Author: Sara West

Joyce Odeke Akello: Protecting communities through pandemic preparedness

Joyce Odeke Akello

“It is incredibly rewarding to know that the work we do in the laboratory can ultimately contribute to protecting communities.”

Dr Joyce Odeke Akello is a Research Fellow within the Vaccine Epidemiology Research Group (VERG) in the School of Public Health.

She develops laboratory approaches for the detection of viruses with pandemic potential in wastewater and environmental samples. By improving surveillance capabilities, researchers can better monitor viruses as they circulate in communities, which helps countries to identify emerging threats early and respond more quickly.

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Oana Filote: Supporting operational change

Oana Filote

“It’s rewarding to know that what I do helps make a positive difference to staff and, ultimately, the wider Imperial community.” 

Oana is the Training Coordinator for the Great Service Programme, a long-term project which will deliver a range of improvements across People, Procurement, Finance and Research Administration at Imperial. 

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Katy Ingleby: Creating an innovation ecosystem

Katy Ingleby

“One of the things I love about working at Imperial is the opportunity to learn new things and collaborate with different teams.”

Katy Ingleby is the Head of Public Affairs and part of the team responsible for managing the delivery of the WestTech London project, one strand of Imperial’s Science for Humanity strategy.

After completing her PhD in English Literature, Katy’s career began first at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and then the Houses of Parliament in London. Following this, she held roles at several charities before joining the Medical Research Council and UKRI.

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Amy Lloyd Evans: Advocating for students

Celebrating Disability History Month

Amy and her dad at the South Kensington campus
Amy and her dad at the South Kensington campus

“There is a lot of support at Imperial, from the Disability Advisory Service to the student mental health service, accommodation teams and academic tutors.”

Amy Lloyd Evans is a fourth-year medical student and Disabilities Officer for Imperial College Union.

Amy said that she first felt able to be open about, and celebrate, her disability when she joined Imperial.

“I’ve always been disabled and, even though I didn’t know it for a lot of my life, it’s shaped all my experiences, beliefs and values. I try my best to be welcoming and inclusive to everyone because I understand the feeling of being othered for something you can’t, or don’t want to, change.

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Sana Kardar: Awareness and inclusion

Celebrating Disability History Month

Sana Kardar

“For me, Disability History Month is about awareness, visibility and inclusion.”

Sana is a Postgraduate Taught student on the MSc Bioscience Futures: Communication, Innovation and Entrepreneurship course in the National Heart and Lung Institute.

The course combines entrepreneurial, communication and commercialisation skills to address global challenges.

Sana enjoys how interactive her course is and says that it bridges the gap between her undergraduate biomedical degree and applications of research in the real world.

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Paige Noyce: Enabling international collaborations

“It’s inspiring being so close to groundbreaking research and knowing that we are shaping the environment that enables it.”

Paige Noyce

Paige Noyce is Associate Director of Imperial Global Singapore, a research hub based at the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus where scientists work closely with university, industry, government and third-sector partners in the region.

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Jennifer Quint: Championing early career researchers

Jennifer Quint

“Early career researchers are fundamental to the future of research and essential to Imperial. Our role is to keep them, enthuse them, and help train them for success.”

Jennifer Quint is one of two Deputy Directors (Academic) for the Early Career Researcher Institute (ECRI) and a Clinical Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology.

She leads the Respiratory Electronic Health Record group in the School of Public Health, alongside national roles including the Associate Director for the Respiratory Data Science Catalyst.

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Graduation volunteers: Making Commemoration special

Darren Ng and Lilia Morales

Lilia and Darren volunteered at Commemoration Day in October 2024, which saw 3500 graduands awarded their degrees. Volunteers are essential to the successful running of the event and take on roles including crowd management around the South Kensington Campus, supporting on the information desks, ticket scanning at the receptions, and stewarding the livestream screening. Details of how to get involved at the 2025 ceremonies can be found at the end of the article. 

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Jack Leyshon-Richards: Improving the recruitment journey

Jack Leyshon-Richards

“I’m excited to learn more about Imperial and help find the best candidates that meet the organisation’s needs.”  

What if finding your next brilliant colleague was easier and quicker? That’s the question Jack Leyshon-Richards, Imperial’s new Head of Recruitment, is working towards. Jack joined Imperial in January 2025 with almost 10 years’ experience in HR, most recently working with King’s College London as Head of Recruitment. 

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