Dr Pallavi Singh has had a big impact since joining the School of Life Sciences in 2022. She is publishing in the leading multidisciplinary and plant science journals and has secured significant research funding.
Her research has overturned the consensus dating back thousands of years that cereal and related species do not graft. A finding with huge implications for plant biology research.
She is a leader in her field who is also committed to supporting colleagues both at Essex and beyond alongside future scientists through outreach work.
Her exceptionally important research led to her receiving the prestigious President’s Medal from the Society for Experimental Biology earlier this year.
Outstanding Early Career Researcher for Social Sciences Award
Dr Sarah Kunz has made an amazing impact since joining the Department of Sociology and Criminology in 2022.
Her eclectic and remarkable book about expatriates won this year’s Philip Abrams Memorial book prize.
She has taken on a leadership role in numerous global and international networks, co-founding the Elite Studies Working Group and the British Sociological Association’s Sociology of Elites Study Group. She is described as an exemplary colleague who has already seen her work published in multiple leading journals.
Outstanding Mid Career Researcher for Arts and Humanities Award
Dr Matthew Gillett is using international law to protect the most vulnerable of groups from grave harms.
He is advancing progressive approaches that place victims’ interests in the centre of the legal process, while linking those developments to core principles of international justice.
He co-produced the guidelines on speech crimes which have been relied on by many international organisations including Amnesty International.
His research is also supporting international institutions with human rights fact-finding and digital investigations.
His work on Ecocide is helping shape the use of international criminal law to prosecute attacks on nature.
Recently he has teamed up with indigenous representatives from Colombia to make special representations before key members of the United Nations.
Outstanding Mid Career Researcher Science and Health Award
Dr Zilong Liu has developed into an outstanding researcher since joining the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering in 2019.
He is at the forefront of the development of the next generation of wireless communications and is also an exemplary member of the School who is keen to support younger colleagues by sharing his experience and knowledge.
Outstanding Mid Career Researcher Social Sciences Award
Professor Rashedur Chowdhury has immersed himself in the lives of marginalized people and their spaces—where they live, suffer, or experience pain, how they aspire to thrive on their own terms or maintain non-conformist lifestyles.
This research uses large and unique datasets to challenge some of the old dogmas, arguing that marginalized stakeholders possess "political imaginations and capabilities" to challenge the powerful actors they might come up against.
This has led to influential papers in leading journals, numerous best paper awards and the Human Relations journal’s prestigious Paper of the Year Award in 2023.
Best Research Impact for Arts and Humanities Award
Professor Lorna Woods has been at the heart of making the case for effective regulation to combat the negative impact of harmful online content.
Working with Carnegie UK she showed the UK Government how internet safety could be significantly improved through a systematic approach to regulation. This led to the Online Safety Act which became law in 2023 and will improve the online environment for UK users.
The award winner is now working with the public to influence how the new regime will be implemented and to ensure it meets its aims of making online safety better for everyone.
Best Research Impact for Science and Health Award
Dr Louis Howe and Dr Jamie Tallent are working with the world-famous Royal Ballet School to refine training practices and enhance the physical strength and performance of our most talented young dancers.
Their work exemplifies how to build a demonstrable link between evidence-based research and impact.
By investigating the reliability of physical testing measures and then implementing a micro-dosing approach to training sessions, the research team has directly influenced the Royal Ballet School's approach to testing and training.
Best Research Impact for Social Sciences Award
Professor Birgitta Rabe has helped to change Government policy by providing robust evidence around the impact of free part-time and full-time early years childcare.
Her work has been influencing the views of the Government and policymakers for more than a decade and directly informed the UK government’s major new policy to provide 30 hours a week of free childcare for working parents with children aged from nine-months to two-years.
Her robust analysis of its potential impact has been highlighted as fundamental to this important policy decision.
Best Research Impact by Early Career Researcher Award
Dr Nikhil Gokani is helping improve people’s diets by allowing them to fully understand the nutritional valiue of what they are eating.
This early career researcher is working in the interlinked areas of health, nutrition, the law and governance.
He has been working collaboratively with the World Health Organization and different countries to improve laws on the nutritional labelling of our food at a national and regional level.
This has helped develop the legal advice the World Health Organisation now provides to different states and supported the drafting of new laws.
Outstanding Interdisciplinary Research Award
Centre for Intimate and Sexual Citizenship was represented at the awards by Professor Róisín Ryan-Flood, Dr Phoebe Kisubi-Mbasalaki, Dr Laurie James-Hawkins, Professor Melissa Tyler, Dr Julie Walsh and Dr Cara Booker.
The Centre has established an incredible international reputation for excellent research, events and publications.
The Centre develops links across our departments and is at the forefront of creating world-leading collaborations in the realms of reproductive politics; theories and practices of consent; changing understandings of family; and LGBTQ+ rights, to name just a few of the areas it is active within.
Publishing collaborations include a series of edited books featuring contributions from internationally renowned scholars through to early career and doctoral students.
Research Visibility Champion Award
Dr Paul Hanel is constantly innovating to raise the profile of his research in psychology, which ranges from the nature of creativity and cross-cultural values to the secrets of personal happiness. A strong advocate of open science, he champions new approaches within the Department of Psychology to increase citations and engagement.
He has taken part in numerous high-profile public events, engaged extensively with the media, written blogs for multiple platforms and presented at many academic and non-academic conferences.
At the Royal Society’s Summer Science Festival in London, his team challenged stereotypes by encouraging thousands of visitors to test their values. The success of the exhibit has led on to an invite to the British Science Festival in September 2024.
Outstanding Research Support by a Technician/Technical Team Award
Jon Whitby, Rob Rayner, Callum Gutteridge, Joshua Raistrick from the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering are an exemplary team who have demonstrated outstanding dedication and expertise which has significantly enhanced the capabilities and productivity of research groups in the School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering.
Their in-depth knowledge and meticulous attention to detail has supported complex 3D printing projects which have led to breakthroughs in bioengineering research.
Their exceptional skills in 3D CAD design, development of innovative technical solutions, and meticulous coordination of health and safety requirements, have played a pivotal role in advancing scientific inquiry at Essex.
Outstanding Research Support from Professional Services Award
The winner of the Award for Outstanding Research Support from Professional Services is Elizabeth Lee Reynolds.
Elizabeth is a highly valued member of the School of Life Sciences professional services team.
As Research Manager she can always be relied on to deliver excellent research support and is driving forward important initiatives to support the School’s research strategy and individual research groups.
This includes her support for the relaunch of the Centre for Environment and Society and the major Leverhulme Trust Award for the Sustainable Transitions Doctoral Training Partnership which is having an impact across the whole university.
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