JRF Research Showcase

Junior Research Fellows (JRFs) are an important part of Kellogg College’s academic community. Together, they represent an impressive breadth of disciplinary expertise and research interests, from the sciences and social sciences to the humanities and beyond.

Presenters will share not only what they do, but why it matters. They’ll be telling us about the intellectual journey behind their research: the questions that drive them, the methods they use, and the insights their work offers. The aim is to inspire curiosity, invite constructive feedback, and build bridges across disciplines.

Join us to be part of a rich and fascinating journey of multidisciplinary discovery with our JRFs. Each presentation will be no more than 10 minutes, with opportunities for questions with the researchers. The event will be followed by a drinks reception for networking and further conversations.

Presenters:

Dr Chitra Joshi, Department of Biochemistry

The Molecular Movers Inside You: Ever wondered how does your body’s transportation system work? Inside every cell in your body is a hidden network of microscopic transport proteins that work like delivery drivers and gatekeepers. They help absorb nutrients from food, move vital chemicals around the body, clear away waste and help medicines to get to the right place to work. When these transport systems malfunction, the effects can be serious, contributing to conditions such as diabetes, neurological disorders, and cancer. Chitra will elaborate on different types of transport proteins and how she studies them. By learning how these molecular “transport systems” recognise and move substances, her research will inform the development of efficient drugs and their novel delivery routes.

Dr Xiao Gu, Department of Engineering Science

The AI that decodes “languages” of human physiology: Foundation models are powerful AI systems that learn from vast amounts of data, allowing them to recognise broad, reusable knowledge and be adapted to many different tasks. They have already transformed how AI understands text, images, and speech. But human health also has its own “languages”: the rhythm of the heart, the shape of a pulse wave, the pattern of movement, and the quiet signals of sleep. My research develops foundation models for continuous physiological signals produced by the human body – learning from large-scale biomedical sensing data to decode these hidden physiological patterns. The aim is to turn the complex signals from the body into more generalisable and clinically useful AI tools for monitoring health and detecting risks earlier.

Dr Jonathan Cook, Jenner Institute

Towards an effective Malaria vaccine: 100 years in the making: The success of mRNA technologies and other modern molecular biology tools has made “100 days to vaccine” a benchmark for pandemic response. Malaria tells a very different story as efforts to develop an effective vaccine have spanned more than a century. Join Jonathan, former Kellogg JRF and Research Associate at Jesus College, for an accessible discussion of why malaria vaccines are so difficult to develop, and how recent successes at Oxford’s Jenner Institute are helping to change the story.