Our postdocs
Postdoctoral researchers are essential members of the Queen's research community and get involved in multiple aspects of Queen's business beyond their research, including teaching and supervision of students, contribution to public engagement, academic citizenship, research transfer etc. They help shape our research culture and impact society at a local and global level.
Postdocs from our three Faculties are involved in a very wide range of exciting research and you can get a glimpse of who they are and what they do thanks to some initiatives we ran:
- Profiles of postdocs and research staff (National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2023)
- Collage of women postdocs and research staff (International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023)
- Profiles of postdocs and research staff (National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2022)
- Profiles of women postdocs and research staff (International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021)
- Videos featuring postdocs, introduced by members of the Queen's senior management team (National Postdoc Appreciation Week 2020)
Celebrating the outstanding postdocs and research staff at Queen's!
In celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) 2023 from 18 - 22 September, please enjoy this showcase of profiles of Queen's postdocs and research staff throughout the week.
More profiles coming soon!
You can also follow this celebratory NPAW profile showcase via this PDC Twitter thread!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Germany
Research Goals: "My research is focused on using different types of natural nanocarriers and microneedles for transdermal delivery of "difficult-to-deliver" drugs."

School: Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Country of Origin: Indonesia
Research Goals: "My research goal is to develop nanotechnology-integrated biosensors and utilize multidisciplinary approaches to enhance food safety and quality, healthcare and diagnostic systems, and environmental control, with the ultimate aim of improving the well-being of society and nature."
Hobbies: Baking, reading and cycling!

School: Arts, English and Languages
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Research Goals: "To improve our understanding in academia, industry and wider society of how to make music technology accessible from the perspective of disabled musicians, composers and audio engineers."
Hobbies: Piano and running!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Brazil
Research: New formulation based on microtechnology
Hobbies: Watching podcasts!

School: History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics
Country of Origin: Ireland
Research: "My research focuses on socio-ecological transitions for a healthier, fairer and more sustainable future."
Hobbies: Arts and crafts; walking!

School: Psychology
Country of Origin: India
Research: Development of Responsible AI Algorithms, Affective Computing, Mental Health, Natural Language Processing, Fairness in AI, and Machine Learning.
Hobbies: Photography and reading books!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: Pakistan
Research Goals: To advance risk assessment within intricate business networks through the creation of innovative AI-assisted strategies that replace current methods and minimise false positives in the risk flagging system.
Hobbies: Cooking and a nature walk!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: Iran
Research Goals: To use event-based sensors for underwater applications to protect marine life in the vicinity of tidal energy convertors. To handle the data obtained from these sensors, FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) technology is utilized for efficient and effective processing.
Hobbies: Exploring new destinations and engaging in problem-solving activities!

School: Natural and Built Environment
Country of Origin: India
Research Goals: To make cities more resilient and sustainable for health and wellbeing.
Hobbies: Spiritual reading and dancing!

School: Natural and Built Environment
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research Goals: To conduct research that can be of academic and practical interest, and to actively engage participants in the research process.
Hobbies: Reading, running and music!

School: Mathematics and Physics
Country of Origin: Indonesia
Research: Micro and nano-fabrication for biosensors technology.
Hobbies: Reading and Cycling!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: China
Research: Global health and well-being.
Hobbies: Listening to music and reading!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Ireland
Research: "Here, we have conducted a questionnaire study to assess what factors would influence heart failure patients’ acceptance of a digital health intervention in an effort to reduce the burden of this disease on the healthcare system."
Hobbies: Running and yoga!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research Goals: To investigate the role of nutrition in the prevention of disease.
Hobbies: Zumba and travelling!

School: Psychology
Country of Origin: Scotland
Research Goals: To codevelop digital screening and monitoring tool for psychosocial screening of youth living with type 1 diabetes, and to codevelop a tool for carers of those living with rare disease in NI to reduce loneliness, isolation and improve resilience.
Hobbies: Sea swimming and painting/art!

School: Arts, English and Languages
Country of Origin: Italy
Research: Exploring the early mediaeval environment and the natural world, with a focus on (but not limited to) early medieval England and a particular interest in water.
Hobbies: Swimming, travelling and reading!

School: Natural and Built Environment
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research: Applied climate regeneration design using nature-based solutions, circular economy principles and co-creation processes.
Hobbies: Zumba and cooking!

School: Social Sciences, Education and Social Work
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research: "I am currently involved in a qualitative longitudinal study gathering lived experience of children and families related to their perception of community and it's relation to outcomes in health, wellbeing, and education."
Hobbies: Music and painting!

School: Law
Country of Origin: Wales
Research Goals: "I am interested in conducting research that amplifies voices and ‘ways of knowing’ that are often side-lined in society and academia."
Hobbies: "Getting out in nature with my kids & I'm a bit of a gym rat!"

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Research Goals: "My research journey is focused on making meaningful contributions to cancer health economics, advocating for improved cancer care, and working with diverse stakeholders to create evidence-based strategies that optimize cancer screening and patient outcomes."
Hobbies: Yoga and hiking!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Iran
Research Goals: Understanding the epigenetic regulations in stem cells.
Hobbies: Reading and word poetry!

School: Arts, English and Languages
Country of Origin: Ireland
Research Goals: "My research background is in Celtic Languages, Theoretical Syntax and Onomastics. I am interested syntactic and structural differences between Irish, Irish English and typologically related languages."
Hobbies: Cooking and Triathlon!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: Spain
Research Goals: "Develop portable real-time imaging systems for security inspection and infrastructure monitoring."
Hobbies: Hiking and playing football!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Spain
Research Goals: "I want to incorporate the planetary health approach on my research through the analysis of health and environmental co-benefits in urban environments."
Hobbies: Yoga and cinema!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: China
Research Goals: "Advancing machine learning and computer vision algorithms for a better world."
Hobbies: Reading!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Portugal
Research: Host pathogen interactions, how bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae) evades the innate immune system to promote infection.
Hobbies: Reading and DIY!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: India
Research: "My research is part of the NIH Gateway Research Infrastructure on Exposome Studies focused on improving urban living environments for healthy ageing."
Hobbies: Singing, playing badminton and reading biographies!

School: History and Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics
Country of Origin: Ireland
Research: "It is within our remit as social scientists to understand the world better, to understand social problems and provide avenues of further knowledge and solutions to real life problems."
Hobbies: Art and languages!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research: Investigating novel therapeutic strategies to treat cystic fibrosis airways disease.
Hobbies: Weightlifting and swimming!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: Spain
Research: Subsurface radar imaging systems for detecting buried explosive threats.
Hobbies: Gym and cooking!

School: Psychology
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Research Goals: To develop a profile of impactful research that benefit hidden and hard-to-reach groups who experience traumatic stress.
Hobbies: Baking and eating!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Spain
Research Goals: To understand immune synapse formation, endocytosis and antigen presentation in B cells in order to propose new therapy strategies for maladies related to B cell-mediated immunodeficiencies or malignancy.
Hobbies: Hiking!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: Iran
Research Goals: Energy efficiency in wireless communication systems
Hobbies: Watching movies and playing football!

School: Natural and Built Environment
Country of Origin: Northern Mariana Islands
Research Goals: To improve our understanding of the UK's changing ethnic geographies by focusing on ethnic diversity, residential segregation, socio-spatial inequalities, and migration.
Hobbies: Travelling and watching basketball!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: Pakistan
Research Goals: "Utilizing retrieval augmented generation (RAG) to provide context to pre-trained large language models on various natural language processing(NLP) tasks."
Hobbies: Fishing!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: India
Research Goals: "My broader research goals are aimed to work and discover the technology to eradicate the cancers. Currently, I'm working on nanomaterials."
Hobbies: Painting, photography and swimming!

School: Psychology
Country of Origin: Pakistan
Research Goals: "Through this research collaboration, I would like to learn about research practices in different fields and work towards better quality of life."
Hobbies: Gardening and cooking!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research: Biological interrogation of early-stage colorectal cancer.
Hobbies: Cooking!

School: Nursing and Midwifery
Country of Origin: United Kingdom (Liverpool)
Research: Reducing inequalities in access, experience and outcomes of palliative care. Current project aims to improve integration of palliative care and oncology (cancer care).

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research: "We have developed novel gold nanoparticles designed to enhance the killing effects of radiotherapy for cancer patients."
Hobbies: Playing guitar and singing!

School: Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Research: Investigation of new AI generative model for FinTech compliance checking and automation of novelty checking in new studies or research papers.
Hobbies: Programming and tours of historic places!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Research: "My research goal is to empower health and sustainability while harnessing the microbial tapestry. "
Hobbies: Music and football!

School: Biological Sciences
Country of Origin: India
Research: 1. Monitoring traces of antibiotics and antifungals in wastewater. 2. Tracing antidepressants in human breast milk.
Hobbies: Painting and Cooking!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Sri Lanka
Research Goals: "I aim to eliminate avoidable blindness and visual impairment in LMICs, by translating high quality evidence into practice, aligned with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals."
Hobbies: Playing cricket and visiting museums!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Research Goals: "To understand how mRNA localization affects cell behaviour and tissue biology."
Hobbies: Writing and video gaming!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Iran
Research Goals: "My research goal is to integrate molecular biology and clinical information in cancer research to enhance our comprehension of cancer biology and therapeutic outcomes. I aim to position colorectal cancer models and align them with human data, facilitating stratified preclinical and clinical trials for more effective treatments."
Hobbies: Hiking in nature and playing guitar!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Bangladesh
Research Goals: "Cancer research is a global team effort and my aim is to significantly contribute in this team."
Hobbies: Football and cricket!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Spain
Research Goals: "Understanding the factors involved in bacterial infections leading to pneumonia, and using that knowledge to develop new therapies."
Hobbies: Travelling and cinema!

School: History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics
Country of Origin: Multicultural European
Research Goals: International contexts of traditional Irish community music-making, image constructions of 'The Celtic', influences of the former 'Iron Curtain', Turkish folk music of 'The Celtic'.
Hobbies: All music!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Ireland
Research Goals: Better therapies for the treatment of lung cancer via immune cell manipulation.
Hobbies: Weightlifting and activism!

School: Biological Sciences
Country of Origin: Ireland
Research Goals: Understand and quantify the impacts of global changes on ecosystems, economies and health.
Hobbies: Badminton and weightlifting!

School: Biological Sciences
Country of Origin: The Philippines
Research: Developing rapid methods for the determination of food contaminants.
Hobbies: Cooking!

School: Biological Sciences
Country of Origin: Saudi Arabia (Jeddah)
Research Goals: "I aim to become an independent researcher in the academic sector to understand and deeply investigate the central nervous system, focusing on learning and memory as a function and addiction as a disorder."
Hobbies: Construction games (Lego)!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research Goals: Examine the utilisation of medicines at the population level and investigate the risks and benefits of medications using real world data.
Hobbies: Yoga and gardening!

School: Natural and Built Environment
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Research Goals: "My goal is to use my multidisciplinary expertise to find novel solutions for the stabilisation and valorisation of sands and waste streams through biocementation induced by microorganisms."
Hobbies: Playing football and video games!

School: Natural and Built Environment
Country of Origin: India
Research: Novel Concrete Technology.
Hobbies: Volleyball!

School: Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Country of Origin: India
Research: I am investigating the effects of different anti-cancer treatments on mRNA translation and decay machinery and trying to elucidate the effect of this machinery in anti-cancer drug resistance.
Hobbies: Music, tennis and many more!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Ireland
Research Goals: "I want to use cold plasma to create new ways to fight superbugs that are resistant to current antibiotics, making treatments more effective and improving health outcomes for everyone."
Hobbies: Fencing!

School: Mathematics and Physics
Country of Origin: Nigeria
Research Goals: Areas of traffic flow modelling and fixed point theory with applications to real world problems such as network problems, image processing, machine learning, radiation therapy and signal processing.
Hobbies: Reading and playing indoor games!

School: Nursing and Midwifery
Country of Origin: Northern Ireland
Research Goals: "Improving mental health and well-being has always been a very keen research goal for me and something that I strive to keep as at least an aspect of my role as I move between research projects; be it for individuals in the workplace, veterans, carers of those with learning disabilities or patients with kidney disease."
Hobbies: Music and yoga!

School: Pharmacy
Country of Origin: Jordan
Research Goals: "I am doing research in Pharmaceutical Technology and Drug Delivery, focusing on drug formulation and delivery using MAPs. I am very interested about interdisciplinary research between microbiology and drug delivery to combat antimicrobial resistance."
Hobbies: Walking, travelling, cooking, swimming and watching TV series!
Celebrating the amazing postdocs and research staff at Queen's!
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated on 11 February each year. In 2023, to mark this day of celebration, Dr Linda Oyama (School of Biological Sciences) and Erin Davidson (Postdoctoral Development Centre) partnered to create this collage of some of Queen's fantastic science-based postdocs and research staff who identify as women.
Celebrating the outstanding postdocs and research staff at Queen's!
In celebration of National Postdoc Appreciation Week (NPAW) 2022 from 19 - 23 September, please enjoy this showcase of profiles of Queen's postdocs and research staff throughout the week.
You can also follow this celebratory NPAW profile showcase via this PDC Twitter thread.
Celebrating the amazing postdocs and research staff at Queen's!
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated on 11 February each year. In 2022, to mark this day of celebration, we showcased profiles of Queen's fantastic science-based postdocs and research staff who identify as women.
This initiative was led by Dr Linda Oyama from the School of Biological Sciences with support from the Postdoctoral Development Centre.
You can find the profiles below, as well as in GIF format via this Twitter thread.

Dr Zina Alfahl
School:
Pharmacy
Area of Research:
Respiratory infections
Country of Origin:
Syria
Hobbies:
Travelling and shopping!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"Success is a sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out."

Dr Qonita Kurnia Anjani
School:
Pharmacy
Area of Research:
Drug delivery
Country of Origin:
Indonesia

Dr Sarah Baxter
School/Centre:
Centre for Public Health, Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Psychotropic drug use and risk of glioma
Country of Origin:
Northern Ireland
Hobbies:
Yoga, cooking and hiking!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

Dr Ife Bolaji
School:
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Area of Research:
Processes for sustainable materials production from organic waste.
Country of Origin:
Nigeria
Hobbies:
Photography (nature and beauty spots, and myself); walking and gardening!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."

Dr Sarah Brennan
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Personalised dietary advice in people at risk of cardiovascular disease.
Country of Origin:
Northern Ireland
Hobbies:
Reading, singing and running... but not all at the same time!

Dr Claire Carswell
School:
Nursing and Midwifery
Area of Research:
Chronic illness, palliative care and mental health.
Country of Origin:
United Kingdom
Hobbies:
Medical illustration!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"Idealists foolish enough to throw caution to the winds have advanced mankind and have enriched the world."

Dr Sandhya Chandravanshi
School/Centre:
Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Area of Research:
High frequency circuits and antenna, Wireless Power transfer and RF Energy Harvesting.
Country of Origin:
India
Hobbies:
Exploring historical places and collecting information about these places; Hiking!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

Dr Amy Dumigan
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Host-pathogen interactions
Country of Origin:
Northern Ireland
Hobbies:
Rock climbing and sailing!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

Dr Magdalini Eleftheriadou
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Regenerative Medicine, Cardiovascular research and Cardiac Organoids.
Country of Origin:
Greece
Hobbies:
Chess, designing, arts and dancing!
Favourite Motivational Saying:
Create beautiful moments in your life so that you can look back and see a beautiful past!

Dr Kate Hayes
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Cystic Fibrosis, based in QUB NICRF in the City Hospital, working for the European Cystic Fibrosis Society-Clinical Trial Network.
Country of Origin:
Ireland
Hobbies:
Painting, swimming and singing!
Favourite Motivational Saying:
Stay curious!

Dr Clare Howie
School:
Nursing and Midwifery
Area of Research:
I am currently working on a project examining integrating palliative care in heart failure, using realist synthesis methods. Previously, my PhD research examined young people at-risk of developing psychosis. My research interests include the palliative care in heart failure, the at-risk mental state, psychosis, early intervention, screening methods and detection, and Down's syndrome across the lifespan. I also have interests in review methodologies, including realist and systematic reviews, and factor analysis of psychometric tools.
Country of Origin:
Northern Ireland
Hobbies:
Most of my free time is spent chasing after my very lively 19 month old son!

Dr Haydee Jordao
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Public Health
Country of Origin:
Angola
Hobbies:
Cooking and singing!
Favourite Motivational Saying:
We do not need to ask WHY when time comes to make any good!

Dr Katie Kerr
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Molecular Epidemiology and Public Health
Country of Origin:
Northern Ireland
Hobbies:
Rugby, Kayaking, Aerial Hoop and Reading!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp."

Dr Ayesha Khan
School:
Pharmacy
Area of Research:
Medicinal Chemistry
Country of Origin:
Pakistan
Hobbies:
Board games, running, knitting and reading!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy."

Dr Karis Little
School/Centre:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Diabetic Retinopathy
Country of Origin:
Northern Ireland
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"We must have perseverance and above all, confidence in ourselves."

Dr Erin Magee
School:
Pharmacy
Area of Research:
Infection Diagnostics
Country of Origin:
Northern Ireland
Hobbies:
Being creative - music and art!

Dr Novina Malviya
School:
Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Area of Research:
Inorganic Chemistry (synthesis and application of ionic liquid-based materials).
Country of Origin:
India
Hobbies:
Dancing, writing poems, cooking Indian cuisine, drawing henna on hand and Rangoli designs!
Favourite Motivational Saying:
When you really desire something from the heart, all the universe conspires you to achieve it.

Dr Gillian McNaull
School:
Social Sciences, Education and Social Work
Area of Research:
Criminal Justice, incarceration and social harm.
Country of Origin:
Ireland
Hobbies:
Activism, social justice, keeping my children alive and sea swimming!
Favourite Motivational Saying:
If it is broken, fit it.

Dr Parisa Naeli
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
RNA Biology, Cancer Research and Molecular Genetics.
Country of Origin:
Iran
Hobbies:
Reading, cooking, travelling and wandering around...!
Favourite Motivational Saying:
Losing is only a sign, it's a sign that you really tried!

Dr Talita Oliveira
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Early diagnosis of cancer
Country of Origin:
Brazil
Hobbies:
Reading, watching TV shows and playing with my baby dogs!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish."

Dr Linda Oyama
School:
Biological Sciences
Area of Research:
Antimicrobial Resistance and Drug Development
Country of Origin:
Nigeria/United Kingdom
Hobbies:
Party planning, entertaining young children, looking up random words/ideas on the internet and watching subtitled TV shows in an unknown language!
Favourite Motivational Quote:
"Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men."

Dr Mabel Lizzy Rajendra
School:
Mathematics and Physics
Area of Research:
Mathematics
Country of Origin:
India
Hobbies:
Painting and organising!

Dr Marina Reyne
School:
Biological Sciences
Area of Research:
I am interested in the application of molecular techniques to environmental monitoring and conservation science.
Country of Origin:
Bulgaria
Hobbies:
Diving, hiking, martial arts, weightlifting, bouldering and my dogs!

Dr Qing Wen
School:
Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences
Area of Research:
Medical statistics, Bioinformatics in Ophthalmology and Cancer Research.
Country of Origin:
China
Hobbies:
Singing and sports (badminton)!
Favourite Motivational Quotes:
"Leave every place you go, everything you touch, a little better for your having been there."
"We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."
MHLS Postdocs
This video from 2020 features postdocs from the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences and is introduced by Prof Emma Flynn, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, highlighting the contribution of postdocs to research culture and academic citizenship.
MHLS Postdocs
This video from 2020 features postdocs from the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences and is introduced by Prof Stuart Elborn, MHLS Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, highlighting how they have stepped up during the COVID-19 pandemics.
EPS Postdocs
This video from 2020 features postdocs from the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences and is introduced by Prof Chris Johnson, EPS Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, highlighting their contribution to research.
AHSS Postdocs
This video from 2020 features postdocs from the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and is introduced by Prof Nola Hewitt-Dundas, AHSS Faculty Pro-Vice-Chancellor, highlighting the contribution of postdocs to teaching and student supervision and mentoring.