Our people

My research focuses on the effect of tumour necrosis factor in human kidney cancer using cellular, molecular, and imaging techniques. I am a Senior Clinical Scientist at Cambridge University. My findings have contributed to understanding of kidney cancer through publications.

Dr. Rafia is a Senior Clinical Scientist in the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge. She holds a PhD in Cellular Pathology from Fitzwilliam College. She is a Fellow and Tutor at St Edmund’s College (2019). She has received prestigious awards, including the Oman-American Joint Commission Scholarship, the Leatherseller’s Award, a WHO fellowship, and the Cambridge Commonwealth/Overseas Trust bursary. Dr. Rafia developed a unique tissue organ culture model for studying kidney and heart tissue responses and established a novel model for isolating cancer stem cells from human kidney tissue, contributing to publications. She is actively involved in the Cambridge-Yale-AstraZeneca Research Programme, serves on editorial boards, and co-authored The TNF Superfamily. Dr. Rafia has consulted for companies like GlaxoSmithKline and Immutrin and is a fellow of several prestigious organisations.

Academic Profile

I study probability theory and geometry. My work often entails following random walks around and seeing what can be learned from their trajectories. I also study interactions between discrete and analytic problems, i.e. how discrete results carry over to and influence the continuous, and vice-versa.

Renan's research focuses on the intersection of probability, functional analysis, and discrete mathematics. In particular, he is interested in stochastic processes and their capacity to sample, distinguish between geometric structures, and prove and isoperimetric concentration inequalities. He is also interested in random geometric and combinatorial structures.

Academic Profile

Russell Re Manning is the Deputy Centre Administrator at CRASSH (Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities).

Russell joined CRASSH from Bath Spa University where he worked as Programme Leader and Reader in Religions, Philosophies and Ethics. He previously worked in various research and teaching roles at the Universities of Aberdeen and Cambridge and was a Fellow at St Edmund’s from 2004-2011.

Russell’s research interests are at the intersections of religion and culture, with a particular emphasis on the intellectual history of ‘natural theology’ and the work of Paul Tillich (1886-1965).

Russell holds an MA from the University of Oxford (Philosophy & Theology) and an MPhil and PhD (Philosophy of Religion) from the University of Cambridge, during which time he was a student at St Edmund’s (and one of the very first residents in the Richard Laws building!).

I am the Church Engagement Director at the Faraday Institute, where my remit is to equip and encourage UK churches to include engagement with science as part of their regular ministry and mission.

Ruth studied Genetics at Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities, and (more recently) Theology, Ministry and Mission at Ridley Hall, Cambr. After graduating she was Development Officer for Christians in Science, at the same time as doing Postdoctoral Research at Edinburgh University. Ruth joined the Faraday Institute when it was founded in 2006, to develop resources for churches. She was appointed as the Faraday Church Engagement Director in 2018, remains a member of Christians in Science, and is an elected Fellow of their US counterpart, the American Scientific Affiliation. Her current theology studies are with Highland Theological College.

Academic Profile

Publications

• R Bancewicz, The Works of the Lord: 52 biblical reflections on science, technology and creation, 2025, BRF
• R Bancewicz, ‘Engaging the Church and Wider Christian Community in Science-Faith Dialogue’ in Global Perspectives on Science and Christianity, M Brownnutt & KR Fox (eds.), 2024, Langham Publishing
• R Bancewicz, Wonders of the Living World: Curiosity, awe and the meaning of life, 2021, Lion Hudson
• R Bancewicz, God in the Lab: How science enhances faith, 2015, Monarch
• R Bancewicz, Test of FAITH: Spiritual Journeys with Scientists, 2009, Paternoster

Salim Al-Gailani is a Assistant Professor at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science (HPS), University of Cambridge, where he lectures and supervises in the history of medicine. After completing his PhD on the history of antenatal care in Britain, he joined the Wellcome Trust-funded ‘Generation to Reproduction’ Strategic Award at Cambridge as a Research Associate. He has also held a fellowship at the John Rylands Research Institute at the University of Manchester. Broadly interested in the histories of modern medicine, biomedical sciences and public health, his research has focused in particular on transformations in the experience and management of pregnancy and childbirth since the late nineteenth century.

He is Director of Studies for our History and Philosophy of Science degree.

His writing has also explored the visual and material and cultures of science and medicine, including toy chemistry sets, anatomical images and educational films. He is currently working on a book that examines the history of folic acid as a technology of pregnancy, with its implications beyond reproduction for the globalization of biomedical knowledge, the management of risk and the role of consumer activism in shaping public health policy. Salim is Director of Studies in HPS at St Edmund’s College.

The underlying theme of my research is to bridge the gap between engineering and healthcare, focusing on translational aspects of engineering applications. My work involves using computational tools to model cardiovascular diseases and their treatment.

The overarching aim of Dr Sengupta's research is to carry out computational investigations of cardiovascular flow and to improve understanding of cardiac disease and its response to treatment. He aims to improve clinical outcomes by employing bioengineering principles using computational tools. His areas of expertise include fluid dynamics, structural mechanics, cardiovascular mechanics, and computational modelling. He has previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester, having obtained his undergraduate degree from Queen Mary, University of London, and postgraduate degree and PhD from Imperial College London. He is also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA).

Academic Profile

Publications

• Sengupta, S., Yuan, X., Maga, L., Pirola, S., Nienaber, C. A., & Xu, X. Y. (2023). Aortic haemodynamics and wall stress analysis following arch aneurysm repair using a single-branched endograft. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcvm.2023.1125110
• Sengupta S, Zhu Y, Hamady M, Yun Xu X. Evaluating the Haemodynamic Performance of Endografts for Complex Aortic Arch Repair. Bioengineering 2022, 9(10), 573. doi:10.3390/bioengineering9100573
• Sengupta S, Hamady M, Xu XY. Haemodynamic Analysis of Branched Endografts for Complex Aortic Arch Repair. Bioengineering. 2022;9(2). doi:10.3390/bioengineering9020045
• Bhute VJ, Sengupta S, Campbell J, Shah U v., Heng JYY, Brechtelsbauer C. Effectiveness of a large-scale implementation of hybrid labs for experiential learning at Imperial College London. Education for Chemical Engineers. 2022;39:58-66. doi:10.1016/J.ECE.2022.03.001