From early-career researchers and PhD students to research professors and group leaders, women across our institutes and sections in the Department of Medicine are driving discovery at every stage of the academic journey.
While women in STEM continue to face structural barriers, their contributions remain central to scientific innovation and clinical advancement. As a Department, we are committed to fostering an inclusive research culture where talent can thrive.
Dr Virginia Pedicord
Dr Virginia Pedicord and her lab at
the Cambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID) are investigating how the gut microbiome affects intestinal and systemic immune responses.
The lab has expanded into exploring the gut–brain axis, cancer immunotherapy and neurodegenerative disease, alongside collaborations examining intratumoral microbiota, traumatic brain injury recovery and enteric neuron function.
Virginia's work is helping to shape new approaches to understanding and treating infection, inflammation and cancer-related conditions.
Professor Carmel McEniery
Professor Carmel McEniery is a Research Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge and principal investigator on the Cambridge POPPY study.
The POPPY study aims to understand more about the risks of developing heart disease and diabetes in women who experience placental complications such as pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure and kidney problems), high blood pressure during pregnancy and fetal growth restriction (baby being small).
Highly commended in the 2024 Cambridge Awards for Research Impact and Engagement, the POPPY team are raising awareness, fostering collaborations, and enriching research to improve long-term cardiovascular health in women.
Dr Ana Vujic
Dr Ana Vujic is an Associate Principal Investigator and British Heart Foundation Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellow at the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart and Lung Research Institute, Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge.
Ana and her lab focus on investigating the role of mitochondrial metabolites and redox state in cardiac remodelling during heart failure, with a particularly emphasis on understanding cardiomyocyte and myocardial adaptive responses to metabolic stressors and exercise interventions.
The Vujic Lab investigates metabolic signalling pathways that underpin cardiac adaptation and resilience to stress, with the goal of identifying novel mechanisms and therapeutic targets that could inform future strategies to prevent and treat cardiometabolic heart failure.
Professor Charlotte Summers
Director of the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Heart & Lung Research Institute (VPD-HLRI) and Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, University of Cambridge
Supporting women and girls in science is important. Unless our science and our science community are inclusive and representative of the communities we serve, we will not be doing high-quality science. It is wonderful to be able to take this opportunity to recognise the many women across VPD-HLRI who contribute to us improving cardiovascular and lung health.
Olivia Rowe
Olivia Rowe is a Gates Cambridge Scholar and PhD student in the Newcombe Group within the Perioperative, Acute, Critical Care and Emergency Medicine (PACE) section at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge.
Her research focuses on identifying pathophysiological correlates of disorders of consciousness following traumatic brain injury (TBI), with the aim of developing more precise therapeutic strategies.
Riya Nilkant
Riya Nilkant is pursuing her MPhil in Medical Science at the Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge and a recipient of the Churchill Scholarship.
Riya works in the lab of cardiologists Ziad Mallat and Tian Zhao at VPD-HLRI, whose work focuses on basic research on the immune basis of cardiovascular inflammation, and leverages pre-clinical studies on treatment of atherosclerotic lesions.
Becca Morse
Becca Morse is a PhD candidate at CITIID, University of Cambridge, as part of the PhD in Medicine programme and funded by the Harding Distinguished Postgraduate Scholars Programme. Her research focuses on understanding immune responses to infection and vaccination in people at higher risk of severe disease.
Within the Gupta Lab, Becca is mapping immune landscapes in a Nigerian cohort of people living with HIV to elucidate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variant exposures, delayed vaccinations, and altered immunity to inform tailored vaccination strategies. She is also studying how SARS-CoV-2 immunity evolves with each COVID-19 booster dose in a longitudinal cohort of older adults.
In collaboration with Grace West in the Rihn lab from the PhD in Infection and Immunity cohort, Becca co-first authored a study to understand whether current COVID-19 vaccines could offer some cross-protection against other related viruses. Their paper, "COVID-19 vaccination induces cross-neutralisation of sarbecoviruses related to SARS- CoV-2" (West & Morse, et al.), is under review at npj Vaccines and will be published soon.
Dr Suzannah Rihn
Dr Suzannah Rihn is an ERC Senior Research Fellow and Principal Investigator at CITIID.
Suzannah and her group investigate the diverse host and viral factors involved in virus spread. Currently, their research has a particular focus on identifying the molecular features that enable coronavirus zoonosis or cross-species transmission, which helps inform epidemic and pandemic preparedness.
I chose to do research to answer questions that would be able to help people.
"I am interested in viruses for two reasons: the first is that nearly all of us are impacted by them in various ways throughout our lives, and the second is that we can all very suddenly be impacted by pandemics. In this way, they can be very non-discriminatory," says Suzannah.
Professor Menna Clatworthy
Director of the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease (CITIID), Professor of Translational Immunology and Honorary Consultant Nephrologist, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
We are fortunate to have some fantastic female scientists at CITIID. Hopefully that provides inspiration and role models for the next generation of girls and women aspiring to be biomedical researchers.