Spotlight on UCL staff

This week we speak to Sarah Yardley, Associate Professor of Palliative Medicine in the Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Department, about the importance of relationships in shaping care and why time by the ocean is her secret to recharging.

To celebrate Brain Awareness Week 2026, we speak to Dr Sara Ajina, a Senior Clinical Research Fellow investigating vision recovery following an acquired brain injury, such as a stroke or trauma.

Dr Meike Schleiff is Programme Lead for UCL’s MSc in Health Systems, Policy, and Innovation and leads the Changing Health Systems module. Learn about her focus on mentorship and inclusive leadership, and how she balances her love of nature with her tech-heavy work.

With the launch of UCL’s new Business and Health undergraduate programme, Harry Potter fan Dr Prateek Raj takes the Spotlight stage to share his vision for a course designed to give students the skills they need to thrive in a radically changing world.

This week, Associate Professor Zane Jaunmuktane (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) talks about her work using AI to unlock the secrets of how dementia develops, the importance of the human element in research... and how a six-month contract turned into a research career!

This week, Dr Eleanor Nash, Clinical Lecturer at the UCL Medical School, tells us about her work exploring the links between health and sustainability, embedding sustainability into the medical curriculum, and some top tips to combat climate anxiety.

Dr Vinaya Gunasri is an NIHR Clinical Lecturer at UCL, combining cancer diagnostics with research on the microbiome and immune response in bowel cancer. Read on as she shares insights into her work, mentorship, and passion for science communication.

This week we chat to Vassilis Sideropoulos, Senior Research Technical Professional in the Department of Psychology and Human Development, and winner of UCL’s Research Technical Professional of the Year 2025. He tells us about a planned new research lab – and his pampered pooches!

This week we chat with Dr Elizabeth Li, Module Lead/Co-Lead, Senior Course Tutor, and Research Tutor at UCL and the Anna Freud Centre, about psychotherapy research, teaching innovations, and awards.

This week we meet Dr Oksana Gerwe, Director of MBA Health at UCL’s Global Business School for Health. She shares insights into leading UCL’s flagship MBA for healthcare professionals, her passion for empowering future health leaders, and her love of a life on the ocean!

This week we chat with Dr Jayne Watson, the Research Impact Manager for Life and Medical Sciences in UCL Research, Innovation and Global Engagement (RIGE), who tells us about the upcoming Transform: Creating impact through knowledge exchange programme.

For World Cancer Day (4 February), we're featuring one of our colleagues at the forefront of cancer research: Professor Veeru Kasivisvanathan, an Academic Urological Surgeon based at UCL and UCLH. Veeru tells us about about clinical trials and the potential of AI in diagnosis.

This week we meet Shabbar Jaffar, Director of the UCL Institute for Global Health, who has spent his career tackling some of the world's most pressing health challenges. Here, he shares insights into his work, passion for music and interest in learning French.