Wolfson Research Event 2025

WRE logo - hexagonal design representing different subject areas
Date 08/05/2025 at 09.30 - 09/05/2025 at 17.00 Where Lee Hall

Join us for the 2025 Wolfson Research Event: an interdisciplinary academic conference organised by students to showcase the diversity of the research carried out by Wolfson students.

WRE logo - hexagonal design representing different subject areas

Overview

Now in its fourteenth year, the Wolfson Research Event (WRE) is one of the highlights of the College calendar, which showcases groundbreaking and innovative research from current Wolfson students. This year, for the first time, we will hear from a panel of alumni, reflecting on how they have used their experience of research at Wolfson in their careers.  

As a mature college, many of Wolfson’s students come to the College with a problem to solve or an issue they’ve seen first-hand they want to interrogate – and WRE is a perfect platform to share this work with the Wolfson community.

Programme

Thursday 8 May

09:30-10:30: Registration with welcome coffee & tea

10:30-1035: Welcome remarks from Emma Walsh & Angelika Kwiatkowska, WRE Chairs

10:35-10:50: Opening Speech by Dr Judith Bunbury

10:50 – 11:50: Oral presentations

  • Anfas Muhammed - How do cells in our body respond to heat shock?  
  • Mika Yang - The dilemma of mother-student identities: women empowerment via online education
  • Niles Webb - Conservatism and the 'last utopia' of human rights, c.1975-1998

11:50-13:00: Lunch break - food will not be provided but attendees are more than welcome to visit the Wolfson Buttery

13:00 – 14:00: Oral presentations

  • Firdous Adam - Necropolitics and displacement: a thematic analysis of refugee administration in Awlala and Kumer camps  
  • Licheng Zong - Massive expansion of carbohydrate-active enzymes from the microbial universe using AI  
  • Julia Wieczorek - Colonial legacy in Bristol archives: implications of repatriating everyday cultural objects

14:00-14:30: Coffee & tea break

14:30 – 15:30: Oral Presentations

  • Jonathan Rutherford - The radical potential and function of trade unions in capitalism
  • Zixuan Yang - Intertwining nature, culture, and music: the integration of Hua'er folk songs in forest school education
  • Fiona Raley - The impact of William Weir on the work of The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings and for the National Trust in the late 19th to mid-twentieth century 

15:30-15:45: Flash talks by the poster presenters

15:45- 17:00: Poster session and drinks reception with light refreshments

 

Friday 9th May

09:30-10:20: Registration and welcome coffee & tea

10:20 – 12:00: Oral presentations

  • Campbell Wolford - Can our genes identify new targets for type 2 diabetes treatment?
  • Tom Myers - Brothers divided: how the war in Ukraine reshaped Polish-Hungarian relations
  • Carmen Embil Villagra - Probing the cosmic unknown: mapping dark matter farther than ever before  
  • Xiangting Hu - The neutral angels in Navigatio Sancti Brendani, Divine Comedy and The City of Life
  • Tan Yi Hong - Evolutionary patterns of avian acoustic communities in the Bornean rainforest 

12:00-13:00 Lunch break - food will not be provided but attendees are more than welcome to visit the Wolfson Buttery

13:00 – 14:40: Oral presentations

  • Charlotte Rendina - One Health and canine rabies vaccination: a systematic review of funding, governance, and sustainability
  • Marisa Tangeman - The role of popular culture in bisexual identity construction  
  • Shaamrit Balendra - Air quality sensors for ultrafine particles
  • George Evans-Hulme - G. M. Trevelyan as research supervisor at the University of Cambridge, 1927-1940 G
  • Charlotte Burdge - Understanding underserved groups' perspectives on data use in children and young people's healthcare research: a systematic literature review 

14:40-15:20: Coffee & tea break

15:20-16:00: Oral presentations

  • Susie Triffitt - Un-disappointed hope: revival and healing in the holy land of Bradford
  • Tads Ciecierski-Holmes - Strategies for optimising Tumour Board Meetings (TBMs) in paediatric oncology at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI) 

16:00-16:50: Alumni panel - With introductory talk by panel chair and Wolfson Fellow Dr Anna Dempster

16:50-17:00: Closing remarks from Emma Walsh & Angelika Kwiatkowska, WRE Chairs

Details

This event is open to all, is free to attend and there is no need to book.

Attendees are not required to attend for the entire day, but are welcome to drop in and out of sessions.

Event Photography and Recording

Photos will be taken throughout the conference events, which may include pictures of presenters, audience members, and other members of the community. These photos may be used in future official WRE and Wolfson College social platforms and promotional material.

If you would not like to be photographed, please let us know.

If we do not receive an email from you, you are agreeing to being photographed and to these photos being potentially used in future promotional material.

Access

This event will take place in the Lee Hall which has step-free access and an accessible toilet.

What's on

A triptych of abstract images: a smooth round stone nestled in a curved rock, distorted eyeglass frames scattered on a white background, and a high-contrast black and white microscopic image resembling organic or cellular structures.

Art Exhibition: Wolfson at 60

19/07/2025 at 10.00

Celebrating Wolfson’s 60th anniversary year, this exhibition highlights the range of artistic disciplines and styles that have made up our exhibitions over the years.

person takes a photo of a graduand wearing a black gown along with family members.

Graduation Ceremony

26/07/2025 at 09.00

Graduation ceremonies are the culmination of students’ hard work and commitment, and a moment to celebrate the completion of their Cambridge degree.

A diverse group of people sits in rows of chairs, attentively listening during an indoor event or lecture.

Research Appetisers

05/08/2025 at 18.00

Come and hear our part-time students talk about their research at this informal evening of short presentations and friendly discussion.

Wolfson College main drive in Autumn

Open Cambridge - Tree Trail

06/09/2025 at 10.00

A self-guided Tree Trail around the beautiful and varied garden 'rooms' of the grounds at Wolfson College.

A handwritten poem on a black sign is mounted to a tree trunk, inviting readers to embrace the mysterious calm of evening dew.

Open Cambridge - Poetry Trail

12/09/2025 at 10.00

Follow our self-guided trail through the College gardens which feature extracts of poetry written by Wolfson members from our latest WolfWords poetry anthology, press play

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