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Racism and socioeconomic stress may alter pregnancy biology, leaving black women nearly three times more likely to die

29 April 2026

A new study has found that stresses such as systemic racism and socioeconomic disadvantage may sensitise key processes in the body during pregnancy, helping to explain why black women and their babies face significantly higher rates of complication than white women. Stresses experienced by black women, such as...

"Good Air, Bad Air" at the Cambridge Science Festival

20 April 2026

Thanks to funding from the TSN ROKS Outreach Demonstrator Fund, Teaching Technicians in the Histology and Experimental Classrooms of PDN, were able to develop and trial a new outreach activity, “Good Air, Bad Air” , designed by, Taylor Thomas Lennon. We showcased the first version of the demonstration unit at the Cambridge...

Deoxy-Piezo1 disfunction, the root source of increased lactate production and metabolic acidosis in sickle cell disease

16 April 2026

A new paper, co authored by Virgilio Lew , suggests a possible origin for the unknown acid source causing metabolic acidosis in sickle cell anaemia patients, a condition often associated with clinical severity and pain crises. Sickle cell anaemia, caused by the homozygous inheritance of the mutant haemoglobin S (HbS), is a...

Cambridge University Research Culture Award nominees

16 April 2026

Four members of PDN, Busma Butt, Lorna Roberts, Theresa Gross-Thenbig and Benedicte Sanson, have been nominated for the University Research Culture Celebration event at Kettles Yard on 13 th May, in recognition of their efforts in creating a positive, supportive and inclusive culture at the University of Cambridge. The...

International Prize for Medical Undergraduate from the Giussani Lab

13 April 2026

Congratulations to Aaliyah Razi (Gonville & Caius College), who was honoured at last month’s international annual meeting of the Society for Reproductive Investigation (SRI), held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 24-28, 2026. Aaliyah received an award for one of the top 10 scoring abstracts from 1200 submitted. Her work...

Contributions of superior colliculus and primary visual cortex to visual spatial detection in freely moving mice

12 March 2026

Visual spatial detection is a crucial first step in vision to guide decision-making and action. However, its neural basis in freely behaving animals remains unclear due to challenges in controlling visual input and monitoring eye- and head-position. A new study in Current Biology by Jisoo Kim (PhD student at PDN, funded by...

The discovery that could help catch and treat cancer at very earliest stages

5 March 2026

A new study, led by a team from PDN and the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, may explain why some tiny, newly-formed tumours disappear, while others manage to survive and eventually grow into cancer. Tumours arise when our DNA accumulates errors, or mutations, causing the cells to grow faster and ignore signals that would...

The educational benefits of practical classes

13 February 2026

"It is universally recognised that no education in an experimental science, such as Physiology, can be regarded as satisfactory unless it includes practical exercises..." -E.H. Starling (1934), Harris, Experimental Physiology for Medical Students An educational paper by PDN's Professor Matthew Mason , and Dr Kamilah...

Science Journalism Fellowship awarded to PDN PhD student

26 January 2026

Congratulations to PhD student and member of the Galliano Lab , Ailie McWhinnie, on being awarded the Maria Leptin EMBO Science Journalism Fellowship. As an accomplished science communicator, Ailie has successfully led CamBRAIN as President with her infectious enthusiasm for over three years. She has done incredible work...

Building a biological lab

15 January 2026

After waiting over a decade for LEGO to create a model set that represents the biological labs familiar from his own research work, PDN postdoc Chu-Cheng Lin has taken up the challenge and built his own model concept for an accurate biological laboratory set. By building a realistic LEGO biological laboratory and...

Racism and socioeconomic stress may alter pregnancy biology, leaving black women nearly three times more likely to die

"Good Air, Bad Air" at the Cambridge Science Festival

Deoxy-Piezo1 disfunction, the root source of increased lactate production and metabolic acidosis in sickle cell disease

Cambridge University Research Culture Award nominees

International Prize for Medical Undergraduate from the Giussani Lab

Contributions of superior colliculus and primary visual cortex to visual spatial detection in freely moving mice

The discovery that could help catch and treat cancer at very earliest stages

The educational benefits of practical classes

Science Journalism Fellowship awarded to PDN PhD student

Building a biological lab

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