Olivia Adair is a researcher in the School of Mathematics and Physics , focusing on health economics and colorectal cancer screening. Her work integrates microsimulation modeling, systematic reviews, and cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate public health policies in Northern Ireland and internationally. Research Trends : Her recent publications emphasize comparative modeling methods, economic evaluations of screening programs, and systematic reviews of healthcare interventions. Key themes include cost-effectiveness , population-specific screening , and health policy validation . Scientific Awards : William and Betty MacQuitty Travel Scholarship (2023) Grants & Collaborations : She collaborates with experts like Dr. Felix Lamrock, Professor Mark Lawler, and Dr. Emma McFerran, focusing on regional cancer screening challenges. Her thesis project highlights interdisciplinary teamwork in healthcare modeling.
Evita Papazikou serves as a Lecturer in Transport Engineering at the School of Engineering, University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), where she contributes to the Centre for Transport and Society and collaborates with the Bristol Robotics Laboratory's Connected & Autonomous Vehicles Centre. Her academic qualifications include: Civil Engineering (BEng and MEng) from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki MSc in Planning, Organisation, and Management of Transport Systems, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki PhD in Automated Systems and Driver Behaviour (Road Safety) from Loughborough University, sponsored by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety with access to SHRP2 NDS data Dr. Papazikou's research focuses on road safety, connected and automated vehicles, driver behaviour analysis, and smart infrastructure. She investigates accident causation through statistical modeling, develops driver monitoring systems, and explores human factors in transportation. Her work integrates traffic simulation with mobility data fusion from vehicles, sensors, and infrastructure to enhance safety in future mobility systems, particularly in cooperative, connected, and automated environments. Her recent publications (2023-2025) reveal a concentrated research trajectory examining safety impacts of dedicated lanes for autonomous vehicles, parking policy implications in automated eras, and driver fatigue management. She consistently employs naturalistic driving data and traffic microsimulation to analyze driver-vehicle-environment interactions, with increasing emphasis on real-world intervention effectiveness and environmental sustainability in mobility systems. Scientific Awards: No specific awards were mentioned in the provided information. Dr. Papazikou has secured significant research funding through competitive programs including Horizon 2020, Innovate UK, and the Department for Transport. Her project portfolio demonstrates substantial industry collaboration, particularly with Ford, and includes: LEVITATE: Assessing societal impacts of Connected and Automated Vehicles SafetyCube: Developing an innovative road safety decision support tool i-DREAMS: Creating a smart driver and road environment assessment system DDRST: Building a data-driven road safety tool for hotspot identification TRIP: Developing a driver culpability assignment tool for road injury prevention She actively contributes to interdisciplinary research through her affiliations with the Centre for Transport and Society and the Bristol Robotics Laboratory's Connected & Autonomous Vehicles Centre, where she bridges engineering, human factors, and policy development for next-generation transportation systems.
Ridhi Kashyap is a Professor of Demography and Computational Social Science at the University of Oxford, where she contributes significantly to demographic research through innovative computational approaches. She is affiliated with the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, where she co-leads the Digital and Computational Science strand. Her work bridges traditional demographic methods with cutting-edge computational techniques to address pressing social issues related to population dynamics and inequalities. Dr. Kashyap's research spans multiple areas of demography, with particular focus on: Mortality and population health, including pandemic impacts on life expectancy Gender inequality, especially son preference and digital gender gaps Marriage and family dynamics in relation to educational expansion and gender norms Migration and ethnicity patterns using digital data sources Sustainable development goals related to digital access and gender equality Her methodological expertise lies at the intersection of demography and computational social science. She leverages agent-based models, microsimulation, and machine learning techniques applied to novel data streams such as digital trace data from social media platforms. A notable example of her work is the digitalgendergaps.org platform, which nowcasts global digital gender inequalities in internet and mobile access - a key sustainable development goal indicator where official data is lacking. Her research demonstrates how computational approaches can fill critical data gaps and provide timely insights for policy decision-making. Analysis of Dr. Kashyap's recent publications reveals a strong focus on digital demography and computational approaches to understanding population dynamics. Her work frequently examines gender inequalities through digital lenses, including analyses of LinkedIn data to understand professional gender gaps and social media data to track digital access disparities. She has made significant contributions to understanding pandemic mortality patterns, particularly in India and the US, and has pioneered methods for using social media data to nowcast demographic phenomena. Her research consistently bridges theoretical demographic concepts with practical computational methodologies. Dr. Kashyap has been actively involved in several significant research initiatives, including leading the development of the Digital Gender Gaps dashboard and contributing to the creation of the World Cybercrime Index. Her work with the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science has positioned her at the forefront of computational demographic research. Within her academic role, Dr. Kashyap supervises graduate students and collaborates with interdisciplinary teams across demography, computer science, and public health. She has secured funding for projects that leverage digital data to address demographic research questions, particularly those related to gender inequality and sustainable development goals. Her work with social media data platforms demonstrates innovative approaches to overcoming traditional data limitations in demographic research. Dr. Kashyap co-leads the Digital and Computational Science strand at the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science, where she oversees a team of researchers working at the intersection of demography and computational methods. Her team develops innovative approaches to using digital trace data for demographic research, with particular focus on gender inequality metrics and pandemic impact assessment. The Digital Gender Gaps project represents one of her team's flagship initiatives, providing near-real-time monitoring of a key sustainable development indicator.
Martin O'Flaherty is Professor of Epidemiology and Head of the Department of Public Health and Policy at the University of Liverpool. He leads the Modelling Group in the Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Prevention and Food Policy Research Team, focusing on reducing disease burden through structural interventions. His research integrates epidemiological modelling with policy analysis to address cardiovascular diseases and health inequalities. Research interests include: Cardiovascular disease epidemiology and mortality trends Health policy development for diet and nutrition interventions Microsimulation modelling of population health outcomes Social determinants of health inequalities Global applications of epidemiological methods in diverse settings His publications demonstrate consistent focus on policy-relevant microsimulation studies, with recent work examining food environment interventions, cardiovascular risk forecasting, and health system responses to ageing populations. Methodologically sophisticated papers consistently integrate real-world policy scenarios with disease burden projections. Major research grants include: NIHR Global Health Research Group on Clean Energy (2018-2022) QUEST: QUantifying Equitable Solutions To prevent NCDs (MRC, 2018-2026) Economic Analyses of Policy Strategies to Improve Diet (NIH, 2016-2020) Vascular Risk and Functional Decline in Old Age (BHF, 2017-2020) He leads the NCD Prevention Modelling Group and maintains extensive collaborations including the UK National Cardiovascular Disease Prevention System Leadership Forum, American Heart Association committees, and international research consortia across Europe and North America.
Dr. Yinglong He is a Lecturer in Automated Electrified Transport (AcT) Systems at the School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of Surrey, UK, and an Honorary Assistant Professor at the School of Engineering, University of Birmingham. His research focuses on intelligent transportation systems, energy management, vehicle dynamics, and AI-driven optimisation. He has held positions including Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Cambridge and Technology Expert at the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). Research interests include autonomous vehicle control, traffic simulation, hybrid/electric vehicle dynamics, and sustainable transport solutions. Notable contributions include advancing microscopic traffic models for automated vehicles and optimising energy systems for hybrid powertrains. His work integrates machine learning, multi-agent systems, and data-driven approaches to address challenges in transport decarbonisation and safety. Recent publications highlight advancements in hybrid vehicle dynamics simulation, lithium-air battery modelling, and energy mapping of urban buildings. He has received the Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Students (2022) and is a Fellow of the Institute for Sustainability (IfS). His expertise spans interdisciplinary collaborations in automotive engineering, energy systems, and smart infrastructure.
Dr. Ioannis Kaparias is an Associate Professor at the University of Southampton and Honorary Lecturer at Imperial College London. His expertise spans transport engineering, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), and sustainable mobility solutions. He holds a MEng from Imperial College London (2004) and a PhD in reliable dynamic in-vehicle navigation (2008). His research focuses on traffic management, active travel, public transport optimization, and the integration of new technologies like CAVs and MaaS. He leads the Transportation Research Group (TRG) at Southampton and has contributed to projects funded by the EU, UK authorities, and industry partners like BMW. Key areas include network reliability, cyclist safety, and land use-transport interaction. He is Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the IET Intelligent Transport Systems journal and serves on TRB committees. Teaching includes Highway & Traffic Engineering modules at Southampton and他曾指导过多个研究生项目。他精通希腊语、英语、德语、法语和意大利语。
Professor Vittal Katikireddi is a leading academic in Public Health & Health Inequalities at the University of Glasgow's School of Health & Wellbeing. He holds a Professorship at the MRC/CSO Social & Public Health Sciences Unit and serves as an honorary Consultant in Public Health Scotland. His work focuses on improving evidence-based public policy and understanding social determinants of health through quantitative and mixed-methods approaches. Trained at the University of Edinburgh (MBChB 2004), he completed public health training at NHS Lothian (MSc 2009, MFPH 2010) with WHO/Scottish Government attachments. His PhD explored policy-evidence linkages in public health. Key research areas include health equity, economic determinants of health, and climate change impacts. He leads the European Research Council-funded HEED project and co-leads the NIHR Policy Innovation Research Unit (PIRU) on inequalities. His work spans global health collaborations (UK, Brazil, Ecuador) and utilizes large-scale data linkage (e.g., Understanding Society). Awarded over 300 publications, he chairs international advisory boards (e.g., Lancet Public Health) and served on UK SAGE during the pandemic. Recognized with major honors including the Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellowship and Cochrane Collaboration’s Thomas C Chalmers Award.
Professor Wafaa Saleh is affiliated with Edinburgh Napier University , where she contributes to the School of Computing Engineering and the Built Environment . Her research spans Transport Policy , Pedestrian Safety , and Travel Demand Management , with a focus on sustainable mobility and behavioral impacts of technology on road safety. Research Interests : Transportation sustainability, pedestrian behavior at junctions, motorcycle emissions, congestion pricing, and AI applications in transportation. Advisees : Supervised students in studies involving road safety in Qatar, bus passenger discomfort analysis, and mode choice modeling using behavioral theories. Grants & Projects include funding from the European Commission for gender inclusion in transport systems, the Qatar National Research Fund , and Tabuk University for Saudi Arabian transport behavior studies. Key publications address helmet compliance , pedestrian red-light violations , and congestion charging impacts . Collaborations span institutions in Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, and the UK, with work featured in journals like Transportation Research Part A and Accident Analysis and Prevention . Her Transport Research Innovation Centre involvement highlights interdisciplinary approaches to road safety and emissions reduction.
Professor Robin Purshouse is a leading academic at the University of Sheffield , currently serving as Professor of Decision Sciences in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering within the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering . With a career spanning academia and industry, his work bridges computational modelling , optimization , and systems science to address complex challenges in public health and engineering. His research has been pivotal in developing mechanisms for agent-based modelling and evolutionary multi-objective optimization . Education: PhD in Control Systems (2004), MEng in Control Systems Engineering (1999) from the University of Sheffield Professor Purshouse's research focuses on computational modelling of complex social systems , decision analytics for population health policy , and Bayesian optimization . He has pioneered the integration of machine learning and uncertainty quantification in social science simulations, with notable projects like the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model and CASCADE initiative. His work spans interdisciplinary domains, including health economics , policy evaluation , and engineering design . Recent publications highlight his expertise in agent-based modelling for smoking/vaping dynamics , intersectional disparities in alcohol consumption , and inclusive economy frameworks . He has secured substantial funding (exceeding £16 million) through grants from NIH , CRUK , UKPRP , and MRC , including his role as co-PI in the HealthMod cluster. His contributions to multi-objective optimization and evolutionary algorithms have advanced methodologies in both engineering and public health domains. Scientific Awards: ESRC Future Research Leaders Award (2012-2015) As a co-developer of the Liger optimization environment , Purshouse has fostered open-source tools for complex decision-making. He leads the SIPHER consortium for systems science in public health and serves on editorial boards for journals like Environmental Modelling & Software . His teaching includes Agent-Based Modelling (ACS6132), and he maintains professional memberships in the Association for Computing Machinery and Research Society on Alcohol .
Ashwin Kumar is Professor of Social Policy at Manchester Metropolitan University's Policy Evaluation Research Unit (PERU), working part-time while simultaneously serving as Director of Research and Policy at the Institute for Public Policy Research. An economist with over 20 years of social policy expertise, his work focuses on incomes, poverty, and labour market analysis through microsimulation modelling. He maintains the IPPR Tax-Benefit Model used by major UK research organizations and leads projects including economic evaluations of basic income in Scotland and the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter. His research informs policy debates around work incentives, housing costs, and child poverty targets. Dr. Kumar teaches in the Master of Public Administration program, focusing on public service economics, governance, and performance management.
Ann Webb is a Professor of Atmospheric Radiation and Head of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Manchester. She holds a BSc in Physics and Meteorology from Reading University, a PhD in Environmental Physics from Nottingham University, and a DSc from UMIST. Her research focuses on the multidisciplinary study of radiation and sunlight effects, including vitamin D synthesis via UV radiation and ice crystal scattering in atmospheric sciences. She collaborates with medical schools and photobiologists, and her work influences public health policy and guidelines. Ann has held international roles, including President of the Commission Internationale de l’Eclairage (CIE) from 2011 to 2015, and currently leads the UV Working Group for the International Radiation Commission. She also contributes to editorial boards, such as the WMO Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO) Guide. Her research outputs span atmospheric physics, public health, and environmental science, with recent publications addressing vitamin D deficiency, ice crystal analysis, and sun exposure guidelines. Awards include the Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) in 2014.
Professor Alison Heppenstall is a leading academic in Geocomputation and Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow, specializing in AI/ML methods applied to geographical problems. Her roles include being a Professor of Geocomputation and an ESRC-Alan Turing Fellow. She holds affiliations with the Alan Turing Institute and the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics. Education: BA Archaeology (University of Durham), MSc and PhD in Geocomputation/AI (University of Leeds). Research focuses on agent-based modeling, microsimulation, uncertainty quantification, and urban digital twins. She develops AI tools for health policy, transport systems, and sustainable cities. Recent work includes studies on electric vehicle behaviors, housing market dynamics, and pandemic policy simulations. She co-leads the AI4CI Hub for smart cities and contributes to the SIPHER consortium on health policy modeling. Awards include the 2022 Computational Economics Prize and ESRC-Turing Fellowship. Her grants include EPSRC-funded projects on exascale computing and AI for collective intelligence. Advises PhD students in geocomputation and urban analytics. Leads the development of synthetic population datasets for health and policy analysis.
Dr. Neil Ferguson is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. He holds a PhD and BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering and a LLB in Law, with over 15 years of experience in research, education, and consultancy. His work focuses on transport systems, travel behavior, accessibility, and environmental impacts of transport. Education: LLB (University of Strathclyde, 2002), PhD (University of Strathclyde, 1998), BEng (University of Strathclyde, 1989) Dr. Ferguson’s research examines the interplay between urban form and mobility patterns, statistical/econometric modeling of travel behavior, and the role of transport accessibility in health and sustainability. His innovative work includes quasi-longitudinal studies of travel behavior change and computational methods linking public transport timetables to GIS data. Recent publications highlight his contributions to understanding transport-related social inequalities, climate change adaptation, and active travel. Funded by agencies like EPSRC, MRC, and Scottish Government, his research spans Europe and Malawi, addressing global challenges in transport equity and network resilience. Scientific Awards: Cross-institution Graduate and Degree Apprenticeship Team (2017) Dr. Ferguson teaches transport engineering, planning, and sustainability courses. He collaborates with institutions like MRC Social and Public Health Research Unit (Glasgow) and MRC Epidemiology Unit (Cambridge), advising Transport Scotland and contributing to policy through organizations like the Royal Society and POST.
Dr. Georges Kesserwani is a Senior Lecturer in Water Engineering at the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering , University of Sheffield. His work bridges flood risk modeling , hydrodynamic simulations , and agent-based modeling to advance automated flood mapping and forecasting. He holds an EPSRC Early Career Fellowship (2018–2024) and has organized international workshops on flood modeling. Research Interests: He develops computational methods to integrate fluid mechanics , uncertainty quantification , and human behavior in flood scenarios. Current projects include GPU-accelerated flood models Agent-based evacuation dynamics Multiwavelet terrain filtering Two-way pedestrian-floodwater interaction Scientific Contributions: His publications reveal trends in Hybrid numerical-data-driven flood simulation Uncertainty propagation in multi-hazard environments Agent-based modeling of urban evacuation Experimental validation of flow-structure interactions Awards: ASCE’s 2024 Best Reviewer Award EPSRC Early Career Fellowship DAAD Visiting Fellowship (2013–2014) Teaching & Leadership: Dr. Kesserwani teaches hydraulics , hydrology , and computer modeling to water engineering students. He leads the Water - Environmental Fluid Mechanics research group and co-organized the 2024 Advances in Flood Modelling workshop.
Professor Charisma Choudhury is a Chair in Behaviour Modelling at the Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds. She leads the Choice Modelling Research Group and serves as Deputy Director of the interdisciplinary Choice Modelling Centre. Her expertise spans travel behaviour modelling, discrete choice analysis, and big data applications in transportation systems, particularly in the Global South. Her research focuses on integrating data science, ubiquitous computing, and choice modelling techniques using innovative data sources like mobile phone records, smart cards, and physiological sensors. She has collaborated extensively with Southeast Asian institutions, including projects with Indonesian students and prior traffic microsimulation work in Malaysia. She holds a PhD and MSc from MIT, where her pioneering driving behaviour models were incorporated into commercial tools like AIMSUN and VISSIM. Interests: Behaviour Modelling, Big Data, Developing Countries, Traffic Microsimulation Leadership: Choice Modelling Research Group, Deputy-Director of Choice Modelling Centre Collaborations: Beijing Jiaotong University, Alan Turing Institute Scientific accolades include the Gordon Newell Best Dissertation Prize, Faculty for Future Award, and UKRI Future Leader Fellowship. She supervises PhD students and has previously mentored researchers in Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia, with projects ranging from ride-hailing energy impacts (INFUZE) to agent-based simulations (NEXUS, TOZCA).
