Birkbeck celebrates first cohort of Wellcome Trust funding recipients
The Institutional Fund for Research Culture funding is aimed at helping develop and sustain an inclusive, ethical and creative research environment.
Birkbeck proudly announces the first cohort of recipients for the Wellcome Trust-funded projects aimed at fostering a more diverse and inclusive research culture. Funded by the Wellcome Trust to support “bold and creative projects that have the potential to improve human life, health and wellbeing”, these projects range from health-related studies to broader explorations of research culture.
The Institutional Fund for Research Culture reimagines Birkbeck’s mission of widening access and participation for the 21st century, focusing on knowledge production and institutional wellbeing through the retention and recruitment of a diverse and inclusive staff base.
Multiple strands of funding support this mission. The ‘Nothing About Us Without Us’ funding scheme emphasises the active engagement of communities in the research process. Professor Eddy Davelaar, from the School of Psychological Sciences, will work with people with dementia and their carers to identify research priorities, while Professor Esther Leslie, from the School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication will collaborate with the Somers Town community, in the London Borough of Camden, to explore access to health and wellbeing services.
Additionally, the Faculty Seed Fund supports diverse, collaborative research projects that promote mental health and wellbeing. Dr Joanna Farr from the School of Psychological Sciences and Dr Aideen Foley, from the School of Social Sciences will investigate the impacts of eco-anxiety on the Birkbeck community, aiming to enhance wellbeing and resilience in environmental research.
Ensuring a diverse research pipeline requires developing and nurturing researchers at the start of their careers. To support early-career researchers from historically excluded groups, Birkbeck is also offering salary extensions to help them consolidate their research and build professional networks. Congratulations to the following awardees:
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Dr. Eoin Fullam, School of Social Sciences: ‘Chatbot Therapy: A Critical Analysis of AI Mental Health Treatment’
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Denise Cadete, School of Psychological Sciences: ‘Flexible representation of body parts and the physics of bodily perception’
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Helen Olawole-Scott, School of Psychological Sciences: ‘Exploring ways of learning to trust our senses and hallucinations’
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Kiara Avitali Wickremasinghe, School of Historical Sciences: ‘Pilot project combining operatic singing and storytelling for well-being in Colombo, Sri Lanka’
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Georgina Donati, Psychological Sciences: ‘Establishing a computer-based paradigm and physiological measurement of emotion regulation’
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Dr. Alex Murray, School of Social Sciences: ‘Research into diverse disabilities, focusing on Accessibility and Justice in the Tribunal’
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Dr. Jenni Robertson, School of Natural Sciences and School of Social Sciences: ‘Earthquakes ‘Hidden Aftershocks’ project on post-earthquake infectious diseases’
These are recipients of awards granted in the June and November panels. Successful applicants from the most recent round (February/March 2025) will be announced soon.
Professor Sally Wheeler, Vice-Chancellor said: "The Wellcome IFRC Award represent a crucial point in Birkbeck's story: after 200 years we are still looking for the projects and people that are underrepresented in Higher Education, particularly in health research, but we want to change that as our vision for Birkbeck’s third century. These projects are asking some of the most urgent questions around health and the health of our internal research culture. I look excited to see how these projects progress. I wish to extend my personal congratulations to all the successful applicants."
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