to receive a King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize. I would like to sincerely thank my examiners, supervisors, and the panel for this recognition.

My decision to do a PhD came as a surprise to many – not least me – as at the time I’d been working for several years in science policy, first as a Specialist to the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee and later as Head of Policy at the Academy of Medical Sciences. (In my opinion, the best job in the world). But having decided to start a family, my hormone-addled brain thought that part-time doctoral study would be the perfect way to balance flexible working with looking after young children. Nine years on, that decision has paid off and this wonderful prize is further endorsement of a journey that hasn’t always been easy.

I’ve always been fascinated by ethics and was interested in the role that ethical considerations play in shaping – or failing to shape – public policy. And nowhere are the ethical implications of policy decisions more salient than in the arena of healthcare priority-setting. My thesis combines empirical research with ethical analysis to explore the role that normative (that is, value-based) commitments play in shaping the priority-setting decisions reached by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). It finds that though many of the values underpinning NICE’s formal approach are highly coherent and support NICE’s main goal of promoting population health, coherence is sometimes lost in the translation of this approach into real-world decision-making. In a nutshell, though NICE claims to act ethically in making decisions about which new drugs NHS patients should be able to access, my research suggests that this claim cannot be robustly defended.

Since completing my PhD, I have taken some time to consider what comes next. The challenge of combining work with childcare does not, as it turns out, end once the kids are in school so my current plan is to continue working in academia part-time while also embarking on other pursuits. As such, I have recently taken up a position as a Visiting Research Fellow at LSE Health while continuing to publish and teach regularly at Imperial College London – a portfolio of roles that, in general, means that I’m still available for pick-up at 3.30pm.

Read more about Victoria’s research on her King’s Profile.

Francesca Ideo, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences

Francesca Ideo

It was truly an honour to be a student at King’s College London.

I was an off-site PhD student, as I live in Cagliari, a beautiful city in Sardinia, in the south of Italy. 

My career in dentistry began with Dental degree in 2013 at the Universitiy of Cagliari, Italy, where I also completed a master’s degree in Clinical and Surgical Endodontics in 2016. 

My research stemmed from my long-standing work at the University Hospital of Cagliari. Over the years, I have been involved there first as a student, then as a clinical trainer, and now as a health professional. Being in close contact with patients affected by various conditions and under different treatments helped me realise how deeply systemic and oral health are interconnected. This awareness inspired the topic of my PhD thesis

I mostly focused on finding a connection between autoimmune-diseases and medications taken by the patients to treat these conditions (immune-modulators and immnune-suppressant drugs) and the prevalence and healing of apical periodontitis, one of the most frequent oral disease in the world. 

Throughout my PhD, I received support and guidance from Professor Francesco Mannocci and Professor Elisabetta Cotti, to whom I owe my heartfelt gratitude.

During this time, I had the pleasure of presenting my project several times at international conferences, where I met many researchers who showed great interest in my work, and I received an award for the best clinical research from the Journal of Endodontics in 2023.

Pursuing this  PhD gave me the opportunity to deepen my knowledge and to work with patients who needed care with greater understanding and scientific awareness.

Now that I have completed my PhD, I am working as an adjunct professor at the University of Cagliari, and I sincerely hope to maintain a strong connection with King’s College.

Studying there has been one of the most enriching and inspiring experiences of my life.

Find out more about Francesca’s research on ResearchGate.

Hannah Scott, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care

Hannah Scott

“Developing an implementation plan with theoretically-informed strategies for integration of the Children’s Palliative care Outcome Scale into routine paediatric palliative care.”

I am delighted to have received an Outstanding Thesis Prize. I would like to thank my supervisors, Professor Richard Harding, Dr Claire Ellis-Smith, and Dr Debbie Braybrook for their support throughout the process, my examiners, Professor Ulrika Kreicbergs and Professor Bernie Carter for nominating me for this award, and to the NHIR ARC South London for funding my PhD.

I started working on the Children’s Palliative care Outcome Scale (C-POS) study as a research assistant in 2020 as my first full-time research job after having completed an MSc in Social Policy and Social Research (University College London) and BA(Hons) Children, Young People, and Families (York St John University). I knew at this point I wanted to pursue a career in research and at some point, do a PhD. Within my first year, Professor Richard Harding identified an NIHR ARC South London studentship and encouraged me to apply to undertake a PhD as part of the wider study. 

For my PhD, I developed an implementation plan that will be able to support the integration of C-POS into routine hospital-based care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. I was also able to apply for a Seedcorn grant from the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery, and Palliative Care to develop short videos for parents  and professionals to communicate the anticipated benefits of the tool and further support future implementation.

I also had the opportunity to present my work at several international conferences, including the European Association for Palliative Care 12th World Congress, where my poster on ‘Challenges and incentives for integrating person-centred outcome measures into routine paediatric palliative care: health, social care, and commissioner perspectives’ won an award for one of five best posters in category.

Since completing my PhD, I have been working as a research associate, at Queen Mary University of London, on studies focused on the impact of science communication events for families affected by multiple sclerosis and understanding what matters most to children with dystonia and their families.

Find out more Hannah’s research via ORCiD, LinkedIn, BlueSky and Twitter

Joanne McDermid, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

“Randomised Controlled Trial of the iWHELD Programme: A Novel Digital Non-Pharmacological Intervention to Improve Quality of Life in People Living with Dementia in Care Homes.”

Joanne McDermid

I’m so happy and honoured to have received the King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize. Completing my PhD part-time at King’s College London was an incredible journey, and I’m thrilled to have my work recognised in this way.

My research focused on developing and evaluating a novel digital training programme to improve quality of life for people living with dementia in care homes. This included leading two randomised controlled trials, one involving over 600 participants and delivered during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme demonstrated significant impact in enhancing wellbeing and reducing the use of psychotropic medication.

The research resulted in multiple peer-reviewed publications, including in a leading dementia journal, and was recommended for national implementation in an Alzheimer’s Society report to government. I also secured postdoctoral funding to support further real-world evaluation.

Alongside my academic journey, I navigated two periods of maternity leave, including a twin pregnancy, and have been raising my three little girls alongside completing the PhD. It was a demanding but deeply rewarding experience that taught me a great deal about resilience, staying focussed on my purpose, and holding onto a long-term vision. 

Since completing my doctorate, I’ve continued in applied dementia research, with a growing focus on real world implementation and closing the gap between evidence-based research and everyday practice. I’m particularly interested in how we create digital, human-centred tools that are genuinely built for real life and real challenges, and exploring how emerging technologies, such as AI, can enhance care and deliver meaningful support at scale, without losing what matters most: human connection.