PhD Studentships 2024

Enquiries: Dr Sikiru O. Ismail

Supervisors: Dr Sikiru O. Ismail, Dr Antonios Kanellopoulos, Prof Ljubomir Jankovic

Originality: Application of plant fibres is increasing today among manufacturing industries, such as building and construction. The wide use of natural hemp, flax and other fibres can be attributed to their outstanding inherent properties: sustainability, renewability, recyclability, availability, environmentally friendliness, low-cost, non-toxicity and relative ease of fabrication. These can be innovatively tailored to benefit building structures.

Significance: This proposed project aims at designing and developing improved, sustainable and low-cost cementitious composites for building and construction applications. In comparison with synthetic fibres (carbon, glass and Kevlar), natural fibres emit little or no carbon content during processing and usage to support zero carbon emission policies and environmental protection directives, in addition to benefit of their hybridisation. Therefore, durable composites of cementitious matrices reinforced with treated and untreated uni/bi-directional and/or various orientated woven natural/plant fabrics will be fabricated, using hand lay-up moulding technique. Proposed matrices for the masonry structural applications include natural lime-based mortar with water-soluble salts, lime-based grouting, natural pozzolans and carbonated filler.

Rigour: Firstly, design and development/manufacture of some sets of improved cementitious composites, with various woven natural fibre ply/mat stacking sequences, their hybrids and fibre orientations. Secondly, conduct mechanical (impact, ductile/tensile, flexural, compressive, fracture toughness, among others), thermal, fire retardancy, acoustic, water absorption tests on both fabricated wet and dry samples. Thirdly, develop both finite element (FE)/representative volume element (RVE) predictive models and carry out simulation, using experimental data obtained and/or in reliable literature. Fourthly, develop integrated building energy and micro-climate models to enhance comprehension of the energy-saving and micro-climate regulation benefits of the composites. Fifthly, conduct life cycle assessment to evaluate embodied carbon content, among other constituents, and finally, validate and optimise developed predictive models.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The natural fibre reinforced cementitious composites will be characterised, using experimental and numerical simulation approaches. With fabrics, masonry structures are held together against impact/destructive actions, such as earthquake. The proposed structures will produce required building material properties towards energy optimisation, poverty reduction and affordable houses, among others.

Enquiries: Prof. Yong Chen

Supervisors: Prof. Yong Chen, Dr. Loic Coudron

The problem to be addressed: Phase change materials (PCMs) have the potential to store energy for zero emission buildings. However, PCMs’ capacity, performances and applications are limited by a low thermal conductivity and unreliable stability. There is a need to develop more economical and high-performance phase change materials for thermal energy storage systems for buildings[1].

Originality: This proposed PhD programme will tackle the knowledge gaps of PCMs [1] so that an affordable novel high-performance PCM could be achieved. The project will introduce an innovative approach by synthesis a new and affordable nano-PCM with significant improvement of thermal conductivity, stability and sustainability previously neglected in the literature.

Significance: In line with the global movement towards sustainable buildings and dwellings, this project aims to promote PCM energy storage systems for buildings by developing low-cost novel nano phase change materials which can explore the potential of thermal conductivity and optimised thermal performances for thermal energy storage systems for buildings.

Rigour: The effects of nanoparticles & their treatment on the potential of nano-PCMs for thermal energy storage for building applications in specific regions will be studied. The proposed project will be based and deal with synthesis, physico-chemical characterisations and thermal properties of nano PCMs for thermal energy storage in building applications.

Potential contribution to knowledge: Deliverables from this study will be (i) novel physical nano phase change materials for thermal energy storage systems in building applications; (ii) 1-2 conference papers; (iii) 2-3 journal papers published in Q1 journals.

Reference`s: [1] Muhammad Hayat, Yong Chen*, et al.^, Characteristics and Potential Applications of Nano-enhanced Phase Change Materials: A Critical Review on Recent Developments,Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 50,101799, (2022)

Enquiries: Dr Yuen-Ki Cheong

Supervisors: Dr Yuen-Ki Cheong, Dr Jacqueline Stair

The problem to be addressed: Biopolymer, Chitin and its derivatives Chitosan are known to play important roles in agriculture, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. As an example, Chitosan gauze has been proven to have haemostatic effect and is commonly used in hospitals/paramedics/military to control bleeding. However, the application performance of such Chitinous products is limited due to their poor solubility in water.

Originality: The Chitinous starting materials used in this project are produced in-house, by our research partner using circular and green manufacturing methods where organic food wasted are consumed during the process. The starting Chitinous material extracted displays a honeycomb structure which is rare and different to the one currently available on the market.

Significance: Improving water solubility of chitinous materials enhances not only the performances in the haemostatic effect, but also for other applications (i.e. bioplastics). Chitin is known as the second most abundant natural polymer after cellulose, successfully functionalised these biopolymers into desired resources would promote circular economy, sustainable bio-resources, organic waste management and reduce carbon footprint.

Rigour: The candidate will work alongside with a team of experts to chemically functionalise chitinous biopolymers, the purity and structures of the products will be analysed, characterised and validated using a range of qualitative and quantitative techniques (i.e. SEM/TEM, DSC, NMR, IR/Raman etc). Training will be provided for the new role.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This project will facilitate a deeper understanding of the polymeric structures of the new type of chitinous materials. Successful method applied to improve water solubilities of these materials will also provide knowledge to solve similar problems to other polymers. The solubility of other solvent will also be studied in this project with aim to recrystalise samples to obtain unambiguous crystallography X-ray structures.

Other details:

Click and see the following link for the Journal of Bioengineering special issue promoting “Exploring the Versatility of Biopolymer Chitin and Chitosan”.

https://www.mdpi.com/journal/bioengineering/special_issues/DC6HB7266Z

Further information: Entoplast | Chitin and Chitosan Supplier

Enquiries: Dr Mohammad Reza Herfatmanesh

Supervisors: Dr Mohammad Reza Herfatmanesh, Professor Hongwei Wu, Dr Loic Coudron

The problem to be addressed: Electric motors produce heat during operation, thus effective cooling of electric motors can improve their performance and efficiency. This project aims to design and optimise a liquid spray cooling system for hairpin electric motors to improve the overall efficiency and driving range of EVs.

Originality: There is limited information available concerning liquid cooling of hairpin electric motors. In particular, the effects of injection pressure and injector nozzle design have not been extensively investigated. This project aims to design, manufacture and test bespoke nozzle designs for cooling of hairpin electric motors.

Significance: Global warming is a major concern and a threat facing humanity. Transport sector is a significant contributor to the overall emission of greenhouse gases and other harmful emissions.  This project aims to make a contribution towards the development of more efficient EVs to help decarbonise the transport sector.

Rigour: The project involves experimental testing of hairpin electric motors using various bespoke injector nozzle designs. This project will produce a roadmap for future development of high efficiency hairpin electric motors.

Potential contribution to knowledge: There is limited information available in the literature concerning the liquid cooling of hairpin electric motors. This project aims to design and develop an experimental setup for detailed investigation of liquid cooling of hairpin electric motors and bridge the gap in the knowledge base.

Enquiries: Dr Iosif Mporas

Supervisor: Dr Iosif Mporas

The problem to be addressed: The global population is growing, and it is expected that several millions of people will suffer from dementia in the next decades. Affective modelling of the people living with dementia is essential to tackle the progress of the disease and improve their wellbeing.

Originality: The project will investigate original methods for identifying the affective status of people living with dementia including when listening to music. The effect of music listening in dementia patients is important in improving their happiness and the novel methods that will be developed will model these emotions from facial characteristics, head and body movement analysis as well as other wearable sensors.

Significance: The recognition and the modelling of the affective status and the emotions of people living with dementia is important for improving the quality of living as well as for their relatives. It is also an important tool in the hands of their carers to use when designing their applied treatment

Rigour: The research conducted on this project will rely on publicly available datasets as well as data provided by collaborating organisations for dementia care, and the developed methodologies will be tested and validated against standard experimental setups.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The project will contribute to knowledge by investigating in depth methods of modelling of the emotions in the people living with dementia. Knowledge discovery for new markers and patterns related to specific emotional conditions will be investigated.

Other details: The project will rely on previous research done by Dr Iosif Mporas on the topic as well as on previous work in the literature.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9201749

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8643365

Enquiries: Dr Iosif Mporas

Supervisor: Dr Iosif Mporas

The problem to be addressed: Energy disaggregation or non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) is the task splitting the measured aggregated energy consumption on device level, usually in households but also in whole residential buildings, commercial/industrial buildings and in smart grids. The disaggregation is usually based on modelling of electrical appliances using machine learning.

Originality: The project will investigate original methods for identifying characteristic patterns of target devices in the energy consumption signal. The novel methods will be based on cutting edge deep machine learning algorithms.

Significance: Energy disaggregation is the key element in the optimisation of smart grids and energy systems in general. The knowledge provided by NILM on device level allows AI algorithms for energy optimisation to model the individual consumption units rather than aggregated or averaged measurements.

Rigour: The research conducted on this project will rely on publicly available benchmark datasets, and the developed NILM solutions will be tested and validated against standard experimental setups.
The project will contribute to knowledge by investigating in depth cases where existing NILM methods are not quite successful and identify the patterns and motifs in the appliances signatures as well as the corresponding models of them.

Other details: The project will rely on previous research done by Dr Iosif Mporas on the topic of NILM (available publications online).

Enquiries: Dr Iosif Mporas

Supervisor: Dr Iosif Mporas

The problem to be addressed: The use of AI and computer vision can increase the productivity of farms and reduce the operational costs. In particular, the use of computer vision can help detecting plant pathologies, assess the quality and condition of the soil and also predict the harvesting readiness. Such information can allow optimisation of the processes in a farm and in turn reduction of the operational costs.

Originality: The project will investigate original methods for identifying plant pathologies using imaging methods as well as to estimate the harvesting readiness of fruits or vegetables. The novel methods will be based on cutting edge deep machine learning algorithms for computer vision.

Significance: Smart farming is essential both for the productivity and for the financial sustainability and economic growth of modern agricultural units. The use of AI especially in the nowadays challenging climate change is a must to predict diseases and extreme climate events thus securing productivity.

Rigour: The research conducted on this project will rely on publicly available benchmark datasets, and the developed smart farming solutions will be tested and validated against standard experimental setups.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The project will contribute to knowledge by investigating in depth methods of modelling of plant diseases and harvesting forecasting using innovative computer vision approaches where possible mixed with other heterogeneous sources of information and identify the patterns and motifs that can provide early detection of diseases and accurate forecasting of the optimal harvesting period.

Other details: The project will rely on previous research done by Dr Iosif Mporas on the topic as well as on previous work in the literature.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6730653

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568494615004391

Enquiries: Dr Christoph Salge

Supervisors: Dr Christoph Salge, Prof Silvio Carta, Dr Christian Guckelsberger

The problem to be addressed: With recent advances in artificial intelligence [AI], particularly the generation of text or images, there is an increased interest to use AI to restructure the world to our benefit. Using AI to design houses, cities, transport systems, for example within a net zero framework, could provide solutions to existing problems, such as addressing many different regulations and constraints at once, or the necessity to address the feedback of many different and diverse stakeholders.

Originality: The core idea of this proposal is to use different computational models of intrinsic motivation to drive the behaviour of a creative AI system. Computational models of intrinsic motivations are models that try to formalize and reproduce core generic motivations of organisms, such as curiosity, or a desire to be in control of one’s own environment (empowerment).

Significance: But AI design or even AI aided design is still facing challenges. Current approaches often rely on large amounts of example data and then produce something that roughly imitates existing solutions. But how can computational creativity [5] push beyond the boundaries of examples and produce something new? How can it adapt and expand upon a partial existing solution, thereby allowing co-creativity, or amending existing solutions? And finally, how can an AI evaluate the quality of complex artefacts for which there might now be any clear and easily computable evaluation functions?

Rigour: In previous work we used the principle of empowerment maximization for an agent in a simple grid world to survive and restructure the world to fit its own embodiment [1,4]. The idea here would be to take this approach, possibly generalized to other intrinsic motivations and study if we can scale it to more complex problems, such as restructuring urban environments. We found that intrinsic motivations can produce artefacts that are both adapted to the current situation, and to the agent’s embodiment – without the need for existing examples. It would be interesting to see if those approaches scale, if they produce artefacts that are appreciated through human evaluation, and how they would fare in a multi-agent setting.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The project overall is interdisciplinary, and backgrounds in computer science, AI, computational creativity, game design, architecture, HCI, or similar would be highly beneficial. There is a degree of flexibility to adapt this project to the specific strength of an applicant, and answering some of the questions above would already be sufficient. The project could, for example, focus more on the fundamental, mathematical underpinnings of how intrinsic motivations might drive creative processes, or on more practical applications such as the adaptations of game environments in Minecraft [2], or actual city planning [3]. Similarly, it would be desirable to conduct some experiments that evaluate the generated artefacts against human perception – but this could also take different forms and scopes. If you are interested, I strongly encourage you to contact Christoph Salge to discuss possibilities before applying.

References:

[1] Salge, C.; Glackin, C.; Polani, D., 2014. Changing the Environment Based on Empowerment as Intrinsic Motivation. Entropy, 16, 2789-2819.
[2] Salge, C., Green, M.C., Canaan, R., Skwarski, F., Fritsch, R., Brightmoore, A., Ye, S., Cao, C. and Togelius, J., 2020. The AI Settlement Generation Challenge in Minecraft. KI-Künstliche Intelligenz, 34(1), 19-31.
[3] Carta, S. (Ed.). 2022. Machine Learning and the City: Applications in Architecture and Urban Design. John Wiley & Sons.
[4] Guckelsberger, C., Kantosalo, A., Negrete-Yankelevich, S. and Takala, T., 2021. "Embodiment and Computational Creativity." Proc. Int. Conference on Computational Creativity.
[5] Guckelsberger, C. 2020. "Intrinsic Motivation in Computational Creativity Applied to Videogames." PhD diss., Queen Mary University of London, 2020.

Enquiries: Dr Jan Kim

Supervisors: Dr Jan Kim, Prof Daniel Polani

The problem to be addressed: Understanding sustainability is crucial for the survival of humanity as for the ecological world. Can AI help us to identify early warning signs of a system about to collapse, “tipping points”, and possible intervention routes? The PhD will address these questions via information theory, specifically empowerment.

Originality: Information theory and especially empowerment are novel methods to characterize biologically plausible cognitive control dynamics. Their potential to model biologically relevant behaviour is only just being tapped. This project offers a completely novel route to characterize the sustainability of a biologically active system rather than a system with passive response

Significance: Sustainability is one of the major challenges for humanity in the coming centuries. Lack of transparency and complexity of ecosystems render it extremely difficult to suggest coherent interventions. This project aims at developing an entirely novel effective class of tools for this purpose based on only recently developed techniques.

Rigour: The model is based on information-theoretic perception-action loop models. Empowerment is computed as the channel capacity of the external sensorimotor loop of a given biologically plausible control system. The theory is now well developed and ready to be deployed to a novel class of locally reversible dynamical models.

Potential contribution to knowledge: While empowerment has been in use as intrinsic motivation, the suggested model class is new.  It combines empowerment with local reversibility which has barely been studied. The PhD will identify desirable sustainability properties, local reversibility under an information-theoretic lens and predictions/characterizations of sustainability of systems vs. their tipping points.

References:

Kim, J. T., & Polani, D. (2009). Exploring Empowerment as a Basis for Quantifying Sustainability. 21-28. Paper presented at IEEE Symposium on Artificial Life, Nashville, TN.

Kim, J. T., & Polani, D. (2020) Quantifying Sustainability in a System of Coupled Tipping Elements. IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence (SSCI), 102-108

Enquiries: Associate Professor Christabel Tan

Supervisors: Associate Professor Christabel Tan, Dr Yuen-Ki Cheong

The problem to be addressed: In healthcare sectors and industries, although methods for testing antibiotics and other aqueous-based reagents are well established, methods for testing nanomaterials, non-polar and other particle-based suspensions are still debatable. Hence, utilities of ISO standard validations of such substances have been recalled where corrective actions had to be taken.

Originality: This project first involves designing and fabricating a microfluidic device which is equipped with an in-house electrophoretic technology where the mobility of charged samples (labelled microbes and nanomaterials) can be measured and that the colour changes of the microbial labels enable semi-quantifications of viable cells.

Significance: Successful microfluidic prototypes will provide a reliable, standardise, testing platform for antimicrobial nanoparticles (AMNP) testing. The accumulative fluid mobility and colorimetry results obtained can potentially be fed to Machine Learning, such combined development will enable robust screening and become the first standard method for evaluating efficiency of AMNPs.

Rigour: Different nanomaterials will be tested and externally calibrated against a wide spectrum of microbes and pathogens using the successfully fabricated microfluidic device. The results will not only evaluate microbial susceptibility, but also navigate of charges, distributions, thus provide information of the interaction between the microbes and nanoparticles under a single experiment.

Potential contribution to knowledge: Candidate will learn Computer Aid Design (CAD) tools, laser cutting and other hands-on techniques for designing and fabricating the desired microfluidic prototypes. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques (TEM/SEM, UV abs etc) are routinely used over lab benches to analyse changes in particles/cell concentrations and the presence of viable cells.

References:

Chung and Cheong et. al., Applied Methods to Assess the Antimicrobial Activity of Metallic-Based Nanoparticles. Bioengineering 2023, 10(11), p. 1259. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering10111259

Enquiries: Dr G Ren

Supervisors: Dr G Ren, Dr Andy Timms, Dr E Chung

The problem to be addressed: During Covid-19, the simultaneous transmission of viruses and bacteria has caused severe complications, leading to a high mortality rate of 50%. These transmissions primarily happened in hospitals through respiratory droplets containing the virus or contact with contaminated surfaces. Emerging research suggests that antimicrobial and antiviral nanoparticles can serve as effective alternatives to traditional surfaces in hospitals. These nanoparticles have the potential to combat co-infections caused by different infectious pathogens.

Originality: We have affordable functional nano-surfaces that can eliminate pathogens upon contact, achieving a 99.997% successful killing rate. The nano-surfaces can conjugate to repurposed molecule to form metal organic framework (MOF) to create better antimicrobial and antiviral surfaces (AAS) that are more effective in combating coronaviruses and bacteria in hospital settings.

Significance: The project will establish efficient microbiological test assays and test beds for evaluating the nano-surfaces that can kill pathogens responsible for serious co-infections in hospitals. the market for these surfaces and their manufacturing technology is projected to grow to $2.5 billion by 2027.

Rigour: The evaluation of the nanoparticles in combination of repurposed antimicrobials against co-infectious pathogens will be carried out and the results from test bed targeting healthcare settings will be used to determine the levels of nano-synergistic impact in enhancing the performance against the pathogens.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The research will highlight the need to understand how the antimicrobial nanoparticles interact with viruses and bacteria. By exploring these mechanisms, researchers will be able to develop nano-alternatives for antivirals and antimicrobials while to improve hospital surfaces for preventions of pathogen spread and transmissions. This PhD project will speed up the applications of antimicrobial and antiviral nanoparticles as antimicrobial surfaces in healthcare settings. The applications will be potentially air and water filtration systems, surgical instruments.

Enquiries: Prof Hongwei Wu

Supervisors: Prof Hongwei Wu, Prof Lubo Jankovic, Dr Soodamani Ramalingam

The problem to be addressed: The Climate Change Committee, an independent advisor to the UK Government, has stated that immediate action is required to decrease the carbon intensity of our buildings and to support a transition to a net zero carbon operation, as well as meet our national and international climate-change targets.

Originality: Smart buildings have been in operation for decades however it is only in recent years that data collected from these systems is starting to be used for building management system.

Significance: There have been significant advances in characterizing the thermal performance of buildings from large time-series data sets of measurements taken by in situ sensors.

Rigour: Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can improve the operational efficiency of buildings, creating Digital Twin – a virtual model of a real-life operational entity. Through this data-driven approach, the proposed models will monitor operations to head off issues before they arise, or optimise the operations based on changing human-environment interactions.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The proposed project will assess the whole lifecycle cost of data collection, analysis and storage to deliver sustainable digital twins for decarbonization and demand management. Applying the proposed approach to a building enables estimation of the costs and benefits, and therefore supports effective decision-making.

Enquiries: Prof Lubo Jankovic

Supervisor: Prof Lubo Jankovic

The problem to be addressed: Structured methods for net-zero building design exist in the form of performance simulation based on the first principles, including the methods developed by the members of the Zero Carbon Lab at the University of Hertfordshire (Jankovic, 2017). However, the use of these methods requires significant technical expertise and expert design tools. Thus, in practice, key design decisions are made by architects before or without the involvement of simulation consultants. The absence of rigorous building energy performance design results in suboptimum designs and missed opportunities for achieving net-zero emissions.

Originality: The originality of this research is in the development of a conceptual framework of design interventions for net-zero housing design and retrofit that translates each intervention into quantified contributions towards achieving net zero building performance.

Significance: The significance of this approach is in bringing net-zero design and retrofit of houses, that normally requires significant technical expertise, to a wider audience

Rigour: The research will be based on defining a set of design interventions/design grammar rules and on rigorous analyses of these rules using dynamic performance simulation and multi-objective optimisation, until causal relationships between the grammar rules and their quantification are achieved for different climate conditions.

Potential Contribution to Knowledge: The main contribution to knowledge will be in a replacement of specialist knowledge of building performance simulation with design based on a combination of grammar rules that achieves quantifiable net-zero performance and an expanded deployment of net-zero building design.

Reference:
Jankovic, L., 2024. Designing Zero Carbon Buildings - Embodied and Operational Emissions in Achieving True Zero, 3rd ed. Routledge.

Enquiries: Prof Lubo Jankovic

Internal supervisor: Prof Lubo Jankovic

External supervisors:

Thomas Greco, Founder, http://beyondmoney.net

Will Ruddick, Founder, https://grassrootseconomics.org/

Nothing will shape the future of civilization more profoundly than innovations in the realm of money, credit, and exchange mechanisms. Those that have been emerging over the past several decades are mere harbingers of things to come and will challenge the flawed system of banking and finance that has become dominant over the past three centuries or more. Innovations in exchange media fall into four categories, forms of manifestation, means of transmission, essential nature, and locus of creation and control. Of these the latter two are the most significant and by democratizing access to credit are able to promote social justice and economic opportunity and thus reduce poverty and inequality. The resulting dispersion of economic power will lead to better outcomes in ecological sustainability and access to the necessities of life.

Whilst numerous alternative currencies exist around the world, there is no sufficient understanding of their global potential.  Increasing our understanding of alternative currencies and their potential in the global economy will lead to new profound insights. How would the new kind of money influence poverty?  How could it influence the creation of an egalitarian global society?  What would it do to the quality of life and work/life balance? How would it deal with the economic potential of local communities amid shortage of conventional money?

Applicants for this studentship are invited to investigate innovations that produce the means of payment that are independent of the banking system and government fiat currencies, discovering the essence of the new kind of money and its potential impact on future societies and the future of civilization. The best examples of such payment mechanisms thus far have been (1) private and community currencies that are spent into circulation by trusted sellers that are ready, willing, and able to redeem their currencies quickly for real valued goods and/or services, and (2) circles and networks of producers and traders that allocate credit to one another and use the process of clearing to settle obligation without the use of official fiat currencies.

Bibliography

Greco, T.H., 2021. Solar Dollars: A Complementary Currency that Incentivizes Renewable Energy. Front. Built Environ. 7, 785145. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2021.785145

Greco, T.H., 2018. Local Currencies—what works; what doesn’t? Beyond Money. URL https://beyondmoney.net/monographs/local-currencies-what-works-what-doesnt/ (accessed 1.9.23).

Greco, T.H., 2010. The end of money and the future of civilization. Floris, Edinburgh.

Jankovic, L., 2019. Opportunities for financing sustainable development using complementary local currencies. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 297, 012023. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/297/1/012023

Marshall, A.P., O’Neill, D.W., 2018. The Bristol Pound: A Tool for Localisation? Ecological Economics 146, 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.11.002

Ruddick, W. (2017) Documentary on Will Ruddick and Kenyan Community Currencies (HD), 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojFPrVvpraU

Enquiries: Dr Darren Crook

Principal supervisors: Dr Darren Crook, Dr Ben Nutt, Dr Siobhan Bygate

The problem to be addressed: The degree to which the development of International Conflicts impact on domestic politics at a local level and with national repercussions. To what degree do religious and/or ethnic allegiances impact community relations with a locality and the local/national government response. This builds on research work already being undertaken within PIR.

Originality: This project takes a new perspective on issues of domestic, safer communities and wider national security. Rather than focussing on the impacts of terrorist behaviour, this project examines the impacts of legal or illegal non-violent ‘sympathetic protest’ at the local or national level, based on shared religion, culture or ethnicity.

Significance: Project significance lies in the crucial evaluation of the impacts of international conflicts on community cohesion and safer communities at the local level and will contribute to policy making for safer communities in the future at national level.

Rigour: The project builds on a range of approaches in the field of International Relations and community and safer communities' studies and local politics in the UK, using qualitative and quantitative methods, including options of case study analysis, interviews, process tracing, thematic and/or content analysis, & visual methodologies etc., as appropriate.

Potential contribution to knowledge: A social science understanding of the impacts of events in the International Relations realm and how this impacts community cohesion and community safety, in diverse and diaspora communities with multifaith/multiethnic communities in a third country. This will inform future government policies at local and national levels and inform best practice.

References:

Acharya, A. (2014) Global IR and Regional Worlds: New Agenda in International Studies, in International Studies Quarterly, 12/2014, Vol. 58/ 4.

Murray, C. (2020) Imperial dialectics and epistemic mapping: Decolonisation to anti-Eurocentric IR, European Journal of IR, 06/2020 Vol. 26/2.

Enquiries: Dr Frances Harris

Supervisors: Dr Frances Harris, Prof Rebecca O’Connell

The problem to be addressed: Contemporary alternative food movements in Britain have been dominated by the White middle classes. Indeed, whilst allotment communities potentially provide opportunities for learning across generational and cultural divides, less is known about the extent to which different traditions and knowledges are exchanged, embraced or considered authoritative or valuable.

Originality: The study is highly original in combining the three DTA Future Societies themes of Resource Sustainability (food), Citizen Equality (education and inequalities) and Societal Challenges (health).

Significance: Although some urban food growing projects foreground the experiences and expertise of migrants and people of colour, there is less evidence of the extent of ethnic diversity in allotments outside of cities, or the experiences of allotmenteers from minoritised ethnic groups and how these intersect with other subjectivities such as age, class, gender, disability, sexual orientation and citizenship status.

Rigour: Understanding allotments as ‘communities of practice’, this study will use a rigorous mix of quantitative and qualitative ethnographic methods to explore diversity within allotments as sites of learning and belonging.

Potential contribution to knowledge: Drawing on and contributing to a mix of disciplinary fields, including education, sociology and anthropology of food, and public health, and with the potential to make vital contributions to the policies and practices of organisations seeking to broaden participation in food growing amid the current revival, the project is both timely and significant.

Enquiries: Dr Richard Southern

Supervisor: Dr Richard Southern

The problem to be addressed: The global reliance on hydrocarbons has led to the ecological crisis termed the climate emergency. There is a growing recognition of humanity’s changed environmental circumstances: a fact made clear at various COP conferences. Further research on the geopolitics of the Anthropocene’s climate challenges is urgently needed (Ripple, et al., 2020).

Originality: Anthropocene geopolitics is an emerging field, and one growing in relevance. Drawing on recent scholarship (see Dalby, 2020), this research innovatively examines the dual geopolitical imperatives and challenges now threatening the West in terms of the climate emergency and national security using a case study approach.

Significance: As energy resources are depleted and the West becomes increasingly reliant on remaining reserves of oil and gas in less-than-friendly states, Western governments need to know how to respond that meets current needs for energy and their future commitments to a net-carbon neutral world, whilst balancing national security imperatives.

Rigour: Strongly designed mixed-method research will provide a robust ontological focus on the geopolitical governance of the climate emergency in relation to national security and how this fits within an epistemological framework of a post-globalised world predicated on a new world order increasing dominated by the Sinoisation of the world economy.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This research will innovatively examine geopolitical imperatives that emerge, public and stakeholder response and what government need to do in the light of the climate emergency, and crucially in ensuring what the ongoing security of nation states and world regions would look like and be implemented.

Reference:

Dalby, Simon (2020) Anthropocene Geopolitics: Globalisation, Security and Sustainability, University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa

The problem to be addressed: Headteachers have always been involved in pupil welfare, however, the pandemic highlighted the role of schools in providing support for children, staying open for families where children were not safe to stay at home, as well as those children of key workers.

Originality: This PhD will focus on the changing nature of leadership among headteachers, and the way in which headteachers learn about and navigate, children’s social, health and wellbeing issues, while also trying to maintain their core mission of supporting teaching and learning in schools.

Significance: At a time when schools are often the gateway for signposting children and their families to social services, this PhD focusses on the changing nature of leadership, and skills required by headteachers, to address these issues.

Rigour: Research will use a mixed methods approach, likely to include some surveys but mostly in depth semi-structured interviews with headteachers, and their counterparts in a range of social and wellbeing services.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The PhD will provide a greater understanding of the changing nature of the role of headteacher, and how this impacts on job satisfaction, and the way headteachers can be supported to take on these roles.

Enquiries: Dr Darren Crook

Supervisors:  Dr Darren Crook, Dr Francesca Batzella, Dr Siobhan Bygate

The problem to be addressed: The degree to which the development of alternative energy production and green energy supply from North Africa and the Middle East, will impact the established Global Power Balance, especially with a view to UK/EU energy transition towards green energy in the wake of the Ukrainian and Middle East crisis.

Originality: This project takes a Social Sciences perspective where environmental sciences and engineering are still dominant.  It explores the impact of green energy production and supply to the European Union (EU) and the UK from non-European countries, with an emphasis on North Africa and/or the Middle East.

Significance: Project significance lies in the crucial evaluation of the impacts on international relations of a re-orientation of the EU & the UK towards alternative green energy sources. Decarbonising policies will impact the global power balance, particularly with consideration to competing interest between established Superpowers and BRICS and present wars.

Rigour: The project builds on a range of approaches in the field of International Relations: International Political Economy, European Union Studies, Comparative Politics, Environmental Policy, Energy Policy. The candidate will use qualitative and quantitative methods, including options of case study analysis, interviews, process tracing, thematic and/or content analysis, etc., as appropriate.

Potential contribution to knowledge: A social science understanding of the impacts of scientific developments in renewables and alternative energy is crucial for the UK, EU and indeed Africa and the Middle East for the future and is often overlooked. International Relations perspectives will inform future government policies and diplomatic relations.

Enquiries: Dr Stephen Partridge

Supervisors: Dr Stephen Partridge

The problem to be addressed: Hertfordshire is at the epicentre of a massive increase in production facilities that service the booming UK film industry. Analysis of the sector (BFI Skills Review 2022, Screen Skills 2022) has identified skills shortages and a lack of investment in training as risk factors undermining the expansion of UK film.

Originality: Indicative questions might include research into the changing composition of media industries, the convergence of once discrete technologies and the education and training requirements required to meet them; arts education in schools, the FE and HE sectors, and the level of provision to support a changing international industry.

Significance: Integral to the research are issues around inclusion and strategies to address the systemic under representation of minorities within the industry. Scale is also a factor, with a stated need for 15-20 thousand job roles to be filled over the next five years.

Rigour: It is expected that the successful candidate will work closely with a range of local and government, cultural agencies, selected local schools and the film and entertainment industries.

Potential contribution to knowledge: As the screen sector’s contribution to UK GVA continues to grow while other sectors contract, this proposal seeks to address how the UK’s position as a global leader in film production has become jeopardised. The longer-term aim is to inform both education and industrial policy of training and education.

Other details: The University seeks applications from potential doctoral students working in the field of cultural education for young people with a specific reference to the film, media and entertainment industries, especially those located in Hertfordshire, a site of major government investment over the next five years.

Enquiries: Prof John Sturzaker

Supervisors: Prof John Sturzaker, Dr Frances Harris

The problem to be addressed: Rural areas are facing multiple pressures, as competing interests of food production, nature conservation, and demand for housing and associated infrastructure are juxtaposed with the need to mitigate climate change through renewable energy generation, biomass production and providing flood protection. A new drive towards carbon offsetting and net zero farming is challenging traditional farming practices, as farmers adopt regenerative farming or tree planting, and the management of urban waste through biodigesters or composting. New directions include rewilding of landscapes and developing systems to manufacture protein (Monbiot, 2022) are also impacting on rural areas, and how they are used. Meanwhile, food production is back as a priority, as labour shortages are impacting on agricultural production. Responding to these various challenges is likely to require farmers to re-deploy land and buildings.

Originality: Farmers have space, equipment and infrastructure to engage in a range of activities to enhance food production and provide environmental goods and services, but this will require diversification of land and building use in ways which the planning system is unused to responding to. Recentwork by Sturzaker et al (2022) identified the scope for rural areas to play a leading role in so-called “just transitions” to new ways of living and working, and called for an integrative and integrated approach to planning rural land use.

Significance: This project will bring together planners, farmers and environmental managers to consider future scenarios for developments in rural areas in England, and the impact on the rural landscape.

Rigour: The project supervisors have extensive experience of rural planning and agriculture, in theory and in practice. The project will most immediately draw upon the recent project cited above and work on transdisciplinary research (Harris, 2020).

Potential contribution to knowledge: This proposed research will explore future scenarios of land management, and consider how planning might adapt to support the transition to a new understanding of the countryside. Using action research methodology, it will explore how a new approach would work in practice, working with partners including rural landowners and businesses.

Enquiries: Dr. Shoib Sarwar Siddiqui

Supervisors: Dr. Esther Garcia-Cela, Dr. Shoib Sarwar Siddiqui, Dr. Lisa Lione

The problem to be addressed: Plant-Based lifestyles have grown significantly in recent years. Currently, 19% of the UK population classifies themselves as vegetarians or vegans (FSA, 2019). The UK market for meat substitutes is worth over 500 million euros, making it the largest in Europe (Statistic, 2022). According to recent studies, oat milk drinks, oat flakes and baby food based on oats and soy were found to be contaminated with mycotoxins (fungal toxins), including “emerging mycotoxins” (Dropa et al., 2021, Arroyo-Manzanares et al., 2019). Mycotoxins cause health hazards such as neurotoxic, nephrotoxic, hematopoietic, mutagenic, teratogenic or carcinogenic (Garcia-Cela et 2012). In 2019, mycotoxins were the second leading cause of food alerts from the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF, 2022).

Originality: There are more than 300 mycotoxins known worldwide, but only seven mycotoxins are legislated and monitored; therefore, mycotoxins’ real exposure to human health is underestimated (invisible “enemy”). Around 25% of all agricultural products are contaminated by mycotoxins, and their presence in ultra-processed plant-based food is currently unknown (Eskola et al., 2020). Recent studies have demonstrated that low mycotoxins doses are associated with developing chronic intestinal inflammatory disease and colon cancer (Lo et al. 2021).

Significance: This project will decipher if a plant-based diet and ultra-processed plant-based food increase the exposure of “emerging mycotoxins” and affect the progression of colon cancer.

Rigour: The selected PhD will work in the following areas i) understand vegan/vegetarian food consumption patterns in the UK through questionnaire-based survey ii) quantification of “emergent mycotoxins” in the most commonly consumed plant-based/ultra-processed plant-based foods, iii) gut microbiota assessment in plant-based diet/ultra-processed plant-based food consumers, and iv) overall carcinogenic potential of “emergent mycotoxins” on colon cancer.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This novel research will be published in high-impact journals, increase public awareness of mycotoxins, and inform food safety policymakers with the goal of protecting consumers and public health.

Enquiries: Dr Laura Urbano

Supervisors: Dr Laura Urbano, Dr Maria Braoudaki, Dr Loic Coudron

The problem to be addressed: Air pollution jeopardises public health, affecting respiratory and neurological well-being. While established links exist between air pollution and cardiovascular risks, emerging evidence ties it to adverse cognitive outcomes from neurodevelopmental disorders to cognitive decline in the elderly. Understanding the impact of chronic air pollution on the human brain is imperative.

Originality: This research offers a pioneering approach by integrating a brain-lung organ-on-chip model to comprehensively investigate the direct and indirect impacts of air pollution on neurological health. This novel application of organ-on-chip technology distinguishes the proposal in the field of environmental health research.

Significance: The study addresses a critical gap in knowledge by systematically investigating the impact of air pollution on the human brain. Given the rising concern about cognitive disorders linked to pollution, this research contributes vital insights, guiding preventative and therapeutic strategies, public health policies and interventions for improved environmental well-being.

Rigour: This research will employ cutting-edge techniques in aerosol and material characterisation, toxicology, molecular biology, and high-throughput gene study. The supervisory team is committed to the highest standards of research integrity, and methodological precision. This comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach guarantees robust evidence, enhancing the study's impact in the field of environmental health.

Potential contribution to knowledge: By developing and employing advanced experimental techniques, this study will expand our understanding of pollution's neurological impact, providing a substantial foundation for future research by informing preventive strategies, by allowing the development of new therapies and the development of interventions within the context of environmental health.

Further reading:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6132565/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35657027/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10571-022-01238-z

Enquiries: Dr Maria Dimitriadi

Supervisors: Dr Helen Foster, Dr Maria Dimitriadi, Dr Emmanouil Karteris, Professor Jameel Inal

The problem to be addressed: Few studies have addressed ethnic disparities in cancer, yet these data are vital for improving equality in public health.  Certain cancers are more common in black/ethnic minorities, e.g., black women are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and there is a higher incidence of liver and cervical cancer in Asian people. This is likely due to a combination of socio-behavioural and environmental factors and the individual’s molecular and genetic background.  However, studies are limited due to the lack of cell lines and samples derived from these cohorts.

Cells secrete a range of signalling molecules important for communicating with neighbouring cells and tissues, known as the secretome. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), tiny membrane-bound structures, act as carriers for important cargo in the secretome.  Tumour cells can utilise EVs, in contributing towards resistance to chemotherapy, tumour re-emergence, and the spread of cancer to surrounding tissue/organs. Therefore, analysis of EVs may provide vital clues in the identification of cancer prognostic biomarkers.

Aim: The multidisciplinary proposal will investigate secretome biomarkers in ethnic minority cohorts with the aim to improve the prognosis of patients via liquid biopsies.

Rationale & Objectives:

• Proof of principle in vitro breast cell cancer models will be established from individuals of black or Asian ethnicity. EVs will be isolated for transcriptomic and proteomic investigations into chemotherapeutic treatment and drug intervention (Dr Foster; Prof. Inal).
• Candidate biomarkers will be examined in patient samples at the RNA and protein level to determine their utility in clinical conditions. Furthermore, comparisons will be made between samples from different ethnic cohorts. (Dr Karteris).
• Use C. elegans as a powerful in vivo animal system to evaluate the role of the EV cargo identified (Dr Dimitriadi).

Potential contribution to knowledge: Identification of secretome biomarkers within liquid biopsies could revolutionise cancer prognosis and the evaluation of treatment regimes in black and ethnic minorities.

Enquiries: Dr Maria Dimitriadi

Supervisors: Dr Maria Dimitriadi, Dr Lindsay Bottoms, Dr Terun Desai, Dr Jonathan Sinclair

The problem to be addressed: The usage of non-pharmaceutical supplements such as functional foods has demonstrated to improve healthy ageing as well as reducing disease risk. Essential oils are alternatives to functional foods and are considered a group of secondary metabolites which are obtained from various aromatic plant sources including flowers, leaves, rhizomes, seeds, fruits, wood, and bark. Our preliminary data suggests that supplementation of peppermint or cannabidiol oil in healthy adults improved cardiometabolic health benefits. Following this, we would like to assess other essential oils to better understand their mechanism of action.

Aim: We aim to evaluate various edible essential oils on healthy ageing, specifically cardio-metabolic and neuroprotective health on the (a) free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans which has emerged as a powerful model system for studying health and disease followed up by (b) human clinical trials of which there is a paucity of studies.

Rationale & Objectives:

Invertebrates, such as C. elegans, have emerged as models for studying healthy ageing, since they are ideal for the rapid identification of molecular pathways relevant in biology.

• A range of tests will be performed in C. elegans with a variety of edible essential oils to determine which provide the most improved healthy ageing effect through increasing lifespan, locomotion as well as protection from oxidative stress.
• We will undertake a human randomised control trial supplementing with the candidates that provided the greatest health benefits in the C. elegans studies to examine markers of cardio-metabolic and neuroprotective health.

Potential contribution to knowledge: Establishing the potential health benefit of supplementing with essential oils, provides an opportunity to help prevent disease rather than relying on directly treating diseases per se. Understanding the potential pathways would allow for more targeted applications of essential oils and the identification of optimised supplementation strategies.

Enquiries: Dr Shori Thakur

Supervisors: Dr Shori Thakur, Prof. Ken Farrington, Prof. Anwar Baydoun, and Dr Osama Bekhet

The problem to be addressed: This project aims to investigate the role of microRNAs in serum in inducing VC in aging in the presence or absence of renal, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The ultimate aim of this project is to translate important findings for exploitation in precision medicine by identifying specific microRNA profile and targets that contribute to VC in aging and the targeted disease states. This may provide opportunities for diagnosis and ultimately therapeutic intervention.

Originality: Vascular calcification (VC) is associated with aging, diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease, with poor prognosis and increased mortality. The existence of these disease states in the elderly appears to confer a calcification potential to the serum, suggesting a process whereby serum from the disease settings is evidently primed to promote calcification even outside of the disease milieu. Our research group has started investigating the mechanisms that confer calcific potential to serum and have confirmed that this is an active and highly regulated process associated with alterations in expression of specific pro- and anti-calcific biomarkers in the blood stream. Further studies are required in order to develop effective therapeutics to control VC.

Significance: MicroRNAs, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression, have emerged to play a crucial role in arterial calcification. They regulate key factors of the calcification process including those that are involved in transdifferentiating of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) to bone-like phenotype (well-known pathways involved in SMC’s calcification) and also those that are involved in regulation of cellular senescence and defective DNA damage response pathways (novel and newer players in regulating SMC’s calcification). It is, however, not clear whether microRNAs mediate the calcific potential of serum and whether their profile of expression varies in different disease states or with disease severity.

Rigour: Serum samples will be collected from a target population (aged 65 and over, sex matched) with and without coronary artery disease (CAD), chronic kidney disease (CKD) or type-2 diabetes (DM-2). The propensity of serum to induce SMC calcification will be examined on cultures of human aortic SMCs and calcification will be determined by staining with Alizarin Red S (ARS) for calcific plaques and by calcium measurements to determine the degree of calcification. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) will be carried out on serum samples to determine and validate critical expression level of important microRNAs known to be involved in VC progression and to correlate these with the degree of VC. The underlying mechanisms associated with the actions of identified microRNAs will be investigated (studies to be determined following identification of microRNAs). Inhibitors of targeted microRNAs will be used to assess their potential in blocking or regulating human aortic SMC calcification. A correlative scoring system will be developed to determine the correlation of calcification inducing microRNAs to the degree of calcification induced on the SMCs.

Potential contribution to knowledge: Serum microRNAs may provide therapeutic targets for treatment of VC and potentially act as diagnostic markers for predicting the development of associated cardiovascular diseases, and therefore facilitate early clinical interventions in subjects at risk of calcification.

Enquiries: Dr Cristina Barrero-Sicilia

Supervisors: Dr Helen Foster, Dr Cristina Barrero-Sicilia, Dr Maria Dimitriadi, Dr Kate Earl

The problem to be addressed: During cancer treatment, aged cells can emerge that encourage tumours to regrow, become resistant to chemotherapy and spread to other organs. Treatment also affects normal healthy cells leading to increased cell and patient fragility. This research will investigate whether plant-based flavonoids can support/protect cell health.

Originality: Plant-based flavonoids have anticancer properties. However, the effect of flavonoids in protecting normal healthy cells during cancer treatment and preventing the formation of cancer generated aged cells has been largely overlooked. Flavonoids may mitigate the harmful effects of chemotherapy and signalling molecules secreted by aged cells.

Significance: This investigation has significance on the following:

• Clinical applications for the treatment of cancer
• Cancer and age-related frailty
• Impact of flavonoids as an adjunctive therapy
• Effect of diet and nutrition on cell health
• Improved understanding of flavonoids mechanism of action
• The impact of the environment on food security and sustainability

Rigour: This research will maintain rigorous standards by adopting an in vitro model system with triple negative breast cancer and healthy cells. Robust experimental design, utilising different established methods and controls, will be used for each parameter to ensure validity and reliability. Appropriate statistical analysis to draw valid conclusions.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This research also addresses the sustainability of food and impact of the environment on its nutritional content. Climate change and environmental stressors may alter the synthesis of flavonoids in plants and crops. Thus, this may influence their health benefits and potential effects.

Enquiries: Dr Caroline Formstone

Supervisors: Dr Caroline Formstone, Dr Mohammad Yaqoob, Professor Anthony Graham

The problem to be addressed: Proprioceptive neural circuits define our ability to sense body and limb position in space and promote our locomotion. Stem cell therapies aimed at replacing spinal cord neurons and regenerating these important circuits suffer from a lack of essential knowledge of the developmental mechanisms which drive their formation in the embryo.

Originality: We already have novel publishable data on the timing and duration of a specific known signalling pathway (BMP) which drives patterning and formation of the neural circuits of interest in the embryo. This project will investigate the cell and molecular mechanism(s) involved which are currently unknown.

Significance: Neural regeneration will be essential in future ageing societies and future societies suffering spinal cord injuries (SCI). Stem cell therapies are key to neural regeneration. This project enables a high-quality publication addressing clear gaps in knowledge around formation of neural circuits already known to improve SCI using current physical therapies.

Rigour: Hypotheses will be tested using appropriate controls and published methods. Experiments will be independently repeated and analysed blind for all experimental conditions with all ethical permissions in place. All data generated will be assessed via ANOVA-type or unpaired students t-test statistical analysis, all data will be shared during publication.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This project provides mechanistic data explaining how a specific population of proprioceptive neurons, essential for locomotory coordination, are generated. It will ensure a funding application to test the hypotheses raised using mammalian stem cell-derived organoids, a new and powerful technology which provides a route forward into stem cell therapy.

Further reading:

Signalling pathway and interneurons of interest:

Tozer et al, 2013

https://journals.biologists.com/dev/article/140/7/1467/46197/Temporal-control-of-BMP-signalling-determines

Novel in vivo methodology for chick embryos:

Poopalasundaram, Richards and Graham, 2023

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.13850

Interneurons and SCI

Laliberte et al, 2019

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2019.00512/full

Stem cell therapy

White and Sakiyama-Elebert, 2019

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6640631/

Son et al, 2023

https://www.nature.com/articles/s12276-023-01003-2

Liang et al, 2024

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38051886/

Enquiries: Dr Maria Braoudaki,

Supervisors: Dr Maria Braoudaki, Prof Georgios Giamas, Dr Laura Thomas

The problem to be addressed: Glioblastoma constitutes the predominant malignant brain tumour and despite advances in treatment modalities, it remains largely incurable with treated patients having a life expectancy of 12-15 months¹. Herein, we aim to unveil new diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic strategies by studying the genetic profile of paediatric and adult brain tumour patients.

Originality: By focusing on the cargo of vesicles secreted by the cell as source of information through patient liquid biopsies, we explore a unique avenue for understanding glioblastoma². The use of this innovative approach, along with the inclusion of age spectrum and advanced techniques enhances the originality of our study.

Significance: The proposed study could confer drastic clinical solutions in a deadly brain tumour whose incidence increases with age, and whose prognosis remains unfavourable regardless of age. The findings could offer hope for earlier diagnosis, accurate prognosis, improved outcomes, and better quality of life for survivors and their caregivers.

Rigour: Our study appears to uphold rigorous scientific standards through meticulous methodology and analysis. We employ high-throughput laboratory techniques to analyse the patients’ genetic profile and understand its relevance to tumour development. The emphasis on non-invasive methods, along with a focus on paediatric and adult cases, adds depth to our research.

Potential contribution to knowledge: New validated biomarkers would be an enormous advance for brain cancer, assuming that will allow earlier diagnosis and accurate prediction of tumour’s behaviour and response to targeted treatment. Establishing a liquid biopsy as an alternative to tissue-based sampling in the clinic would transform patient management, facilitating more effective disease monitoring.

References:

Mustafov D, KarterisE, Braoudaki M. Deciphering the role of microRNA mediated regulation of Coronin-1C in glioblastoma. Noncoding RNA.2023;9(1):4.

A systematic review investigating extracellular-vesicle isolation and characterisation methods and their influence on understanding extracellular vesicles-radiotherapy interactions in glioblastoma. Robinson SD, SamuelsM, Jones W, Gilbert D, Critchley G, Giamas G. BMC Cancer.2023;23(1):939.

Enquiries: Dr Danilo Faccenda

Supervisors: Dr Danilo Faccenda, Dr Claire Thornton, Dr Shoib Siddiqui, Dr Valentina Giorgio

The problem to be addressed: IBD is a group of chronic, incurable multifactorial disorders critically impacting the health and life expectancy of patients^1,2. We aim to unravel pathological mechanisms linking alterations in the bacteria inhabiting our gut with malfunctioning of intestinal mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of our cells, to identify novel potential therapeutic targets for IBD.

Originality: This study will investigate the still unexplored interrelation between imbalances in the gut microbiota, mitochondrial genetic variations, and cellular responses sustaining long-term intestinal inflammation. The final goal is to gain a better understanding of the intricate genetic and metabolic causes of IBD to unearth key underlying risk and protective factors.

Significance: Due to the continuous rise in disease frequency across a globally aging population, lack of predictive biomarkers and high rates of treatment failure and clinical relapse, IBD poses a major burden on healthcare systems worldwide^3,4. Unravelling novel molecular features of IBD is crucial to develop innovative cost-effective, personalised therapeutic strategies.

Rigour: This study will use a rigorous approach involving cell culture systems as models of the inflamed intestine and state-of-the-art methodologies to investigate intestinal cell responses to an inflammatory environment. Thorough research and project success will be guaranteed by the supervisors’ collective knowledge on mitochondrial function, cellular stress, and chronic inflammation.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This study will provide knowledge on the interaction between the gut microbiota and mitochondria, shedding light on the molecular bases of intestinal chronic inflammation. This study has the potential to identify novel disease signatures⁵ and inform personalised and targeted interventions to ameliorate symptoms and quality of life in IBD patients.

References:

1. Kuenzig, et al. (2020) CMAJ. 192(45):E1394-E1402. DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.190976.
2. M’Koma (2018) Gastrointest Disord. 1(1):75-105. DOI: 10.3390/gidisord1010007.
3. Honig, et al. (2020) Inflamm Bowel Dis. 26(10):1451-1462. DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izaa210.
4. Alatab, et al. (2020) Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 5(1):17-30. DOI: 10.1016/S2468-1253(19)30333-4.
5. Kumar, et al. (2019) J Transl Med. 17:419. DOI: 10.1186/s12967-019-02174-1.

Enquiries: Dr Jon Brazier

Supervisors: Dr Jon Brazier, Dr Helen Foster, Dr Maria Dimitriadi

The problem to be addressed: Dementia poses a major public health concern. Besides destroying life quality of affected patients, it affects immediate family and often strains financial means [1]. Physical exercise appears to be effective for reducing cognitive decline, particularly in preventing the pre-clinical stage of dementia and aids in slowing its clinical progression [2].

Originality: High-intensity exercise has been suggested to be more beneficial than low/moderate for preventing cognitive decline. Interestingly, neuroprotective effects of exercise can be mediated by exercise-induced increases in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), as well as reductions in Tau protein, a hallmark of dementia [3,4].

Significance: There is currently no study investigating the optimal dose of acute or chronic exercise on dementia. Therefore, it seems prudent to investigate whether the optimal dose of different modes of exercise (high/moderate/low intensity) would have a beneficial effect on dementia patients and their associated age-related cognitive biomarkers (i.e., BDFN & Tau).

Rigour: Blood samples would be collected from dementia patients and a control population before and after a series of exercise regimes to study their effect on dementia-associated biomarkers. Preliminary data would be analysed in a dementia in vivo model as well as primary skeletal muscle cells to identify mechanistic pathways of interest.

Potential contribution to knowledge: Establishing the mechanistic link between exercise and dementia would provide an opportunity to understand potential pathways perturbed in cognitive impairment and would allow the identification of optimised therapeutic strategies for dementia patients. Furthermore, analysing cognitive biomarkers will help identify the optimal exercise prescription to induce the protective effects of exercise on dementia.

References:

1. Ahlskog JE, Geda YE, Graff-Radford NR, Petersen RC. (2011). Physical exercise as a preventive or disease-modifying treatment of dementia and brain aging. Mayo Clin Proc. 86(9):876-84.
2. Thuné-Boyle ICV, Iliffe S, Cerga-Pashoja A, Lowery D, Warner J. (2012). The effect of exercise on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia: towards a research agenda. International Psychogeriatrics. 24(7):1046-1057.
3. Sanders, L.M.J., Hortobágyi, T., Karssemeijer, E.G.A. et al (2020). Effects of low- and high-intensity physical exercise on physical and cognitive function in older persons with dementia: a randomized controlled trial. Alz Res Therapy 12, 28.
4. Rashid MH, Zahid MF, Zain S, Kabir A, Hassan SU (2020).  The Neuroprotective Effects of Exercise on Cognitive Decline: A Preventive Approach to Alzheimer Disease. Cureus.   11;12(2):e6958

Enquiries: Dr Shoib Sarwar Siddiqui

Supervisors: Dr Shoib Sarwar Siddiqui, Dr Maria Braoudaki

The problem to be addressed: Cancer is the leading cause of death, and every two minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer. Previous studies have shown that a pH-sensitive protein (HMGB1) either promotes or inhibits cancer growth. However, the exact reasons for its dual function in cancer remain unclear.

Originality: It is long known that the pH outside cancer cells is lower than normal cells, which modulates the immune response and facilitates tumour growth. However, the role of low pH on HMGB1 protein in anti-cancer immune response and cancer progression has not been deciphered. The project aims to unravel this.

Significance: According to the hypothesis, pH changes in the cancer will switch the role of HMGB1 from cancer-promoting to cancer-inhibiting. Understanding the impact of pH on HMGB1 and its effects on anti-cancer immune response will pave the way for developing new therapeutics to enhance the immune response against cancer.

Rigour: The experiments will be conducted on human cancer cells that mimic human cancer growth. The experiments will be performed in many replicates to avoid bias in the results obtained. All the experiments will be performed on two different human cell types to observe the consistency of the results.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This project will unwind the long-standing conundrum about HMGB1 in cancer and why it sometimes behaves as cancer-promoting and sometimes as cancer-inhibiting. This information will lead to further research on how HMGB1 modulation could be used and will be instrumental in devising new clinical strategies to combat cancer.

References:

Kang R., et al. (2013). HMGB1 in cancer: Good, bad, or both? Clinical Cancer Research, 19(15), 4046–4057.

Siddiqui, S., et al. (2021). Sialoglycan recognition is a common connection linking acidosis, zinc, and HMGB1 in sepsis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118(10).

Enquiries: Dr Salvatore Livatino

Supervisors: Dr Salvatore Livatino, Dr Daniele Ravi

The problem to be addressed: The health system is more than ever in need of reducing cost, but also covering a greater number of patients while keeping accurateness in its assessments. The above calls for frequent and reliable doctor assessment and these to rely on large and continuous patient data.

Originality: The concept of using IoT systems for monitoring population health is not conceptually new; however, it has gained limited traction in practice. What is novel is the idea of combining IoT sensors with immersive observation and AI processing. This has the potential to lead to unprecedented advances in medical assessments. There is a wide spectrum of literature supporting research and development in this sector, showcasing the great potential of the latest technology in the mentioned area. However, the proposed combination of XR-AI-IOT is indeed very new.

Significance: The project proposes a unique concept based on the combined use of extended reality (XR) immersive visualization, IoT sensors and AI data processing. They represent mature technologies, which can bring dramatic changes in the current practice of medical checks, while saving economically, environmentally, impact transportation and improve quality of life too.

Rigour: The project will be evaluated through several user studies. A rigorous evaluation is needed to understand what face-to-face assessments and treatments can be substituted or complemented, and what cannot. Medical doctors and carer will be involved too.

Potential contribution to knowledge: We will demonstrate which medical checks and treatments can be successfully and broadly addressed through the use of immersive technology combined with AI processing and IoT solutions. There will be precise scientific outcomes that various sectors, including technology designers, caregivers, and doctors, can rely on.

Enquiries: Dr Prapa Rattadilok

Supervisors: Dr Prapa Rattadilok, Dr Raimund Kirner

The problem to be addressed: It is important to enable the elderlies to remain in their own home for longer as we move towards aging society. Enabling independence has societal benefits, e.g., housing, healthcare, employments (of relatives who have to care for their elders). However, smart systems are generally quite complex to setup and use. This complexity limits the public uptake, and maximum utilisation.

Originality: The project focuses around creating a platform for smart systems which work with “off-the-shelf devices”, e.g., camera, proximity sensors, “out of the box”, to provide:

• Easily digestible information to the elderly,
• Reassurance for relatives or carers,
• Information for healthcare providers.

The user participatory design (UPD) will be the key in the development, employing both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Significance: Data will be processed to target:

• Self-management of Frailty – Short-term notifications, e.g., tap left on, door left open, which will drive semi-automation (if available), e.g., robots, and actuators within the smart home.
• Mitigation – Medium term notifications, e.g., (in)frequent toilet use or shower, (in)frequent visitors, will be used to support behaviour change, wellbeing, and social isolation.
• Better Support – Long term notifications, e.g., drift in behaviours.

Rigour: In addition to user interface, other areas to consider include:

• Data fusion: data streams from multiple sources with different format.
• Proprietary formatting: managing “out-of-the-box" experience to increase accessibility and utilisation of the system.
• Knowledge extraction: machine learning techniques will be used to process data in real-time.
• Data management: how much and for how long data is kept.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The result of this research can lead to new IoT processing platform. If well-designed, this platform could lead to a commercialisation of the research results. The developed platform can be used as future research and teaching platform for multidiscipline, e.g., Medicine, Social Science, Engineering, Computer Science. Increased engagement with the public, which could positively benefit the University KEF submission.

References:

MADA. (2017). Aging and Technology. [Online] Available at: Mada-Elderly-Guide-Digital-En.pdf.

Yusif, S., Soar, J., Hafeez-Baig, A. (2016). Older people, assistive technologies, and the barriers to adoption: A systematic review. [Online] Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2016.07.004.

Martinez-Martin, E., Costa, A. (2021). Assistive Technology for Elderly Care: An Overview. [Online] Available at: https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/116321/1/Martinez-Martin_Costa_2021_IEEEAccess.pdf.

Enquiries: Professor Volker Steuber

Supervisors: Professor Volker Steuber, Dr Nada Yousif

The problem to be addressed: The cerebellum is a critical structure for movement. We have previously shown that it is involved in controlling neural activity in epilepsy and essential tremor. The proposed project uses experiments and computer modelling of the cerebellum to develop novel stimulation protocols for the treatment of cerebellar pathologies.

Originality: The proposed project would for the first time combine experimental cerebellar stimulation and computational modelling to show the feasibility of low-cost, accessible non-invasive neurostimulation for treating movement disorders.

Significance: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used for decades to treat tremor (Benabid et al, 1998) and more recently epilepsy (Zangiabadi et al., 2019). However, DBS is a highly invasive surgical technique targeting the thalamus, a structure inaccessible by non-invasive neurostimulation.

Rigour: The project involves, 1) a detailed computational model of the cerebellum, based on our previous work; 2) experiments with human participants involving non-invasive electrical stimulation of the cerebellum to inform, validate and test the model. Together, this will lead to theoretically based, novel stimulation paradigms for a closed-loop system.

Potential contribution to knowledge: We propose that cerebellar stimulation could provide a method of replacing DBS and inhibiting pathological brain activity, and that a model based closed-loop system would provide an optimal approach.

Further details: The development of low-cost, non-invasive stimulation would make such treatment available to wider socioeconomic groups. As DBS is a costly surgical intervention, our project would address citizen inequality due to poverty. Furthermore, the contribution to knowledge of cerebellar dysfunction speaks to societal challenges of health and ageing.

Enquiries: Dr Tala Ishola

Supervisors: Dr Tala Ishola, Dr Maria Dimitriadi, Dr Leila Jahangiri

The problem to be addressed: 99% of Breast cancer (BC)-related deaths are due to cancer recurrence, resulting from metastatic outbreak (1) and relapse of dormant or “sleeping” cells. Metastatic disease is not detected at diagnosis and may occur after completion of treatment or surgical removal of the primary tumour.

Originality: Tumour dormancy remains a poorly understood stage in the progression of cancer. Autophagy, the body’s recycling process, has been shown to be critical for the survival of dormant BC cells (2) but studies have been limited (3-5).

Significance: Findings from this project will provide an insight into the role of autophagy in breast cancer recurrence and identify potential compounds that may carry therapeutic benefits. This project will link the University of Hertfordshire through partnership with the Department of Pathology at the University of Cambridge.

Rigour:

1. We will establish a 3D in-vitro model of dormant and metastatic BC cells to investigate the role of autophagy in dormancy and metastasis.
2. We will use FDA-approved autophagy drugs e.g. hydroxychloroquine, to verify the role of autophagy in dormant and metastatic BC cells.

Potential contribution to knowledge: BC is the most common cancer among women worldwide. Findings from this study, especially autophagy’s role in dormant BC cells, can inform therapy stratification in clinical settings. This will impact patients’ quality of life and potentially improve survival rate. Hence, this project bears direct bench-to-bedside potential for BC sufferers.

References:

1- Maishman, T. et al. Local recurrence and breast oncological surgery in young women with breast cancer: The POSH Observational Cohort Study. Ann. Surg. 266, 165–172 (2017).

2- Jahangiri, L., & Ishola, T. (2022). Dormancy in Breast Cancer, the Role of Autophagy, lncRNAs, miRNAs and Exosomes. International journal of molecular sciences, 23(9)

3- Liang, J. et al. The energy sensing LKB1-AMPK pathway regulatesp27(kip1) phosphorylation mediating the decision to enter autophagy or apoptosis. Nat. Cell Biol.9, 218–224 (2007).

4- Lu, Z. et al. The tumor suppressor gene ARHI regulates autophagy and tumor dormancy in human ovarian cancer cells. J. Clin. Invest. 118, 3917–3929 (2008).

5- Gupta, A. et al. Autophagy inhibition and antimalarials promote cell death in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 107, 14333–14338 (2010).

Enquiries: Dr Amit N. Pujari

Supervisors: Dr Amit N. Pujari, Dr Lindsay Bottoms, Dr Andrew Greenhalgh

The problem to be addressed: Falls are ranked within top three causes in terms of years lived with disability in most regions of the world (WHO). Critically, the consequences of a fall after 75 years old are much worse than between 65 and 75 years old and include fracture, frequent hospitalizations, increased morbidity and mortality. Preventing the occurrence of such events is therefore of paramount importance.

Originality: Stochastic stimulation has been shown to significantly improve balance and reduce falls. Despite multiple studies showing beneficial effects of stochastic stimuli, in improving balance in elderly, people with diabetic neuropathy and stroke, no device/solutions currently exists on the market to reduce falls. This project aims to produce first pioneering solution.

Significance: Falls are not only associated with injury and morbidity, but also to reductions in physical, psychological, and social capacities with the total costs of falls in the UK is estimated between 2-4 billion GBP. Finding effective solution to reduce and prevent falls is an urgent societal need.

Rigour: The project will involve development of pioneering healthcare technology in collaboration with the end users (elderly). The project will rigorously test the developed technology, first in the lab, then on volunteers in lab settings mimicking real world environment.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The study will not only likely produce ground-breaking piece of healthcare technology through rigorous experiments but also address qualitative, i.e. inequality aspects of falls. Thus making original contribution to the area of falls prevention which has huge societal significance.

References:

Falls: (Myers et al., 1996; Blain et al., 2016; Bousquet et al., 2017)

Stochastic stimulation: (White et al., 2019)

The problem to be addressed: Domestic IoT Platforms tend to generate a lot of privacy-sensitive data, which requires adequate security mechanisms to protect the privacy of people.

Originality: The results of research are expected to provide significant simplifications in the management of security aspects for an end user, when integrating IoT devices.
The focus is on participatory design solutions that make IoT systems manageable for people in domestic environments.

Significance: Domestic IoT Platforms will become the backbone to automate services around people’s home. For example, in elderly care, such domestic IoT platforms have the potential to allow elderly people a more autonomous life, while also ensuring their safety. Simplifications at the interface of domestic IoT platforms will increase their adoption and secure use.

Rigour: A rigorous comparison of different device interface techniques is required, analysing their cognitive complexity for users from a security point of view. Based on that, a device integration protocol is proposed that focuses on participatory design, aiming at a simplified security control.

Potential contribution to knowledge: This research will contribute security-focused device interfacing and integration techniques with a minimum of technical knowledge required by the user, making solid security applicable in domestic IoT.

Further reading:

[Slesinger,2022] I. Slesinger, L. Coles-Kemp, N. Panteli, R.R. Hansen, "Designing Through The Stack: The Case for a Participatory Digital Security By Design", In Proc. 2022 New Security Paradigms Workshop (NSPW’22).

[Ling,2017] Z. Ling, J. Luo, Y. Xu, C. Gao, K. Wu and X. Fu, "Security Vulnerabilities of Internet of Things: A Case Study of the Smart Plug System," in IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 4, no. 6, pp. 1899-1909, Dec. 2017.

Enquiries: Dr Patrick Holthaus

Supervisors: Dr Patrick Holthaus, Dr Catherine Menon

The problem to be addressed: Because assistive robots operate within the home, and in many cases are intended to support vulnerable or elderly users, their acceptability to these users is of paramount importance. To be acceptable, these robots must meet certain social criteria which are related to how well they comply with the expected social norms of the domestic environment. The extent to which a robot meets these social criteria determines its social credibility: this being defined as the extent to which a user perceives the robot as displaying a deliberate social awareness and engaging in deliberate, predictable social behaviours.

Originality: This doctoral project opportunity aims to explore and refine the concept of social credibility in interactive robots, which has been established only recently. Social credibility is defined as a measure of how well a robot obeys social norms during interaction with the added concept of conscious acknowledgement. Social credibility is sought to be related to a robot’s acceptability and thus ultimately its trustworthiness.

Significance: Assistive and rehabilitative robots act in a domestic setting to help older people perform household, social and physical tasks. In this way they can support longer independent living at home, with consequent benefits to older people's physical and mental health. Moreover, such robots can potentially lessen the increasing stress on care providers by enabling autonomous care and outreach, thereby addressing the societal challenges posed by an ageing society.

Rigour: At all stages of the project, the relation between robot social credibility, its usability and user trust will be evaluated by means of interaction studies using assistive robots and human participants. Experimental research, such as that exploring the relationship between socially credible behaviours and other required properties including safety compliance, will be carried out within the robot house facility.

Potential contribution to knowledge: The project aims will include assessing how a robot's social credibility can be defined regarding its social awareness and how this social credibility might be automatically measured using machine learning. This will then allow the exploration of potential repair mechanisms for degraded social credibility, focusing on different forms of user engagement.

Further reading:

• Patrick Holthaus. How does a robot's social credibility relate to its perceived trustworthiness? In RO-MAN 2021 Workshop on Trust, Acceptance and Social Cues in Human-Robot Interaction - SCRITA. 2021.
• Patrick Holthaus, Catherine Menon, and Farshid Amirabdollahian. How a Robot's Social Credibility Affects Safety Performance. In Miguel A. Salichs, Shuzhi Sam Ge, Emilia Ivanova Barakova, John-John Cabibihan, Alan R. Wagner, Álvaro Castro-González, and Hongsheng He, editors, International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2019), volume 11876 of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 740–749. Springer Cham, Madrid, Spain, 2019.
• Catherine Menon and Patrick Holthaus. Does a Loss of Social Credibility Impact Robot Safety? Balancing social and safety behaviours of assistive robots. In International Conference on Performance, Safety and Robustness in Complex Systems and Applications (PESARO 2019), 18–24. Valencia, Spain, 2019. IARIA.

Enquiries:Dr Frank Foerster

Supervisors: Dr Frank Foerster, Dr Patrick Holthaus

The problem to be addressed: The PhD student will investigate a new approach to reduce perceived loneliness amongst older UK citizens. It involves the use of social robots as transmitters of so-called living noise in participants’ homes in an attempt to increase human-human communication between participating households.

Originality: Compared to cognitive issues such as Aspergers, loneliness has received little attention in the domain of social robotics. The approach outlined above builds on a study that was conducted with young and tech-savvy South-Koreans. The PhD student would investigate whether a similar approach could be efficacious with elderly, lonely UK citizens.

Significance: According to Age UK, more than one million elderly people in the UK say that they often or always feel lonely. Being lonely has been shown to negatively impact both physical as mental health. Using social robots to counteract social isolation and loneliness may help to reduce these negative impacts.

Rigour: The project would systematically assess social and technological factors such as the required degree of pre-existing friendship between users, or the form of privacy-preserving measures. The research will be of a participatory nature where elderly people will be invited to actively inform the system design.

Potential contribution to knowledge: Given the significant differences between young South-Koreans and older UK residents, it is unknown whether the expected effect of increasing communication would manifest itself with the UK population, and if yes, under which parameters. The project’s contribution would consist of a systematic assessment of the feasibility of this approach in the UK.

Other details: The project would include questions about inequality amongst older UK residents in the context of the proposed technology by taking into account the cost of its deployment and maintenance. It aims to investigate ways to enable its deployment given the significant levels of economic inequality amongst the target population.

The problem to be addressed: In our Emergence project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), we conduct focus groups with the elderly residents living at home but at risk of losing their independence.  We consider barriers to technology transfer at home. One important question in this context is the impact of using assistive robotic technologies on energy bills, when residents are concerned with paying their bills. As robots run on electricity, prospective users see that as a potential barrier to adapting new technology.

Originality: Using robots with smart technology at home can not only provide useful care or companionship for the elderly but can add intelligent control to house heating and other systems. In this proposed project, we consider the cost of running these machines, versus added value of using their intelligence to optimise energy use, for themselves and also for the resident receiving support and assistance. Research focus on cost-effectiveness can also motivate better understanding of sustainability and environmental impact of these technologies.

Significance: Increased life expectancy leads to higher dependency in later years, and higher demand for care services. Shortage of carers in the UK has brought about the need for alternative care interventions, such as using social robots and smart homes. Increasing energy prices are of particular concern for people on retirement income, and the effects of these technologies are less researched in terms of sustainability and environmental impacts.

Rigour: We intend to utilise a range of robots provided at the Hertfordshire Robot House (robothouse.herts.ac.uk) as well as the house sensory arrays, with additional factors involving intended functions: social, cognitive and physical assistance, and also assessing processing load for these functions.

Potential contribution to knowledge: A consolidation of care and energy control using social robots would provide a significant contribution to knowledge in the field of social care for the elderly.

Enquiries: Scott Copsey

Supervisors: Scott Copsey, Dr Richard Southern, Professor John Sturzaker, Professor Stephen Joseph

The UK Government is committed to reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector, which now accounts for one of the largest sectoral emitters globally, as was clear at the recent COP26 Conference. In the UK, despite a reduction in car use during the pandemic, the transport sector remained the largest emitter of carbon emissions in 2020 (at 29.8%). Therefore, transport is key to any strategy aiming to combat climate change.

The Government is attempting to address this through a variety of technological and behavioural change initiatives. However, recent publications by the Smart Mobility Unit (SMU) and Ebenezer Howard School of Planning (EHSP) at the University of Hertfordshire show that car dependency outside cities must be tackled in order to reduce carbon emissions; areas outside cities are responsible for c.74% of the UK’s total transport emissions.

In these areas, bus services have been cut drastically, leaving few alternatives to private car use. These areas have also been earmarked for the bulk of new housing, yet many developments still lack EV charging points, home-based generation facilities, connected transport modes and services. Providing sustainable transport alternatives here will be key to carbon neutrality. Research shows big differences between areas outside cities in per capita energy use and carbon emissions from transport. This project would explore reasons behind these variations and seek to point to ways to reduce energy demand in transport. Pathways to net zero emissions from transport in areas outside cities could then be identified, including options for reducing transport demand.

This proposed PhD project would bring theoretical understandings of transport infrastructure and behavioural change strategies, energy use in transport, behavioural change and the challenges that decision-makers need to consider on a problem of enormous significance to future societies. It is highly ambitious yet topical, seeking to build the work of the Smart Mobility Unit’s Roundtable Report 2021.

Roundtable research | Study | University of Hertfordshire (herts.ac.uk)

Enquiries: Dr. Maurizio Catulli

Supervisors: Dr. Maurizio Catulli, Prof. John Sturzaker, Dr. Chamu Kuppuswamy

The problem to be addressed: Consumption and production activities generate waste and pollution, which damage environment and human health.   The circular economy brings waste back to suppliers for reuse through circular flows and reduces its dissemination in the environment. However, circular business models face implementation problems.

Originality: There is scant knowledge of the barriers that hinder the implementation and diffusion of circular business models outside the confines of socio-technical niches or living labs (Baldassarre and Calabretta, 2023) and of the role industrial networks may play in supporting them (Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2016).

Significance: Implementation of circular business models is desirable, to avoid diffusion of plastic waste in the environment and reduce impact of personal transport. The failure of small-scale demonstrator projects to scale up means that research resources are wasted in this attempt and environmental damage continues unabated.

Rigour: The study combines the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), a theoretical framework which investigates macro-level sustainability transitions (Geels, 2010) and the Industrial Marketing & Purchasing Interaction Approach, which offers opportunity to investigate how industrial networks may be formed and facilitate implementation of circular business models (Håkansson and Waluszewski, 2016).

Potential contribution to knowledge: Cutting across the fields of sustainable innovation management and industrial marketing, this project will identify what hinders the formation of networks to support circular business models and what role the establishment of networks has in supporting the establishment of these models.

References:

Baldassarre B and Calabretta G (2023) Why Circular Business Models Fail And What To Do About It: A Preliminary Framework And Lessons Learned From A Case In The EU. Circular Economy and Sustainability

Geels FW (2010) Ontologies, socio-technical transitions (to sustainability), and the multi-level perspective. Research Policy 39(4): 495-510.

Håkansson H and Waluszewski A (2016) “Methodomania”? On the methodological and theoretical challenges of IMP business research. IMP Journal 10(3): 443-463.