king's college london research team

Laboratory of Bioinorganic Immunology & Drug Discovery

We are a dynamic and multinational team working in the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences at King's College London

Our multidisciplinary research crosses the boundaries of bioinorganic chemistry and immunology/virology. We use a combination of molecular biology and cell biological methods, biophysical techniques, biochemical assays, and computational biochemistry. 

The research in our group is broadly divided into two themes: (i) Protein engineering to design and develop new therapeutics and (ii) Elucidating the function of iron-sulfur clusters, one of the oldest bioinorganic cofactors of life, at the crossroads of the immune response and cancer.

News & Events

MRC Gap Fund to Design and Develop Novel Multifunctional Antivirals.

M.Sc. Student Theo Situmorag Wins Best Thesis Prize

PhD student Thao Nghi Hoang's Review Article Published in Current Opinion in Chemical Biology

PhD Student Yujie Sheng Wins Best Poster Prize in COST Yong Investigator Meeting, TU Delft, the Netherlands

Royal Society Research Grant to Develop VITAS assay

Latest Publications

A Versatile Virus-Mimetic Engineering Approach for Concurrent Protein Nanocage Surface-Functionalization and Cargo Encapsulation

We mimic the HIV-1 Gag polypeptide precursors and create precursors of nanocages (PRECs). We show that in the presence of a protease, the precursors are cleaved to form subunits that are spontaneously self-assembled to generate PINCs (Protein-induced nanocages). The PINC formation is used to encapsulate a cargo and concurrently decorate the nanocages’ surface with a protein.

Centre for Robotics Research, Department of Informatics, King's College London

Robotics lab london uk united kingdom top world leading kaspar althoefer jian dai lakmal seneviratne thrish nanayakkara hongbin liu helge wurdemann matthew howard.

Newly released KCL Metamorphic Robot Hand (Metahand 3)

The Mechanisms and Kinematics Group led by Prof Jian Dai has been continuously working on the metamorphic robot hand since its invention in 2004. With the principle of metamorphosis, the novel design of the multifingered robot hand brought in an articulated palm which changes the traditional structure of robot hands with a rigid palm. The…

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Wheatstone lab will be in V&A museum for the Digital Design Weekend

Dr. Matthew Howard from CoRe is taking the Wheatstone Innovation Laboratory (WLab) to the V&A museum– the world’s leading mu seum of art and design, for the Digital Design Weekend; the program has just been announced. Click here for more detail. Digital Design Weekend 2016 What : Special Events When : Saturday 24 and Sunday…

Congrats Lukas Lindenroth! The First Prize (Gold Medal) Winner of the Mechatronics Students Prize Competition of 2016

We are pleased to report that our last year’s project student Lukas Lindenroth has won the First Prize (Gold Medal) of the Mechatronics Students Prize Competition of 2016 organised by IMechE (Institution of Mechanical Engineers). Lukas also received the Project Award last year at the Department level. Lukas’ MSc project was supervised by Dr Hongbin…

TAROS-16 Best Student Paper prize for Dr. Elizabeth Sklar’s student

Congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Sklar PhD student (Eric Schneider, enrolled at Univ of Liverpool) won the Best Student Paper prize at the UK flagship robotic conference- 17th Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems (TAROS-16) in June for the paper entitled “Evaluating Multi-Robot Teamwork in Varied Environments” by Eric Schneider (Liverpool), Elizabeth Sklar (KCL) and Simon Parsons (KCL). Vous pourriez devoir renoncer à…

Financial Times recent documentary, “My colleague, the robot”, contains coverage of CoRe labs

Murad Ahmed explores how collaborative robots are being used in agriculture and manufacturing, and asks whether these machines will assist workers on the factory floor, or one day replace them? The documentary contains coverage of CoRe labs and an interview with Dr. Nanayakkara. Watch the full documentary here. Levitra verursacht fast keine Nebenwirkungen und die…

Workshop on Smart Textiles and Robotics (STAR)

DESCRIPTION http://www.textilerobotics.org/ REGISTER While recent years have seen an increase in research on and advances in robotics and its different applications within the medical, industrial and service sections among others, there has been a similar trend in research on the use of textile as a means of sensing, communication and interfacing – leading to the…

Eight Papers from CoRe in IROS 2016

CoRe members present eight papers in the upcoming IROS 2016 (The 2016 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Daejeon, Korea, October 9-14, 2016.) starting from tomorrow. The program is as follows: Day Time Paper Title or Activity Authors Session Tuesday, October 11, 2016 10:59-11:00 Fingertip Proximity Sensor with Realtime Visual-Based Calibration TuT11.15 Jelizaveta…

Congrats to Dr. Angela Faragasso , et. al. for Best Poster Award in CRAS 2016

Wonderful presentations and a good opportunity to exchange ideas for CoRe members with two oral and three poster presentations in the 6th Joint Workshop on New Technologies for Computer/Robot Assisted Surgery (CRAS) 2016, held in Pisa on September 12-14. And congrats to Dr. Angela Faragasso , et. al. for best poster award in CRAS 2016. Angela has been granted JSPS…

Robotics Open Day 2016- Saturday June 25th

The Centre for Robotics Research (CORE) at King’s College is demonstrating the latest research that deals with a broad range of exciting topics. We will show how we see the future, and how robots can change our lives. You will see: soft robots that are created taking inspiration from the natural world and wildlife; wearable…

Financial Times recently interviewed Dr. Elizabeth Sklar – The future of robot-human interaction.

What kinds of things will robots do in future and what jobs will be left for the humans? The FT’s Maija Palmer puts the question to three London-based roboticists, including Dr. Elizabeth Sklar from KCL CoRe. Find out more about this podcast here. Las innovaciones médicas del siglo pasado y podrías beneficiarte de algunas de estas…

Big day for ThrishLab, EPSRC just confirmed that Dr. Thrishantha Nanayakkara’s research grant proposal will be funded to lead a major UK based research consortium!

MOTION – Morphological Computation of Perception and Action Partners: King’s College London (lead organization), Cambridge University, Imperial College London, University of Surrey, Shadow Robotics Company, Rethink Robotics, Southern Scientific Ltd. Duration: 3 years (July 2016 – July 2019) Funding Body: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK Amount: £1.2 million Motivation: The recent Ebola…

DL by Prof. Dai: Robots of the Future That Are Shaped by Arts and Nature

On 3rd November at the Great Hall of King’s College London, Professor Jian S Dai, ASME Fellow and IMechE Fellow, was invited to give a Distinguished Lecture to the public on Robots of the Future that Are Shaped by Arts and Nature. More than 250 attendees signed up for the lecture delivered and the Great…

Humanitarian Technologies Lab at King’s CoRe

The Humanitarian Technologies Lab (HT Lab) exists to develop new technologies to deliver humanitarian assistance to people in need.  It brings together a broad range of disciplines within CoRe, with its main areas of focus being: humanitarian demining and safe medicines. If you are not redirected automatically, follow the link.

Crowdfunding Trials of Our NQR Explosives Detector!

Field Trials to Test an Explosives Detector to Remove Landmines left after Conflict- In collaboration with King’s College London, Dr Jamie Barras is raising funds to run field trials to test an explosive detector for clearing landmines. Dr. Jamie Barras is the head of humanitarian technologies lab in the Department of Informatics. He is running…

Access the UK’s commercial opportunities in Robotics and Autonomous Systems

Learn about the UK’s Robotics and Autonomous Systems sector from leading innovators and academics such as Ian Stevens, Chief Executive Officer at Touch Bionics, Professor Kaspar Althoefer, Head of Centre for Robotics Research at Kings College, London, and Professor David Lane, Chair of the Robotics and Autonomous System Special Interest Group appearing via 3D hologram…

The Climate & Sustainability Team

• Sustainable Development Goals
• Sustainability Strategy
• Newsletter Archive
• King’s Climate Action Network
• KEATS Sustainability & Climate Module
• Sustainability Champions in Labs
• Sustainability Champion Assistant
• Sustainability Month (February)
• Welcome to King’s
• Sustainability Seminar Series
• Be a Sustainable Student
• Be an Eco-Warrior
• Education for Sustainability case studies
• Volunteering Opportunities
• Industry Guide on Charity, NGOs, Development & the Environment
• Sustainability Careers Events Recordings
• Blogs about Careers in Sustainability

We wanted to take the time to introduce ourselves – the people behind sustainability at King’s! You can find the most up-to-date list of staff members here .

Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.

King’s Climate & Sustainability team

President & principal’s office.

• Professor Frans Berkhout, Assistant Principal (King’s Climate & Sustainability),  [email protected]
• Rosie Smith, Programme Director (King’s Climate & Sustainability),  [email protected]
• Marina Barker, Project Manager (King’s Climate & Sustainability), [email protected]
• Billy Bryan, Senior Communications Officer (King’s Climate & Sustainability), [email protected]
• Alaa Abuesba, Business Support Officer (King’s Climate & Sustainability),  [email protected]
• Jone de Roode Jauregi, Senior Climate and Sustainability Officer,  [email protected]
• Rosa Roe Garcia, Climate and Sustainability Officer,  [email protected]
• Rachel Harrington-Abrams, Senior Climate and Sustainability Officer,  [email protected]
• Oliver Yu Hurst, KEATS Sustainability Module Assistant,  [email protected]
• Project Officer for Education (King’s Climate & Sustainability), vacant
• Project Officer for Research (King’s Climate & Sustainability), vacant
• Communications Officer (King’s Climate & Sustainability), vacant

Directorate of Estates & Facilities

• Curtis Alleyne, Interim Head of Estates Sustainability,  [email protected]
• Nicola Hogan, Sustainability Manager (Operations),  [email protected]
• Julie Allen, Heat Decarbonisation Programme Lead – Asset Delivery,  [email protected]
• Omega Young, Energy & Carbon Manager,  [email protected]
• Jessica Killeen, Energy Coordinator,  [email protected]

Research Management & Innovation Directorate 

• Marcelo Salierno, Sustainability Lead (Research),  [email protected]
• Caitlin Broadbent, Sustainability Technician (Research),  [email protected]
• Leilani Beltran, Infrastructure & Sustainability Analyst,  [email protected]

The sustainability team in research at King’s College London spearheads the integration of sustainable practices into the university’s research activities, operations and infrastructure. The Infrastructure team leads on the delivery of an ambitious project to sustainably increase biobanking and cold storage capacity in support of the Health Schools.

All members of staff are full-time, except for the Programme Director (0.8 FTE), one Senior Climate and Sustainability Officer (0.4 FTE), and the KEATS Sustainability Module Assistant (0.2 FTE).

In addition, several staff members across the university have responsibility for social or environmental sustainability, including:

Ellie Wilson , Head of Strategic Communications: Ellie steers communications for King’s local, national and global social impact, as well as its climate and sustainability ambitions.

Declan Mulkeen , Director of Research Strategy: Declan provides expertise on the climate and sustainability research landscape and leads the coordination of the King’s Climate & Sustainability Seed Fund.

Service at King’s: Service describes our commitment to society both through and beyond the traditional roles of education and research. The Service team within the President & Principal’s office support and implement projects that deliver on our commitments to social impact, including King’s Sanctuary Programme and King’s Volunteering. Find out more about the Service team and their work here .

London: The London team within the President & Principal’s office is responsible for building robust and effective relationships with partners across London and supporting King’s faculties and directorates as they deliver on King’s commitment to be a civic university at the heart of London. Information on the team and contact details can be found here.

Some staff introductions…

Nicola Hogan   – Sustainability Manager (Operations)

Jone de Roode Jauregi – Senior Climate and Sustainability Officer

Jone supports our work around climate action including leading the King’s Climate Action Network and the development and implementation of the Climate & Sustainability Plan. She also looks after the Sustainability blog and newsletter.

She completed her BSc in International Management at King’s in 2021, during which time she was actively involved in the King’s CAN as a sub-group member and team volunteer.

Rachel Harrington-Abrams   – Senior Climate and Sustainability Officer

Rachel supports our work coordinating climate-related research and education across the university as part of the King’s Climate & Sustainability Action Plan.  

She is also a PhD student in the Department of Geography, researching the multilateral governance of climate change adaptation decision-making, and works in the Sustainability team alongside her PhD for two days a week.  

Rosa Roe Garcia – Climate and Sustainability Officer

In 2021, she graduated from King’s with a BA in philosophy. She was an active member of the King’s Extinction Rebellion and is still involved in environmental activism in London.

Julie Allen –  Heat Decarbonisation Programme Lead

Julie ensures projects within Estates & Facilities are aligned with our heat decarbonisation efforts.

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Quick Links

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Welcome to the blog of the King's Sustainability team! Our aim is to keep you informed about sustainability at King's including events and opportunities, as well as to inspire discussion and action on and around Campus. Please join the conversation!

Recent Posts

• NEW BLOG: Ripple Effects February 28, 2024
• King’s Climate Action Network: 2023-24 plans and relaunch October 11, 2023
• The Waste to Wildlife Garden October 6, 2023
• Two full-time job opportunities at King’s Climate & Sustainability September 18, 2023
• Teaching sustainability values in adult nursing September 18, 2023
• Biodiversity (24)
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Research Support Service Hub delivered by King's College London and Partners

Delivered by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience and King’s Clinical Trials Unit at King’s College London, in partnership with PRIMENT Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, Leeds Institute of Clinical Trials Research, the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust

The hub delivered by King's College London and Partners is a centre of excellence for research methodology in mental health and brain disorders and is run in partnership with Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, University College London, University of Oxford, and the University of Leeds.

Research strengths and areas of expertise

Mental health and brain disorders can cause problems in all areas of life, often beginning in childhood and lasting the lifetime. This hub aims to help researchers to improve people’s lives by understanding how to prevent mental health difficulties and find better treatments.

This hub believes in an open and supportive research culture and the sharing of expert skills in order to attract, train and retain the next generation of mental health researchers to ensure long term sustainability of the mental health research pipeline.

They welcome enquiries from across the whole of England and all disciplines within psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience, who are working in primary, secondary or tertiary care or the charity sector.  They are committed to supporting methodological research applied to mental health and neuroscience challenges, and welcome enquiries from methodologists and allied health professionals working in this area.

Research support

In collaboration with senior academics from across the hub partnership, a range of methodological expertise and support is offered at both the pre-award and post-award stage, including:

• Medical statistics
• Qualitative social science
• Health economics
• Clinical trials methodology
• IMP (pharmacy) management
• Operational support, clinical trials management, and study delivery
• Public and Patient Involvement and Engagement (PPIE)
• Psychometrics and validating interventions
• Health informatics and mobile health (mHealth)
• Medical devices

If you would like support from the RSS Hub delivered by King’s College London and Partners, please  book an appointment with the RSS Coordinator and select either pre-award or post-award. This will be an initial conversation to enable hub staff to direct you to the type of support you require, so please come ready with an overview of your proposed study.

Hub partners

• The Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London is a leading centre for mental health and neuroscience research in Europe. The hub will be led from the Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics together with colleagues from the School of Mental Health and Psychology Sciences. It is closely partnered with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and together they host the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre , the largest mental health specific BRC. King’s Clinical Trials Unit is a UKCRC registered trials unit with expertise across the health spectrum, notably in mental health and neuroscience trials. Academics and operational staff within KCTU lead and participate in methodology research, focused on statistical and operational methodology in clinical trials. All these groups are members of King’s Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre. 
• Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (GMMH) is one of the largest specialist mental health providers in the country, providing a range of mental health services including addiction and recovery. GMMH also hosts a number of mental health research units, including the Psychosis Research Unit and the Anxiety, Depression and Psychological Therapies Research Unit (ADePT-RU). They are a member of the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre. 
• The PRIMENT CTU at University College London (UCL) is a UKCRC registered trials unit offering academic and scientific input to studies alongside operational support, across multiple research themes including mental health, dementia and Parkinson’s disease. The unit is supported by an experienced team which includes trialists, statisticians, health economists, trial managers and data managers. The UCL Institute of Mental Health brings together interdisciplinary research and training strengths in mental health, spanning across 11 academic faculties and comprising of 15 research themes including mood disorders, neuroscience and substance abuse.  UCL is a member of UCL Partners Academic Health Science Centre. 
• University of Oxford is a world-leading centre of learning, teaching and research. The Department of Psychiatry consists of a number of research groups, including the Centre for Research on Eating Disorders, Translational Neuroscience and Dementia Research and Clinical Psychopharmacology. The university is also a partner in the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre , which is a mental health specific BRC covering a range of themes including brain technologies, data science, dementia and depression therapeutics. The University of Oxford is a member of the Oxford Academic Health Partners. 
• The Leeds Clinical Trials Research Unit (CTRU) at the University of Leeds is a leading academic UKCRC registered trials unit. The CTRU supports studies across of a range of disciplines and is supported by a team of statisticians, trial managers and coordinators and data managers. We will be working closely with the Complex Interventions Division.

External links

RDS Resources

• Education and Resources
• Clinical Academic Groupings
• News and Events
• Cardiovascular
• Diabetes, Endocrinology and Obesity
• About KHP Haematology
• Patient engagement

Research and innovation

• Education and training
• King’s College Denmark Hill Haematology Biobank
• Neurosciences
• Women and Children's Health
• Behavioural and Developmental Psychiatry
• Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Genetics, Rheumatology, Infection, Immunology and Dermatology
• Imaging and Biomedical Engineering
• Liver, Renal, Urology, Transplant, Gastro/Gastro Intestinal Surgery
• Medicine and Integrated Care
• Mental Health of Older Adults and Dementia
• Orthopaedics, Trauma and Plastics
• Palliative Care
• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Psychological Medicine and Integrated Care
• Respiratory and Allergy

Our CAP provides a patient-centred research programme with two integrated clinical trial research units, so patients from across the region have access to many of the latest treatments and developments. 

Research teams across King’s Health Partners Haematology have demonstrated continued success in being the first to recruit to multiple competitive global trials, and leading recruitment to many national and international clinical trials. We also work closely with commercial partners to host national and international clinical trials as well as funded Investigator Initiated Trials. 

Our haematology clinical trials and research studies are delivered by dedicated research teams in the following units: 

• Haematology Research Unit at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 
• Oncology and Haematology Clinical Trials Unit at the Cancer Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust 

We also have access to state-of-the art research facilities at  

• NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility at King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 
• NIHR Clinical Research Facility at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust; the only Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) phase I accredited NHS-managed CRF in London. 
• The Cell Therapy Unit within the NIHR King’s Clinical Research Facility  
• The Gene Therapy Vector Facility at King’s College London 

Current clinical trials 

Please follow the links below for details of current trials across our specialisms: 

• Cellular and transplant therapy  
• Classical haematology  
• Lymphoid leukaemia’s and lymphoma  
• Myeloid disorders  
• Plasma cell disorders  
• Red cell disorders  
• Thrombosis and haemostasis  

Health Digital and Data Sciences 

The  South East London Plasma Cell Disorders Registry (SEL PCD Registry)  is a research database collecting information on patients with a range of plasma cell disorders. 

Achievements 

We have secured funding through competitive open-call research bids from pharmaceutical, biotech, government and charity funding bodies to enable pre-clinical research and its translation, including first-in-human (phase 1) trials and later phase clinical trials. 

Our research has been published in peer reviewed journals including New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, Nature, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Blood and many others, demonstrating the extensive and innovative research taking place across our CAP. We are making significant contributions to the ever-evolving body of knowledge and helping advance care and treatment options for our patients.  

Examples of success include: 

• King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust have been awarded funding and are accredited IMPACT and TAP Centres; these are accelerated research platforms for the development and delivery of pioneering clinical trials in stem cell transplant (IMPACT) and blood cancers (TAP). 
• We play an internationally leading role in the development of molecular monitoring techniques for acute myeloid leukaemia. This has led to the establishment of an international reference laboratory for patients treated in and outside clinical trials, opening the door to truly personalised therapy.  
• Our myeloproliferative neoplasms service is an international centre of excellence and work here has led to the discovery of driver mutations and delivery of targeted therapies, which are now approved. We continue to provide global leadership of cutting edge commercial and academic trials. We have led the world literature for management of pregnancy and young patients with these conditions. 
• The Cell and Gene Therapy at King’s College London produces the largest number of lentivirus and retrovirus (gene carriers) based vectors for regulatory approved clinical trials in Europe. 
• King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s Haematology department is one of the first accredited CAR-T centres in the UK offering commercial CAR-T products (a type of immunotherapy which involves collecting and using the patients' own immune cells to treat their condition) for cancer treatment, as well as several CAR-T trials for a range of haematological malignancies. 

Read our  latest news  and learn more about  upcoming events . 

To get in touch with the Team and learn more about our work, please email  [email protected] .  

The South East London Plasma Cell Disorders Registry

The South East London Plasma Cell Disorders Registry (SEL PCD Registry) is a research database collecting information on patients with a range of plasma cell disorders including 

• Myeloma 
• Monoclonal gammopathies 
• AL amyloidosis 
• POEMS syndrome 
• Solitary plasmacytomas 
• IgM neuropathy 

The Registry is a collaborative project initiated by King’s Health Partners (King’s College Hospital and Guys and St Thomas’ Hospitals), and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust. The information we gather is being made available for quality improvement audits and research studies. 

Data summary 

The Registry collects routine clinical data from existing patient records, without any additional procedures or data collection exercises for patients. Data collected include: 

Basic demographic details such as gender, age, and ethnicity: Relevant diagnostic details Information on all treatments administered, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, stem cell transplant, and spinal surgery Response, progression, and toxicity details, to judge treatment effectiveness  

Consent and confidentiality 

We are inviting all patients with plasma cell disorders under the care of one of the participating sites to enrol in the registry. The data that we collect on consenting patients is pseudonymised and stored securely. This means any direct identifiers (names, NHS numbers, addresses, etc) are removed to protect patient confidentiality. Registry governance 

A Registry Oversight Committee meets twice yearly to review Registry activities. The Committee comprises the lead consultant from each participating site alongside patient representatives, Information Governance experts, and other interested parties. The Committee monitors data collection, reviews requests for data use, and oversees the publication of findings. 

Data use 

All requests for data to complete audits and research studies are tracked, reviewed, and approved by the Registry Oversight Committee. Audits are internal reviews of data conducted by NHS Trusts, and are therefore required to meet the initiating Trusts’ standards of data protection and scientific rigour. 

Research studies are those that originate from within or without the Trust with the aim of publication, usually in a medical or scientific journal. These studies will inform the development of future care. All proposed research projects are required to demonstrate orientation towards patient benefit, ensure potential ethical issues have been thought through and mitigated, and must display statistical / scientific viability of expected outcomes. 

All patient data supplied to researchers or for audits is fully anonymised to protect patient confidentiality. For more details or to enrol in the Registry, please contact  [email protected] .  

Want to know more?

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Research Software Engineering ¶

e-Research is a new Department at KCL which is being created to help enable and facilitate computational- and data-intensive research across the university.

A core component of e-Research will be supporting research through a Research Software Engineering capability. A team of Research Software Engineers ( RSEs ) will be recruited to help elevate the level of computational- and data-science proficiency across campus. The RSE team will work to achieve this by:

• contributing directly to code development underpinning research projects,
• providing guidance and recommendations to PhD students and Post-docs developing their own code, and
• delivering training and short courses on computational- and data-science methods

The RSE team will consist of software engineers with a range of different academic backgrounds and expertise.

For the "contributing directly to code development underpinning research projects" role above, the RSE's time will be costed into research grants, and a proportion of the RSE's time will be directly allocated code development for this research projects.

At the time of writing, e-Research is about to embark on the recruitment of the first positions in the Research Software Engineering team.

The RSE team will work closely with our RSE colleagues in Arts and Humanities in Kings Digital Lab .

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Research at King’s

At King’s, we pride ourselves on developing new treatments and groundbreaking surgical techniques, to help improve patient care.

How does research help King’s patients?

Research means turning promising ideas or interesting theories into real benefits for King’s patients and members of the local community.

King’s currently has more than 500 research projects running, ranging from testing new surgical devices or drugs, to studies aimed at helping us to improve our understanding of mental health issues.

However, research projects cannot get started without the participation of one key group of people: our patients. We rely heavily on the 700,000 patients we treat every year to volunteer and take part in research projects. This arrangement is mutually beneficial: it is good for the Trust (we get to see how new treatments work in practice), and it is exciting for our patients (they benefit from ground-breaking treatments earlier than they would otherwise).

Collaborating with other research colleagues

Our research programme is now higher on the agenda than ever before. Last year, we joined forces with King’s College London, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts, to form King’s Health Partners, one of only five Academic Health Science Centres (AHSCs) in the UK.

One of the key aims of King’s Health Partners is to accelerate ‘bench to bedside’ research; in other words, speeding up the time it takes to get innovations in the laboratory out into the local community and providing real benefits for patients.

Our five year strategy

Alongside our partners, we are ideally placed to support the UK Government’s vision to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research and innovation, as outlined in their 2017 Industrial Strategy . In April 2019, we launched our Research and Innovation Five Year Strategy , which outlines our three key aims and strategic objectives which will enable us to achieve this goal.

We have published yearly progress reports about our achievements within each aim:

• Research and Innovation Strategy: One year on
• Research and Innovation Strategy: Two years on
• Research and Innovation Strategy: Three years on
• Research and Development Strategy: Four years on

Find out more about our recent successful health research projects and how you can get involved as a patient .

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Female health apps misuse highly sensitive data

14 May 2024

Apps designed for female health monitoring are exposing users to unnecessary privacy and safety risks through their poor data handling practices, according to new research from UCL and King’s College London.

The study, presented at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) 2024 on 14 May, is the most extensive evaluation of the privacy practices of female health apps to date. The authors found that these apps, which handle medical and fertility data such as menstrual cycle information, are coercing users into entering sensitive information that could put them at risk.

The team analysed the privacy policies and data safety labels of 20 of the most popular female health apps available in the UK and USA Google Play stores, which are used by hundreds of millions of people. The analysis revealed that in many instances, user data could be subject to access from law enforcement or security authorities.

Only one app that the researchers reviewed explicitly addressed the sensitivity of menstrual data with regard to law enforcement in their privacy policies and made efforts to safeguard users against legal threats.

In contrast, many of the pregnancy-tracking apps had a requirement for users to indicate whether they have previously miscarried or had an abortion, and some apps lacked data deletion functions, or made it difficult to remove data once entered.

Experts warn this combination of poor data management practices could pose serious physical safety risks for users in countries where abortion is a criminal offence.

Dr Ruba Abu-Salma, lead investigator of the study from King’s College London, said: “Female health apps collect sensitive data about users’ menstrual cycle, sex lives, and pregnancy status, as well as personally identifiable information such as names and email addresses.

"Requiring users to disclose sensitive or potentially criminalising information as a pre-condition to deleting data is an extremely poor privacy practice with dire safety implications. It removes any form of meaningful consent offered to users.

“The consequences of leaking sensitive data like this could result in workplace monitoring and discrimination, health insurance discrimination, intimate partner violence, and criminal blackmail; all of which are risks that intersect with gendered forms of oppression, particularly in countries like the USA where abortion is illegal in 14 states.”

The research revealed stark contradictions between privacy policy wording and in-app features, as well as flawed user consent mechanisms, and covert gathering of sensitive data with rife third-party sharing.

Key findings included:

•           35% of the apps claimed not to share personal data with third parties in their data safety sections but contradicted this statement in their privacy policies by describing some level of third-party sharing.

•           50% provided explicit assurance that users’ health data would not be shared with advertisers but were ambiguous about whether this also included data collected through using the app.

•           45% of privacy policies outlined a lack of responsibility for the practices of any third parties, despite also claiming to vet them.

Many of the apps in the study were also found to link users’ sexual and reproductive data to their Google searches or website visits, which researchers warn could pose a risk of de-anonymisation for the user and could also lead to assumptions about their fertility status.

Lisa Malki, first author of the paper and former research assistant at King's College London, who is now a PhD student at UCL Computer Science, said: “There is a tendency by app developers to treat period and fertility data as ‘another piece of data’ as opposed to uniquely sensitive data which has the potential to stigmatise or criminalise users. Increasingly risky political climates warrant a greater degree of stewardship over the safety of users, and innovation around how we might overcome the dominant model of ‘notice and consent’ which currently places a disproportionate privacy burden on users.

“It is vital that developers start to acknowledge unique privacy and safety risks to users and adopt practices which promote a humanistic and safety-conscious approach to developing health technologies.”

To help developers improve privacy policies and practices of female health apps, the researchers have developed a resource that can be adapted and used to manually and automatically evaluate female health app privacy policies in future work.

The team are also calling for critical discussions on how these types of apps – including other wider categories of health apps such as fitness and mental health apps – look after sensitive data.

Dr Mark Warner, an author of the paper from UCL Computer Science, said: “It’s crucial to remember how important these apps are in helping women manage different aspects of their health, and so asking them to delete these apps is not a responsible solution. The responsibility is on app developers to ensure they are designing these apps in a way that considers and respects the unique sensitivities of both the data being directly collected from users, and the data being generated through inferences made from the data.”

• Research paper
• Lisa Malki's academic profile
• Dr Wark Warner’s academic profile
• UCL Computer Science
• UCL Engineering
• Credit:  Maridav  on iStock.

Media contact

Matt midgley.

Tel: +44 (0)20 3108 6995

Email: m.midgley [at] ucl.ac.uk

Collaborative Calls for Proposals Home Agreements Collaborative Calls for Proposals

Call for proposals fapesp and king’s college london – 2024 versão em português.

1. Introduction

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and King’s College London (King’s) are pleased to launch this new call for joint research projects. The aim is to promote and strengthen collaboration between researchers affiliated with Higher Education and Research Institutions in State of São Paulo and researchers working for King’s College London.

2. Research Themes

The present call invites research proposals in any discipline.

3. Funding and duration

FAPESP and King’s will each fund selected projects with an equivalent total of up to USD 50,000 per project for projects with a duration of two (2) years , without extensions. A single joint project may therefore receive up to USD 100,000 in total through this funding call over a two-year period.

A total of two (2) proposals will be funded for this call.

FAPESP will fund the research team based in the State of São Paulo and King’s will fund the UK research team.

4. Eligibility criteria and funding principals

It is envisaged that applications will be for a balanced partnership. Each proposal should include one Principal Investigator (PI) from the State of São Paulo and one from King’s who join their strengths to execute a joint research project. Applicants are expected to propose a coherent research project, in which the added value of both partners, and the complementarity of both teams, is clearly shown. The proposals must aim to respect the principle of reciprocity with regards to academic qualifications of those who will take part in the exchange activities.

4.1 FAPESP:

a) Eligibility: The PI must be employed by a public or private Higher Education or Research Institution in the State of São Paulo and must meet the rules from Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular . Each PI can only submit one proposal.

b) Funding: Proposals must meet the rules and instructions of Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular , with the exceptions of funding (item 3).

4.2 King’s:

a) Eligibility: The PI should be an academic staff member or post-doctoral researcher at King’s with a contract of employment for the full length of the proposed project.

b) Funding: King’s will arrange the internal transfer of funds over two years, with the total amount of funds to be transferred split equally between the 1 st and 2 nd years of the project.

5. Submission

Proposals, in English, and prepared by both research teams (maximum of 15 pages) must contain a clear description of the planned collaboration (distribution of work and methods of implementation) and the added value to be expected from the collaboration. A budget summary table (template available) to indicate funds requested to FAPESP and King’s must also be prepared.

5.1 Submission and documents required by FAPESP will follow the general rules for Auxílio à Pesquisa Regular and will be available for consultation in the SAGe system.

5.2 Submission and documents required by King’s: research proposal; research proposal submission form; budget summary table; and CV of the PI.

Proposals must be submitted to FAPESP and King’s, as specified in item 6.

6. How to apply

6.1. Proposals must be submitted by 12 August 2024 (11h59 pm local time for FAPESP) to FAPESP by the PI from the State of São Paulo and to King’s by the PI from the UK.

a) FAPESP submission

• The proposal must be submitted through the SAGe platform. The specific path for this Call is: Nova Proposta Inicial > + Outras Linhas de Fomento > + Acordos de Cooperação> + KCL - King's College London > + KCL - Projeto de Pesquisa - Regular > + Chamada de Propostas (2024)
• The PI from King’s must create a SAGe login and confirm participation in the project online . Please see the annex at the end of the document for more information. It is strongly recommended to complete and submit the proposal well in advance

b) King’s Submission

• The PI from King’s must submit the documents itemised in 5.2 to the Global Engagement team, by email, to [email protected] .

6.2. No proposal will be accepted after the closing date for submission, nor will any addendum or explanation be accepted, unless those explicitly and formally requested by FAPESP or King’s.

6.3. Proposals submitted by any other means will not be accepted.

7. Analysis and selection

7.1. Each Party will select the proposals according to its own procedures. Only the proposals selected by both Parties will be funded.

7.2. Beyond regular review procedures by each Party, the evaluation criteria include:

• scientific quality and innovativeness of the research plan;
• feasibility of the research plan;
• competence and expertise of the applicants from both countries;
• added value generated by UK-Brazilian research collaboration.

The mobility of researchers will also be considered in the review.

7.3. Proposals that do not comply with the terms of this Call will not qualify for analysis.

7.4. Considering the final results announced under this call for proposals, FAPESP and King’s College London will not accept reconsideration requests.

8. Intellectual Property

In case of approval, a Letter of Agreement (or “Consortium Agreement”) should be signed between the partner Host Institutions establishing how Intellectual Property rights, confidentiality and publications will be treated jointly, in observance of the policies of each funding Party. The presentation of this document is not mandatory for signing the Grant Term, however, FAPESP can request its presentation at any time.

9. Matchmaking

Foreign researchers interested in finding partners in the state of São Paulo can use the Virtual Library of FAPESP . It is possible to search for information regarding Grants and Scholarships awarded by FAPESP, including abstracts, as well as the names of participating researchers and their institutions. The Global Engagement team at King’s can also be contacted for support with matchmaking between King’s and São Paulo state institutions via [email protected] .

10. Contact

All questions related to this Call for Proposals must be directed to:

FAPESP: [email protected]

King’s College London: [email protected]

King's College London

20 May 2024

Three King's academics elected as Fellows of the Academy of Medical Sciences

Professors Ammar Al-Chalabi, Maddy Parsons and Jane Sandall have been elected as Fellows of the prestigious Academy in recognition of their industry-leading work in biomedical and health research.

They will join a group of 58 newly elected scientists whose expertise spans a wide range of disciplines, from midwifery to cancer stem cell biology. They join an esteemed Fellowship of over 1,400 researchers who are at the heart of the Academy's work as an independent, expert body. Its mission is to advance biomedical and health research and its translation into benefits for society.

This year's cohort marks a significant milestone in the Academy's efforts to promote equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within its Fellowship election. Among the new Fellows, 41% are women, the highest percentage ever elected. Additionally, Black, Asian and minority ethnic representation is 29%, an 11% increase from the previous year.

Vice President for Research and Innovation, Professor Bashir Al-Hashimi said: "I would like to offer my warmest congratulations to Professors Maddy Parsons, Ammar Al-Chalabi and Jane Sandall on their election to the Academy for their exceptional contributions to medical science and translational research."

Ammar Al-Chalabi, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics in the School of Neuroscience

Professor Al-Chalabi trained in Leicester and London, and subsequently became a neurologist, leading the Motor Nerve Clinic and motor neuron disease (MND) research team at King’s.

His work focuses on the causes of and treatments for motor neuron disease and he is also co-director of the UK MND Research Institute, a partnership of patients, charities, universities, hospitals and industry partners whose singular aim is to accelerate the search for a motor neuron disease cure.

Professor Al-Chalabi said: “I have always been fascinated by genetics and neuroscience, and at the crossover of those fields MND stands out as a condition which desperately needs effective treatment.

“I am very pleased to have been elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences and indebted to the support of colleagues and collaborators in the UK and internationally, reflected in this award.”

Maddy Parsons, Professor of Cell Biology and Director of the Nikon Imaging Centre

Initially a biochemist, Professor Parsons’ research operates at the interface between fundamental cell biology, biophysics and advanced imaging. Her discoveries have accelerated understanding of how cells sense their environment and how this leads to diseases such as cancer and inflammatory disorders in both skin and lung.

She is internationally recognised for her leadership in multidisciplinary approaches to research, working with physicists, engineers, clinicians, computational scientists and industry to co-develop new ways to image, model, understand and treat complex human disease.

Professor Parsons is also known for her leadership of the BioImagingUK community and UK EuroBioImaging node, extensive work with the Royal Microscopical Society and broader strategic roles within UKRI.

Professor Parsons said: “I am deeply honoured by this recognition from the Academy, which I extend to all the wonderful and talented collaborators I have had the privilege of working with during my career. I’m very grateful to the contributions from team members and colleagues who have been instrumental in inspiring and delivering our research.”

Jane Sandall CBE, Professor of Social Science and Women’s Health in the School of Life Course and Population Sciences

A midwife by background, Jane worked in Africa initially and wished to develop a research career. After training as a social scientist, her work now focuses on health systems and service delivery, looking at the implementation of innovative care models and technologies to improve quality and safety of care.

Professor Sandall’s current research projects include looking at the implementation of duty of candour in maternity care, and a programme of work focused on mitigating inequalities.

Professor Sandall said: “I am very proud that as a midwife and applied health researcher I have been elected, and am glad to have the opportunity to contribute to the Academy of Medical Sciences.”

In this story

Professor Maddy Parsons

Dean of Research Excellence Frameworks

Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi MB, ChB, PhD

Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics

Professor Jane Sandall CBE

Professor of Social Science and Women's Health

Related departments

• Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine
• Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience
• Department of Women & Children's Health