Tag: PhD (Page 1 of 2)

2122 King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize (Round 1)

06/05/2022 /

Congratulations to the first round of winners of the 2122 King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize!

A limited number of awards are given across the year to celebrate truly outstanding research and theses completed by King’s doctoral students. The prizes are nominated by the external examiners and are judged by a panel consisting of the College’s Director of Research Talent and the Chair of the Research Degrees Examinations Board. 

 

Take a look at some reflections from the 2122 winners:

Dr Rana Alkattan, Dental Materials for Operative and Restorative Dentistry

As my time as a PhD student at King’s has come to an end, I look back at it as a period of growth, learning, and opportunities. My experience, although it had its ups and downs, was truly a positive and rewarding adventure. For this, I must thank my supervisors, family and friends who were with me every step of the way. I am honoured to have been recognized by King’s for my work, and am very grateful for all the time I spent here and all that I have learned.

 

 

Dr Olakunle Oginni, Behavioural Genetics

I really enjoyed learning about twin models and applying this knowledge to understand the health disparities among lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals compared to those who are heterosexual. I am very grateful to my supervisors – Prof. Frühling Rijsdijk (who was the overall winner of the 2020/21 Supervisory Excellence Award) and Dr. Patrick Jern (of the Abo Akademi University, Finland); the SGDP community, my family and friends, and the UK Commonwealth Scholarship Commission. Since completing my PhD, I have continued work as a lecturer and honorary consultant psychiatrist at the Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria; and I am a part-time postdoctoral research associate at Prof. Thalia Eley’s EDIT Lab at the SGDP Centre.

 

 

Dr Julia Burrill, Molecular Biology

I’m very grateful to receive this award and must, of course, thank my supervisors, Dr. Nunzianda Frascione and Dr. Barbara Daniel. Doing a PhD can be a real roller coaster and I’m so glad the rest of the gang in King’s Forensics was along for the ride. For those of you en route to submission, keep it up! Everyone thinks of chucking it in at some point, but it helped me to keep reminding myself of why I was passionate about the work in the first place. And remember to take breaks, whether it is going for a run or to the pub. My passion for the topic has now led me back to the U.S. to do a postdoc in Forensic Science Communication in the Courtroom at Stony Brook University, but I will always remember my time in London and at King’s with great fondness.

 

Dr Giles Masters, Musicology

It was a lovely surprise to be awarded this prize! I am, of course, very delighted and honoured. There are so many people I could thank, but I’ll just mention two. First, I’m very grateful to everyone at the Music Department at KCL – a truly vibrant community of intellectual and artistic endeavour – and especially my dedicated and brilliant supervisor Heather Wiebe. Second, I’d like to express my love and appreciation for my wonderful friend Clara Benjamin, who died last year.

 

 

Dr Laura Knopfel, Law

It is an honour to win this outstanding thesis prize in law for a socio-legal project. I thus read the award as an appreciation and encouragement for interdisciplinary and empirical research in legal scholarship. My thanks go to my supervisors Prof. Peer Zumbansen and Prof. Davina Cooper as well as the Law Department, in particular Dr. Eva Pils, the department’s former Director of Doctoral Studies, who gave me the freedom and possibility to pursue my research and supported me throughout the PhD journey at KCL.

 

Dr Harriet Cook, Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies

I’m incredibly grateful to have been nominated for this award and it feels exciting to be able to share a few very public ‘thank you’ notes in this blog post. Firstly, to my supervisor Julian Weiss who has continuously supported me and shared in any and all of my cantiga-related excitement. Secondly, to my examiners whose kindness and encouragement during my viva meant so much to me. Thirdly, to my friends and colleagues in medieval studies at King’s and the Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, all of whom I really look up to. Finally, thank you to the medieval troubadours I care so much about and who I hope know the relevance their poetry continues to have today. Roll on more cantiga moments for me and the world at large! And to PhD candidates nearing completion, I wish you all a lot of luck as you complete your projects and decide what you’d like to do next – I send my admiration your way!

 

Dr Sophie Carruthers, Psychology

I was very fortunate to complete my PhD under the supervision of Professors Tony Charman and Andrew Pickles, who generously invested in my learning and development, ensuring it was a wonderful experience. A special mention to the PACT-G Consortium and all the families who participated in the research for their contributions.

 

 

Dr Ana Caetano, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

I feel incredibly honoured to have been awarded the King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize. I am most grateful to my supervisor, Professor Paul Sharpe, for his intellectual guidance, relentless support, and for introducing me to the joy of being a scientist. Also, heartfelt thanks to my secondary and clinical supervisors, Dr Ana Angelova Volponi and Dr Veronica Booth. Thank you, too, to my external supervisor, Dr Eleanor D’Agostino, for her generous support; this work was jointly funded by the BBSRC and Unilever. Finally, I am deeply grateful to all my lab members and colleagues at the Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology, who made my time at King’s so memorable.

 

Dr Sarah McAllister, Health Services Research

It was such a surprise and honour to be awarded a King’s College Outstanding Thesis prize!  My heartfelt thanks go out to my supervisors Professor Glenn Robert, Professor Alan Simpson and Dr Vicki Tsianakas for all their support over the years.  Also, to the National Insititute for Health & Care Research for the incredibly generous research and training budget.  My favourite part of my PhD was getting to work alongside so many inspirational service users, carers and clinicians.  The work would not have been what it was without them.  My three wisest words of wisdom for completing a PhD: listen to those who use and deliver your services, always have a notebook handy to write down thoughts and ideas (they come at the strangest times) and make sure you make time for yourself to relax, sleep and eat.

 

Full list of winners from the first round of the 2122 King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize:

 

Dr Giles Masters Musicology, A&H
Dr Harriet Cook Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, A&H
Dr Rafael Lubner English Literature, A&H
Dr Rana Alkattan Dental Materials for Operative and Restorative Dentistry, FoDOC
Dr Ana Caetano Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, FoDOC
Dr Sophie Carruthers Psychology, IoPPN
Dr Olakunle Oginni Behavioural Genetics, IoPPN
Dr Matteo Montecchi Management Research (Marketing), KBS
Dr Alison McFarland Management, KBS
Dr Laura Knopfel Law, DPSoL
Dr John Whitaker Global Health Research, FoLSM
Dr Julia Burrill Molecular Biology, FoLSM
Dr Natasha Hezelgrave-Elliot Obstetrics and Gynaecology, FoLSM
Dr Edward Baker Nursing Research, NMPC
Dr Sarah McAllister Health Services Research, NMPC
Dr Malte Probst Theoretical Physics, NMES
Dr Ecaterina Burevschi Chemistry, NMES
Dr Duncan Wane Middle Eastern Studies, SSPP
Dr Eduardo Ortiz Juarez Development Economics, SSPP

 

To see the list of previous winners, please visit our website.

Research Reflections from Yanqing Wang, Part-Time PGR Student in the King’s Business School

01/04/2022 /

Hello, I am Yanqing and also known as Callie. I am a part-time PhD student in Banking and Finance Research Group in the King’s Business School. My research interest lies in financial technology, risk management, macroprudential policy and financial stability. I am passionate about applying research-based learning to solving real business problems.

It is my pleasure to be invited to write a blog for the Centre for Doctoral Studies. Inspired by my PhD peer, who kindly shared his reflections on his adventures as a lifelong learner, I thought it would be a good idea to share my part-time PhD journey over the first few months. So far, my journey can be summarised in two words: “balance” and “impact”.

 

How to balance work and life, and how to balance what you want to do versus what you can do?

Personally, I don’t think there is a single agreed recipe to get this right. For me, it usually involves lots of planning ahead and prioritisation, among other things. I have done a lot of learning and knowledge refreshing over the last few months on many training modules. Although it is hard to fully grasp all of the content if it is a new domain to me, I still try to follow it and at least build my awareness of what is feasible and available if needed for my future research project, so that I can revisit it when necessary. In addition, I strongly feel that research is different from learning, although we continue self-learning during research projects. Sometimes I have found that doing research can be a lonely journey, as you won’t always be sure what you will find out; much thinking is involved in defining your questions before considering ways to resolve it (or providing insights into the puzzles).

 

What impact do you want to have?

I first came across this question in the research training module for all new PhDs; it appears to be a straightforward question but it is not easy to answer on the spot. Luckily, I had the opportunity to write a blog for my university on climate change before COP26, looking back on the impact of previous climate change accords and what we should consider in the future. It was a good experience for me to realise that the impact of any research goes far beyond academic citations. It is critical to demonstrate the benefit or changes caused, or contributed to, by the specific study in society, the economy and the environment. From my point of view, the research impact pathway is non-linear. We need to plan for impact, engage with stakeholders and consider active communication. As a PhD candidate, how we create a long-lasting impact for research studies is a key question that I need to continue revisiting.

 

From industry back to academia, what to prepare?

You need to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the challenge in front of you. For example, you need to work with your supervisors to set up reasonable expectations with continuous reality checking (even saying ‘no’ to tasks, as there is no need to satisfy everyone, at least not all in one go). I think we do not need to be perfect and ‘good enough’ is fine (be comfortable, at least don’t panic, when you feel you are lost and unsure where to go next). Given part-time PhDs are also likely to be working full-time or have other life commitments, it is important to set up a boundary and retain a balance between work and life. I hope my insights will debunk some common myths you might have on the PhD journey.

 

Do you need some help?

Doing a part-time PhD is a life-changing experience with many considerations and commitments. My personal experience told me that the application journey is not always easy, so we may all benefit from being able to ask a few questions or sense-checking a few things with people who have just gone through the process.

You are not alone in your part-time PhD journey. There is now a Teams channel set up for KCL PT PGRs. Everyone is welcome to join this group (you can request to join via MS Teams).

Please come and join this growing part-time PhD community. We all need to have a safe place to discuss concerns or ask for advice.

Let’s enjoy our part-time PhD journey.  All the best!

 

 

 

Meet the King’s Doctoral Students’ Association Board for 2021/22

12/11/2021 /

The King’s Doctoral Students’ Association (KDSA) is the recognised representative body of the Postgraduate Research Student community. It is an autonomous body within the KCLSU representative structure and drives for the changes that doctoral students want to see.

Aim & Mission

KDSA is independent of King’s and works with the university to drive the changes doctoral students want.

  • Uphold, extend and defend the rights of doctoral/ postgraduate research students at King’s.
  • Establish a Peer Support Network for both academic and non-academic issues.
  • Promote student-led activity amongst new and existing PGR communities to build professional skills, share research ideas & network.

Watch the KDSA introductory video and meet the board members below:

 

Dionysios Malas, President 

Dionysios graduated with an MEng Mechatronic Engineering degree from the University of Manchester in 2020. He realised what is the preferred professional career he would like to pursue from a young age and after a patellar dislocation for which, due to surgical error, he had to be operated on several times. The incident intrigued him to become a Medical Robotics researcher to help in the development of innovative solutions to precision surgical procedures.

His research interest includes the lack of tactile feedback in medical robotics systems and tool, which is a widely cited disadvantage associated with robotics. Currently he is a PhD student trying to develop a novel technique to enable real-time force and shape sensing of an endoscopic tool called, MorphGI.

Check out Dio’s LinkedIn, Surgical & Interventional Engineering CDT

 

Mauro Bonavita, Vice President 

Mauro is a second year Ph.D. student in International Relations, based at the King’s India Institute and War Studies. Mauro’s research focuses on Indian foreign and maritime policy in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as great power competition taking part in the Indo-Pacific. He obtained a Master’s degree in Geopolitics and Strategic Studies from University Carlos III of Madrid, and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Genova. He is currently affiliated with the Centre for Grand Strategy at King’s College London. In the KDSA board for the academic year 2021-2022, he is the Vice President.

 

 

Davide Ferrari, Secretary & Treasurer

I am Davide Ferrari, scientist, blogger, and learner.

In 2021 I started my PhD at King’s College London, at the King’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Data-Driven Health.

After a Master’s in Musical Arts and a Master’s in Computer Science, I decided to devote my strengths to medical application of Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.

Check out Davide’s YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter

 

Katie White, Representative for the part-time PGR community

I am a 2nd year PhD student in the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience. My research explores how and why people engage with remote measurement technologies (wearables, smartphone apps) for symptom tracking in major depressive disorder. I am completing my PhD part-time whilst also working as a research assistant on the RADAR-CNS Public Private Partnership study. Before joining King’s, I completed a Psychology BSc at the University of Bath. I am thrilled to be the first part-time PhD rep on the KSDA board and look forward to ensuring that part-time students’ voices are heard and championed during their PGR journey.

Check out Katie’s LinkedIn, KCL Pure, Twitter

 

Roger Carles Fontana, Event Coordinator and Wellbeing Lead

I am a second-year PhD student at King’s College London studying the role of miRNA present in extracellular vesicles in cancer metabolism at the Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology (School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences). My working PhD title is “ExomiR resetting of the energy profile in HCC via the mitochondrial proteome”. I am the KDSA Event Coordinator and Wellbeing Leader, from where I hope to implement measures aimed at improving PGR students wellbeing by addressing issues concerning burnout, work-life balance, PGR sense of community and student-supervisor relationships. Prior to my PhD, I conducted research projects in cancer and extracellular vesicles in the United States and the Netherlands in the context of his master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences, awarded with cum laude. I also worked as a research assistant at the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park, where my work focused on the potential adverse effects of ionising radiation from medical procedures.

Check out Roger’s LinkedIn, Research Gate, Twitter

 

Chiara Mignani, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Co-Lead

I am a cultural manager and a Ph.D. candidate in lacemaking and Data Visualization. I am investigating the social and economic impact of cultural institutions within the urban environment. I use digital semantic mapping and analysis to understand and map urban dynamics. Particularly, my work focuses on the city of Venice and aims to contribute to the maintenance of the city as a center for artistic production and engagement.

Prior to my PhD I have worked as Marketing Manager in Istanbul and Venice, and helped start-ups in the field of urban development and sustainability to develop their marketing strategy.

I am Diversity and Inclusion co-lead and I want to contribute to design inclusive policies and work hard to demonstrate how much an inclusive approach can be a powerful asset for the university and its students and staff.

Check out Chiara’s LinkedIn, Twitter

 

Zeynep Sahin, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Co-Lead

Zeynep is the Diversity and Inclusion co-lead for KDSA. She is a first-year PhD candidate at the Department of Old Age Psychiatry where her work uses retinal imaging and artificial intelligence to detect and diagnose neurodegenerative diseases at the earliest point possible. Prior to joining KCL, Zeynep was a research fellow at the University of Cambridge.

Check out Zeynep’s Twitter.

 

 

 

Sangeeta Bhagawati, Social Media Coordinator

Sangeeta joined King’s College as a PhD student in 2019. She is based in the Department of Comparative Literature and her research project is titled ‘Literature about and from the periphery: Identity and Belonging in Assam’.

Sangeeta has previously worked as a Communications Assistant at King’s Arts and Humanities Research Institute, and she is the current social media coordinator for King’s Doctoral Students’ Association.

Sangeeta holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature (Gauhati University, India), an MA (First Class) in English Literature (Gauhati University, India), an MPhil (First Class) in English Literature (Gauhati University, India) and an MA (First Class) in Postcolonial Studies (SOAS).

 

James Rowland, Representative for Faculty of Arts & Humanities

I am a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of History at King’s College London. My research utilises contemporary newspapers and periodicals, parliamentary debates, works of political philosophy and travel literature to explore the influence of America on nineteenth-century British political reform debates leading up to the Second Reform Act. Prior to my PhD, I was a master’s student at King’s where I completed my thesis examining the impact of the American Civil War on the British Press. I am the representative for the Faculty of Arts & Humanities on the KDSA and look forward to working with the board to promote student welfare and strengthen the research community this year.

Check out James’ LinkedIn, KCL Pure, Twitter

 

Natalie Sanford, Representative for Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care

Natalie is a third-year PhD student at King’s College London studying resilient healthcare and interprofessional teamwork. She is the KDSA representative for the Florence Nightingale faculty of Nursing, Midwifery, and Palliative Care, where she also serves as the Research Executive PhD representative, chairs the faculty Journal Club, and teaches as a GTA. Outside of her faculty, Natalie is involved with a number of projects through King’s Centre for Team Based Practice, including the Simulated Home Environment project, the When Harm Happens pilot, and the implementation of Student Schwartz Rounds. She also works with King’s Academic Skills for Learning as an Academic Skills Tutor. Natalie was a 2021 KCLSU Laurel Award Recipient and was also shortlisted for 2021 Student Representative of the Year. Prior to her PhD, Natalie worked clinically in the U.S. with internal medicine and cardiology patients and taught medical-surgical and high-acuity nursing at the University of Maine. She was an original participant in the development and trial of the Interprofessional Partnership to Advance Care and Education model in collaboration with Maine Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, and the ACGME. She completed her master’s degree at the University of Edinburgh in 2016. Her working PhD thesis title is: “Resilience and Adaptive Capacity in Hospital Teams in England.” In 2021, she presented her preliminary PhD findings at multiple international conferences, where she won an award for Best Paper (EHF 2021) and was selected as an Emerging Talent in Resilience Engineering (NDM & REA 2021).

Check out Natalie’s LinkedIn, Research Gate, Twitter

 

 Sinuhé Perea, Representative for Faculty of Natural & Mathematical Sciences

Hello there! I’m a PhD student in the Photonics and Nanotechnology Group, literally trying to see (with light) what is hidden. I like to solve problems, but since I rarely find any solution, preferring to learn and ask. I graduated in Physics and in Mathematics at University of Oviedo (Spain) where I was also a Computational Assistant and participated in European Exposcience and being awarded as best young researcher for CEULAJ & ICMAT (CSIC). Currently, I am GTA in the Physics Department while researching in near-field and topological photonics systems, algebraic Number Theory (OPN) and skyrmions.

And remember, even primes are odd.

 

Lina Kramer, Representative for Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy 

Lina is a second-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Economy based in the School of Politics and Economics. In addition, she is a recipient of the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS-DTP) studentship award which is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

Lina’s research focuses on how AI can be used to design and improve tax policy. For this, she developed the AI Government, a deep reinforcement learning framework that allows her to run dynamic simulations and improve political and economic modelling.

Next to her PhD, Lina is the KDSA representative for the Faculty of Social Sciences and Public Policy (SSPP) and she is committed to enhancing the PGR student experience in SSPP. She is working closely with the Associate Dean for Doctoral Studies to ensure effective representation within the faculty and to strengthen the PGR community across the faculty.

Prior to her PhD, Lina worked for several years as a consultant on promoting the digitalisation of the German government and public sector. She further holds an MSc. in Economics from the University of Cologne and a BA. in Public Management and Governance from Zeppelin University.

Check out Lina’s LinkedIn.

 

Mikel De Iturrate Reyzabal, Representative for Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

I am a 2nd year PhD student in the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences in the Department of Surgical & Interventional Engineering. My research analyses different ways of combining visual and haptic information to create a reliable low-latency data transmission using mobile networks for telesurgery.  My focus now is on the use of GANs and other Deep Learning methods to compress the data and reconstruct it using the less amount of information possible, ensuring maximum performance at the same time. Before joining the PhD program at King’s, I studied my BSc in Biomedical Engineering in Universidad Carlos III in Madrid and the MSc in Healthcare Technologies here at King’s. I am thrilled to be the representative of the FoLSM on the KDSA board and look forward to helping every faculty PhD student.

Check out Mikel’s Linkedin, SIE Bio

 

Juliette Giacobbe, Representative for Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

Juliette is a 2nd-year PhD student at King’s College London. Her project is part of the H2020 EarlyCause project and focusses on the interactions between inflammation, stress, and hippocampal neurogenesis as pathophysiological mechanisms of depression. She is the KDSA representative for the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience. She completed a BSc in Psychology and Education at the University of Mons, Belgium, and a MSc in Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience specialised in Fundamental Neuroscience at Maastricht University, the Netherlands.

Check out Juliette’s Twitter.

 

KDSA represents all postgraduate research students at King’s, and they are keen to hear from you! If you’ve got feedback to share or would like to find out about PGR events, get in touch via kdsa@kclsu.org, Twitter, or Instagram.

New Scholars for the Africa International PGR Scholarships Announced

11/11/2021 /

 

Three new scholars have been awarded funding under the competitive 2021/22 Africa International PGR Scholarship scheme. Established by the Centre for Doctoral Studies in 2020, this scheme invites students from African countries to apply to a PhD programme at King’s and conduct research that is relevant to Africa, particularly in the interdisciplinary areas across Conflict, Peace and Security, Global Health, Development and Digital Technology. Successful candidates receive full funding for up to four years, including tuition fees, a stipend, and an annual research support grant.

“The Centre for Doctoral Studies is delighted to appoint three new PGR students to our Africa International PGR scholarship program after an exciting competition of truly excellent applicants. We look forward to welcoming our new international students in October who will begin their research projects in the areas of oral healthcare, palliative care app development and the social impact of digital innovation.”

Professor Rebecca Oakey, Dean for Doctoral Studies, Centre for Doctoral Studies

“I’m delighted to welcome three more doctoral researchers to King’s through our Africa International PGR Scholarship programme. This programme is an important strand of our commitment to diversify our PGR community, as described in our Race Equality Charter action plan. Our African scholars will all undertake interdisciplinary projects which focus on African issues, consistent with King’s service ethos and a core value of our internationalisation vision of having a global problem-solving mindset.”

Professor ‘Funmi Olonisakin, Vice President & Vice Principal (International)

 

 

2021/22 Africa International Scholars:

Scholar Research Project Title
Birke Bogale Lema Health system strengthening, redevelopment and modelling oral healthcare in post-conflict countries and fragile health systems: a case study of Ethiopia
Nuhamin Tekle Gebre Co-development and piloting of an app for community health workers to expand palliative care coverage in Africa

 
Mmekidmfonabasi Umanah Tech for Good: The Social Impact of Digital Innovation and how it is applied by Social Enterprises in Nigeria

 

Comments from the scholars:

“I feel really excited and humbled to be able to win this award out of the hundreds of applicants. This scholarship will enable me to complete my PhD at one of the most prestigious universities in the U.K., researching on a topic that is very dear to me, which is the role of technology in social impact organisations, and working with really experienced and accomplished supervisors. It is really a dream come true and I am super grateful for the opportunities. This research has practical benefits to Africa and I’m excited to be able to work on it because of this prestigious scholarship.”

Mmekidmfonabasi Umanah

 

“It is a great privilege to be awarded the Africa International PGR scholarship. I am very excited to start my Ph.D. studies at King’s College London, a world-leading institution in health research, to be exposed to the essential experience I require to impact palliative care coverage in Africa.”

Nuhamin Tekle Gebre

 

We are delighted to welcome Birke, Nuhamin, and Mmekidmfonabasi to King’s College London, and wish them all the best with their innovative research degrees.

 

 

 

 

King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize 2021

03/08/2021 /

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2021 King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize!

Twenty awards are given across the year to celebrate truly outstanding research and theses completed by King’s doctoral students. The prizes are nominated by the external examiners and are judged by a panel consisting of the College’s Director of Research Talent and the Chair of the Research Degrees Examinations Board. 

We have an exceptional community of postgraduate researchers at King’s. Each year we recognise 20 of the very best, who have been nominated by their examiners. The standard is incredibly high, in terms of the quality and impact of the research and the clarity and skill of the written thesis. Most winners have published multiple papers and won prizes at conferences, some are already shaping their fields, forging new avenues of research and changing national policy, whether in the UK or abroad. It is definitely one of the most inspiring and enjoyable part of my role to read the submissions from the examiners and the supervisors’ supporting statements.

-Dr Nigel Eady, Director of Research Talent & King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize panellist.

 

Take a look at some reflections from the 2021 winners:

 

Dr Cheng Lin, Dickson Poon School of Law

Thesis: The legal nature of export credit insurance and export credit guarantee: a comparative study between the UK and China.

I feel greatly honoured to be awarded this prize. I would like to thank Prof Özlem Gürses and Prof Eva Lomnicka QC (Hon), my dear supervisors at King’s, for their endless support. I am also grateful to King’s for offering me a generous PhD scholarship and various conference and research allowances. My PhD is a pleasant and unforgettable journey in my life. I enjoyed a number of interesting training courses organised by the Centre for Doctoral Studies, which substantially improved my academic skills. I also benefit from my internship research project at the International Union of Credit & Investment Insurers, where I was able to examine whether the legal theory fits the practice in the real commercial world. For those who are about to submit, I encourage you to keep a health daily routine. Do work hard, but also eat well, sleep sound and get some exercise every day. And always take notes when you come up with some fresh ideas even if they are not directly related to your thesis. Happy research and good luck!

 

Dr Michelle White, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

Thesis: Informing the knowledge gap of implementation of the World Health Organisation Surgical Safety Checklist in sub-Saharan Africa.

I loved every minute of my PhD at King’s and am indebted to my supervisors Dr Andy Leather and Prof Nick Sevdalis for their constant guidance and encouragement. They created an atmosphere that was both intellectually stretching and supportive. For me, writing my thesis was a way to express all that I had discovered and become passionate about over the last three years, which meant it was an enjoyable experience rather than a chore. I would encourage anyone interested in doing a PhD to find subject you love and supervisors who you can connect with – then you will have some of the best years of your life.

 

Dr Luis Medina, Faculty of Arts & Humanities

Thesis: Where are the Borders? (Re)Imagining the Nation in Contemporary Ecuadorian Literature.

I remember my PhD years at King’s as some of the happiest of my life. I can’t help but smile when I think that I was privileged enough to spend so many hours reading and writing about the literature that I love. One of the most decisive aspects of my doctoral experience was my fantastic supervision team. I’ll be forever grateful to Dr Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela and Professor Catherine Boyle from the Department of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American Studies. Their unconditional academic and emotional support helped me to produce a thesis that won three prizes and is already being edited for publication. After receiving my award in August 2020, I held a teaching position at the University of Manchester, and I’m thrilled to share that, from September 2021, I’ll be joining the University of Birmingham on a permanent lectureship in Modern Languages (Spanish).

 

Dr Emma Kinnaird, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoology & Neuroscience

Thesis: Beyond the stereotypes: characterising the unique features of underresearched eating disorder populations, and implications for treatment.

I feel incredibly lucky to have spent three years researching a topic that I feel passionate about, supported by two wonderful supervisors who really took time to adjust the project to my strengths and interests. I’m now taking the skills I’ve learned in my PhD and putting them into practice as I train as a clinical psychologist at Oxford University.

 

Dr Pablo Lopez-Custodio, Faculty of Natural & Mathematical Sciences

Thesis: Design of Reconfigurable and Mobility-Variable Linkages with Singularity Analysis and Kinematic Analysis Using Generated Surfaces

I dedicate this prize, and the thesis itself, to the loving memory of my dad Sigfrido Lopez-Zamudio, who passed away during my first year of PhD in King’s College London. Thank you having been an ever-present inspiration.

 

 

Dr Jessica Dafflon, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

Thesis: Machine Learning Methods in Neuroimaging.

I feel honoured and grateful to have been awarded the King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize. I would like to thank the Center for Doctoral Training in Smart Medical Imaging for this opportunity, my PhD advisors Prof. Federico Turkheimer and Dr. Peter Hellyer. But above all, I would like to thank Prof. Robert Leech, Dr. Walter Hugo Lopez Pinaya, and Pedro Carvalho De Paula Ferreira da Costa for the support during the hard times and the brilliant discussions we had. Lastly, I would like to congratulate Thomas Helfer on also winning the King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize and on making my time at King’s College an unforgettable experience.

 

Dr Thomas Helfer, Faculty of Natural & Mathematical Sciences

Thesis: Exotic Compact Objects in Numerical Relativity.

I am delighted to win this thesis prize, which was only possible with the help of the fantastic people that surrounded me during my Ph.D. journey. They not only helped me foster my passion and love for numerical relativity, but they were also there to share a coffe or beer during the challenging times. Thanks especially to Eugene Lim, my excellent supervisor, who always had time for questions and discussions, and shaped me into the scientist I am today. I would also like to thank Jessica Dafflon for being present during the difficult times and congratulations on also winning the KCL thesis prize.

 

 Dr Clemency Jolly, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

Thesis: The timing of key events and mutational processes in tumour evolution.

I was really delighted to be nominated for this prize – it feels pretty surreal to write up four years’ work into one thesis, and definitely takes a bit of stamina! I have so many great memories from my time in the lab, where I was working on a project trying to reconstruct the evolutionary history of cancer from genome sequencing data. While I was based at the Francis Crick Institute, I was also affiliated with King’s, and definitely appreciate the great support I received from both during my studies.

 

Dr Jaffar Khan, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

Thesis: Novel transcatheter electrosurgical laceration of heart valve leaflets to prevent blood flow obstruction from transcatheter heart valve implantation.

I am thrilled to be awarded the Kings’ Outstanding Thesis Prize for my work on novel cardiovascular interventions. It is so unbelievably gratifying knowing that the techniques described in my thesis have already helped treat thousands of patients worldwide.

 

Dr Cristina Fernandez Turienzo, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

Thesis: Evaluation of the introduction of a midwifery continuity of care model for women at increased risk of preterm birth.

I am delighted to receive this prestigious award in recognition for my PhD work. I will always be in debt to my amazing supervisors Prof Jane Sandall, Prof Andy Shennan and Dr Kirstie Coxon, thesis committee members and many other people within Kings (and outside!) who supported me in one way or another. Thank you also to my examiners for such a positive online PhD viva experience. I have recently received a NIHR DSE award and I am looking forward to enhance my learning of clinical trials in global health.

Dr Tiago Rua, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

Thesis: The economics of implementing new clinical pathways across community and hospital-based care.

As part of my PhD I have tried to bridge the gap between the economics and medical imaging fields by applying health economics methodologies across multiple clinical conditions and imaging modalities. Currently, I am working as a Programme Manager of the Covid-19 Vaccination Programme at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

 

 

Dr Elisa Bruno, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience

Thesis: Wearable non-EEG sensors for seizure detection

My experience at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, has been fantastic during my PhD, and has helped me to develop professionally in a very inspiring way.

It is a great workplace where I’ve found contagious positivity, enthusiasm and knowledge.

 

Dr Rosina Matilde, Social Science & Public Policy

Thesis: Deterrence and international migration: The criminalisation of irregular entry and stay in Italy and France.

It’s an honour to be awarded the King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize. I would like to thank all my interviewees, for agreeing to share their knowledge and experiences with me. A special thanks also goes to Professor Simona Talani, and to my examiners Professor Henk Overbeek and Dr Anna Sergi. Since finishing my PhD, I have joined the European Institute at LSE as a fellow, and look forward to continuing my work on migration.

 

Full list of 2021 winners:

Dr Bryony White,  English Language & Literature, A&H

Dr Luis Medina, Latin American Studies, A&H

Dr Jonah Miller, History, A&H

Dr James Rakoczi, English Literature and Medical Humanities, A&H

Dr Vinod Patel, Clinical Dentistry, FoDOC

Dr Tiago Rua, Health Economics, IoPPN

Dr Jessica De Faria Dafflon, Neuroimaging, IoPPN

Dr Emma Kinnaird, Psychological Medicine, IoPPN

Dr Elisa Bruno, Clinical Neuroscience, IoPPN

Dr Clemency Jolly, Cancer Genetics, FoLSM

Dr Jaffar Khan, Cardiovascular Sciences, FoLSM

Dr Cristina Fernandez Turienzo, Women and Children’s Health, FoLSM

Dr Michelle White, Surgery (Global Health and Implementation Science), FoLSM

Dr Thomas Helfer, Physics, NMS

Dr Pablo Lopez-Custodio, Kinematics, NMS

Dr Kristina Kubiliute, Mathematics, NMS

Dr Matilde Rosina, International Political Economy, SSPP

Dr Adam Day, War Studies, SSPP

Dr Rajan Basra, War Studies, SSPP

Dr Cheng Lin, Law, DPSoL

 

About the awards

Each King’s Outstanding Thesis Prize winner is awarded £250 and receives a certificate endorsed by the Principal.

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