Our people

Dr Pavlína Kašparová researches how visual art mediates Christian faith, identity, and the divine. Her work spans theology, fine art, and perception, exploring art practice as a method of theological scholarship. She publishes and exhibits on topics such as visual arts and healing, female identity, symbolism, and the role of imagination in faith.

Pavlína Kašparová, also known as Sr Marie OP, is an artist and theologian and has been a member of the Czech Congregation of Dominican Sisters since 2006. She holds a PhD in Fine Art and Theology from Anglia Ruskin University. Currently, she serves as the Director of Studies and a Research Associate at The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, where she actively engages in academic discussions and promotes interdisciplinary connections. Additionally, Dr Kašparová has been a Psychology Cross-training Workshop Fellow at the University of Birmingham since July 2023, where she continues her exploration of visual language in theology.

She is a Post-doctoral Research Associate at St Edmund's College, University of Cambridge, a member of the Cambridge Interfaith Research Forum at the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge and a Research Associate at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology. Her research centres on the material and concrete expressions of religious identity as reflected in bodily appearance. Her interdisciplinary projects span across theology, with an emphasis on spirituality and soteriology, fine art incorporating photography and moving images, and psychology exploring perception and self-awareness.

Since 2020, she has served as a Council Member of the Czech Congregation of Dominican Sisters and was a Coordinator for Central and Eastern Europe for the Dominican Sisters International Confederation for four years (2019-2023). Previously, Dr Kašparová held the position of Director of Studies at The Cambridge Centre for Christianity Worldwide, where she lectured on Spirituality and the Arts. Her academic foundation includes two Master’s degrees in Catholic Theology and Art History, along with a Bachelor’s degree in Design, earned at Palacky University in Olomouc and University Hradec Kralove, the Czech Republic.

Academic Profile 

Publications

• Kašparová, P. (2022). Perception of Visual Art in Christian Churches. In: H. Alford, ed., Preaching and the Arts / Predicazione e Arte. Communitas 2021. Rome: Angelicum University Press, pp.33–42.
• Kašparová, P. (under review). Look! This Is My Faith: Healing Narratives in the Work of Christian Artists.
• Watanabe, S., Kašparová, P., Łazarewicz-Wyrzykowska, E., Perez, J., Tanton, T., & Waite, H. (under review). Voices in the (interdisciplinary) wilderness: Reflections from a psychology cross-training project for theologians.

Honours & Awards 

• Funding for 2-year research project Organisational development process of the Dominican Sisters in Central and Eastern Europe, 2024, Renovabis
• Funding for 1-year research project Material Rendering of Imagery of 'Divine' and 'Faith' of Practicing Christian Adults with Artistic Skills, 2023, John Templeton Foundation
• Funding for art research project The Women of the Book, 2020, Spalding Trust
• First Prize Presentation Award, 2019, Anglia Ruskin University
• Full-time PhD scholarship for 3.5 years, 2017, Renovabis
• Exceptional MA dissertation in Theology, 2015, Palacky University Olomouc

Dr Yves Gaspar obtained in 2002 his PhD at the University of Cambridge (UK) with a thesis in the field of mathematical cosmology (supervisor Prof John D. Barrow) on the late-time behaviour of general solutions to the Einstein Field Equations.

He has been lecturer in cosmology and astrophysics at the Department of Mathematics and Physics of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Brescia (Italy), where he also lectures on the complexity of natural systems for the Master courses of the Postgraduate School for Environmental Studies.

He is currently Visiting Scholar at St Edmund’s College of the University of Cambridge where he carries out research on randomness, uncomputability/philosophy and theology.

Publications

• “The laws of nature and the problems of modern cosmology”, Foundations of Science, Springer Nature, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10699-023-09904-1, arxiv.org/abs/2308.02338, co-authored with Prof. Pawel Tambor, 2023
• "The problems of modern cosmology, the fine tuning of constants and parameters, and the notion of time”, book chapter in Cosmology Research – addressing current problems with astrophysics, Intechopen, Eds. M. Smith and A. Oztas, 2025

Revd Dr Kevin Grove is an Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Born and raised in Montana, USA, Kevin Grove was ordained a Holy Cross priest at Notre Dame in 2010. After doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge (Trinity College) and before joining the faculty at Notre Dame, Grove was a post-doctoral researcher at L’Institut Catholique in Paris, France and a fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. In addition to his research and teaching, Grove serves at Notre Dame as an assistant faculty chaplain, Director of the Master of Divinity program, and as a pastoral resident for undergraduates in Dunne Hall.

Alex joined St Edmund’s College as Senior Tutor in September 2025. Before joining the College, Alex was the inaugural Course Director for the University of Cambridge Foundation Year which was launched in 2022 and provided a unique pathway to Cambridge for students who had experienced significant educational disadvantage.

Alex completed a DPhil in English at the University of Oxford specialising in contemporary Northern Irish poetry and feminism. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was previously a Fellow of Homerton College and a Bye-Fellow of Fitzwilliam College.

Alex’s past professional experience includes setting up Cambridge’s first Foundation Year, work in widening participation and student recruitment at the University of Oxford and research communications at Cranfield University and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Dr Mohammed Ahmed is Policy Lead and Research Fellow at the Woolf Institute.

His research encompasses themes related to historical and modern Muslim-Jewish relations, issues around faith, race and gender in UK communities, and the impact of geopolitics and conflict on inter-faith relations. Dr Ahmed is also Associate Fellow at the DCDC, (UK MOD), where he has advised on security and personnel-related issues. He was formerly Lead Consultant at Good Faith Partnership, a social consultancy working between the UK Parliament and faith communities. A former Cambridge Trust MPhil and PhD scholar at St Edmund’s College, he was Vice President of the CR 2020-21 and captain of the college and university pool team.

Contact Dr Ahmed:
He welcomes opportunities to collaborate: mia41@cam.ac.uk

Dr Emily Bassett is currently a Research Associate at the MRC Biostatistics Unit, working on how researchers might better communicate and understand causal language.

Emily completed her PhD in Philosophy at the University of Warwick in 2024 whilst working at the Unit. Her thesis focused on how we might understand shame as a moral emotion, attempting to reconcile our intuitions around shame’s moral importance with its reputation as a heteronomous, shallow, and narcissistic emotion. Prior to her PhD, Emily completed an MPhil in Philosophy which argued in defence of different kinds of epistemic responsibility for testimony.

Dr Natalie Andersson is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, in Professor Sam Behjati’s lab.

She is passionate about applying bioinformatics, including phylogenetic approaches, to explore how tumours change in time and space. Her research is focused on understanding the origin and development of the pediatric liver tumour hepatoblastoma.

Natalie studied physics and mathematics for 3.5 years before entering medical school at Lund University, Sweden. She graduated in 2021, which was followed by a 2 yearlong clinical training. In parallel to medical school and clinical training she pursued a PhD in cancer cell evolution in pediatric tumours. She defended the PhD in 2024. She explored how the tumours change and adapt over time, helping us understand why some tumours become resistant to treatment and how therapies could be improved. Currently she is working as a resident in clinical pathology at Lund university hospital, Sweden.

Dr Samols is a ISGAP-Woolf Institute Postdoctoral Fellow. His research explores the connections between European history, Jewish studies, and visual cultures across the twentieth century. His work focuses on vernacular media forms such as photobooks, analysing how they shaped understandings of Jewish history for both Jews and wider publics. Samols holds a PhD in History from the University of Southern California (2023), an MSc in European studies from the London School of Economics (2016) and a BA in history from New York University (2012). He has received grants and fellowships from the German Historical Institute, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Association for Jewish Studies, the Leo Baeck Institute, and the Israeli Council for Higher Education.

Dr Vibhuti Patel is Head of Development, Southeast Asia and Australasia in the University of Cambridge Development and Alumni Relations office, building philanthropic partnerships for the Collegiate University in those regions. She previously worked at the University Research Office, where she looked after industry partnerships and research impact for the School of the Biological Sciences.

Prior to joining the University of Cambridge, Vibhuti worked in various roles across publishing, strategic partnerships and international development for the Royal Society of Chemistry.She has a background in biochemistry, completing her B.Sc. and Ph.D. at the University of Warwick. As part of and alongside her career roles, Vibhuti has provided training on knowledge exchange and research impact and consulted on research impact for the European Commission and for funding agencies in Chile.

Claire is Director of Studies for Manufacturing Engineering

Jerry is the Director of Studies for Land Economy

Nicky is Director of Studies in Graduate Medicine (Clinical)

Dr Aitichya Chandra is a Research Associate in Resilient Networks with the Asset Management Group at the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM). His research explores the behaviour of complex networked systems under disruption, focusing on intelligent, adaptive strategies that enhance resilience and sustainability. Within the Group, he leads the design of dynamic resilience solutions for Boeing (USA) and contributes to the UK’s National Hub for Decarbonised, Adaptable, and Resilient Transport Infrastructures (DARe). Dr Chandra earned his PhD in Transportation Systems Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, in 2024. His doctoral work developed analytical frameworks to optimise terminal airspace performance, improve en-route network coordination, and support resilient gate-to-gate operations. A recipient of the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (2020–2023), he also holds an ME in Transportation Engineering and a B.Tech in Civil Engineering. His interests span network science, intelligent & dynamic decision-making, and optimisation of complex systems.

Dr Jose Arnal is a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. His research interests lie at the intersection of fluid mechanics and data science, with a focus on developing methods that optimally combine engineering models with sparse and noisy data.

In his current role, Dr Arnal works on the development of computational techniques for improved imaging of cardiovascular flows by leveraging both theory and data. These approaches enable the construction of patient-specific cardiovascular digital twins while substantially reducing data acquisition time compared with traditional imaging technologies.

Dr Arnal completed his PhD in Aerospace Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. During his doctoral research, he developed a computational model of the solar wind—the continuous outflow of solar plasma—that integrates mathematical descriptions of space plasmas with observational data from spacecraft beyond Earth’s orbit.

Dr Gumber is a ‘Mountain Climate Scientist’ at the British Antarctic Survey, in Cambridge. He is also a Senior Member of St Edmund’s College, Cambridge. His focus is on high-resolution regional climate modelling, with an emphasis on understanding the role and future of mountain glaciers as a water resource, particularly in the Himalayas and Alps.

Before moving to the UK, he earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering (cloud microphysics) in India. His PhD led to advances in understanding the transformation of vehicle-mediated particles into cloud droplets over congested and heavily urbanised Indian cities. This involved a collaboration with the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune (Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India) under the aegis of the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment.

Outside research, he enjoys reading about the natural world and exploring ways to rethink our relationship with mountains and rivers as more than just landscapes.”

Rev Dr Stephen Chase Pepper, C.S.C. is a Roman Catholic priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, in the United States, “Chase” earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science and Catholic studies from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey (2007), his Master of Divinity from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana (2014), and most recently his Doctor of Philosophy, in theology, from the University of Cambridge and St. John’s College as a Gates Cambridge scholar (2023).

Chase’s research treats broadly on the interdisciplinary intersections of Christian systematic theology and Dante studies, with more concentrated focus on the subjects of participation, beatitude, and intercessory prayer in Dante’s poetry. He has spoken on Dante in a variety of settings, from academic conferences and university lecture halls to parishes and prison reading groups, and he is motivated by questions about how Dante can serve as an imaginative and theological resource for building bridges across human divisions.

Inspired perhaps by his childhood fascination with astronomy and Dante’s own journey among the stars, Chase’s greatest dream is to become the first Catholic priest to say Mass in space.

Dr Blaise Mafuko Nyandwi is a volcanologist and disaster risk specialist at the University of Goma (DRC), where he serves as Senior Lecturer at the School of Volcanology, Disaster Risk and Catastrophe Management. He holds a BA and MSc in Geology from the University of Goma, an MSc in Environmental Engineering from the University of Burundi, and a PhD in Volcanology from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His research focuses on volcanic risk mitigation and community-based disaster risk reduction in the Virunga Volcanic Province.

He also is actively engaged in community-based initiatives to improve risk awareness and resilience, working with secondary schools in Goma such as coordinating an online DRR community between students in Goma and Sheffield (UK). He also supports local DRR stakeholders in strengthening operational practices. For over five years, he has contributed as a volunteer with the Start Network, supporting anticipatory action, particularly for flood risk in the DRC.

• Director of Studies: Geography

Dr Liam Saddington is a political and environmental geographer based in the Department of Geography. His research examines the geopolitics of climate change with a particular focus on small island developing states. He has undertaken research in Fiji, Tuvalu, Antigua and Barbuda, Seychelles and Cabo Verde.

He contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching within the Department. He is particularly interested in pedagogic innovations; outreach and widening participation; and connecting geography across primary, secondary and higher education.

Dr Degasperi holds a PhD in Computational Biology and has more than ten years of postdoctoral experience in Systems Biology, Computational Biology, and Computational Genomics, with a focus on cancer research. His work has resulted in several high-impact first-author publications in leading journals such as Science and Nature Cancer.

He has industry experience in the research and development division of a large pharmaceutical company, where he developed machine learning methods for drug activity prediction using cancer multi-omics data.

His research includes the development of cancer mutational signatures and their application to personalised medicine, with multiple publications as both first author and co-author.

He has over a decade of close collaboration with experimental scientists, contributing to projects ranging from mathematical modelling of signalling pathways to the analysis of genomics data derived from cellular systems, xenografts, and patient samples.

Dr Julia Wdowin is a Research Associate at the Bennett School of Public Policy. Julia is a scholar with research interests in normative welfare economics, applied ethics, and public policy. Her work focuses on multidimensional approaches to economic development and inequality measures, and economic measurement issues. Her research to date includes theoretical and empirical work in the areas of economic welfare and well-being measurement (with a particular interest in applications of Sen’s capability approach), inequality measurement, comprehensive wealth measurement and natural capital asset valuation. Julia holds a PhD, AdvDip and BA from the University of Cambridge.