Three University of Cambridge researchers are among 77 early-career researchers awarded UKRI Future Leader Fellowships to lead research and collaborate with innovators.
The fellowships provide up to seven years of support worth a total of £120million.
Dr Claudia Bonfio, Dr Akshay Deshmukh and Dr Elizabeth Radford. Picture: University of Cambridge
Dr Claudia Bonfio’s lab in the Department of Biochemistry explores how life emerges from non-living matter by building active primitive cells. She wll explore this evolutionary question by investigating how the synergy between primitive lipids and peptides led to the emergence of membrane proteins – a hallmark of living cells.
Dr Akshay Deshmukh is returning to the Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology from MIT for his fellowship, which will develop new processes to recover critical metals from sources like brines and recycling streams. To reach net zero by 2050, we will require seven times more critical metals than we produce today but current extraction methods use large amounts of energy, water, chemicals and land. His research combines experiments, spectroscopy and mechanistic studies to design next-generation membranes, and speed up the development of cheaper, more sustainable separation technologies.
Dr Elizabeth Radford, a paediatric neurologist whose fellowship will be based in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, aims to accelerate diagnosis and expand the treatment options for children affected by neurodevelopmental genetic conditions.
Dr Radford will study thousands of genetic changes by recreating them in human cells grown in the lab, to show which changes damage proteins, help doctors interpret genetic tests and provide earlier diagnoses.