Outstanding Postdoc Nominations: As part of Postdoc Appreciation Week 2026 by Think Ahead

Josh Taylor, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 12:47:22 UTC

He’s a first year post doc and has been amazing in the role. He has worked so hard and offered support to everybody in the office.

Ben Purvis, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 12:51:33 UTC

Ben is an inspiring researcher and activist who is consistently doing excellent work to promote critical perspectives in the environmental social sciences. They have also been supportive and caring towards of a number of PhD students over the last several years and we wish to acknowledge this!

Haiming Liu, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 12:52:08 UTC

I would like to nominate Haiming in recognition of his reliability, precision, honesty and trustworthiness. He consistently manages an impressive amount of work, often under very tight time constraints, while maintaining a positive attitude. I genuinely do not know how he manages it all!!

Haiming is a pleasure to work with, and I always enjoy collaborating with him. He is also consistently supportive of everyone in the group and someone colleagues know they can rely on.

Aidan Friskney, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 12:52:39 UTC

Aidan performs an exceptional role within our research group and seamlessly supports multiple projects, alongside his own research. He is reliable, experienced, motivated and trustworthy with practically all tasks, and supports the day-to-day operations of our laboratory. He is a vital member of our group and we all appreciate the substantial effort he puts into his role!

Thomas McKinney, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 12:53:10 UTC

Thomas always is smashing his work and goes above and beyond what he is expected to do. His recent field work in Liberia and the recognition from the British Embassy is a testament to what an amazing researcher he is.

Sarah Hool, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 12:53:44 UTC

Sarah consistently does a remarkable amount of work, keeping tracks and progressing on multiple projects simultaneously.

Jing Pu, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 12:54:24 UTC

I have been leading projects where Dr Jing Pu has been contributing as Postdoc/research engineer working under my supervision. Her proactivity, attention to detail, dedication, and work ethics have been impressive. I wish I had more postdocs/research engineers like her.

Xinwei Tan, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:07:24 UTC

Xingwei has been amazing member of the AdSoLve project team. He’s been taking great initiative in leading the development of papers and contributing to our stakeholder workshops. He’s always such a friendly and supportive colleague and it’s been a great pleasure working with him.

Sarah J Thorne, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:08:03 UTC

Sarah is an awesome supporter of her group and colleagues, very kind and helpful to everyone and specially newcomers!

Andrew Belfield, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:09:00 UTC

Andy is a core member of our research cluster and brings an exceptional amount of energy, curiosity and generosity to our community. He has a real talent for bringing people and ideas together and helping new conversations and projects take shape. He is intellectually engaged and full of ideas, but also deeply attentive to the people around him — generous with his time and genuinely interested in what others are doing. He has made a real contribution to our research community, from connecting colleagues around emerging projects to ensuring students are engaged with the wider research culture of the School. A brilliant colleague!

Alexandra Jebb de Calais, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:09:39 UTC

Alex is an amazing colleague. I provided some technical assistance on one of her projects, and from the start she has been collegiate and helpful with me, as well as extremely knowledgeable. Despite me being pretty much clueless about her project area, Alex helped me to understand her aims and process, and to feel like I could make an effective contribution to her work. Ever patient with my requests to re-explain things and bring me back up to speed, I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to work with her. Thank you very much Alex!

Pengcheng Zhou, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:13:00 UTC

Pengcheng graduated his PhD at Sheffield last December before succeeding a fixed-term PDRA role in the indigenous Dong follow-on project. The challenge of a relatively short-term PDRA role, compared to those more established ones with longer time involvement and guarantee, is always related to the pressures from making immediate progresses while enduring future uncertainties both regarding this research project and their future careers. But Pengcheng handled this so well in such a very matured and professional way, bringing in lots of positivity and flexibility in leading an overseas fieldwork, and lots of intellectual joy and efforts in project-related publications. His work ethic and enthusiasm deserves to be recognised.

Peter Gross, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:13:30 UTC

Peter is always a friendly face in the lab. Hes very funny and will make everyone feel welcome. He clearly cares a lot about his work.

Edward Snowdon, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:13:59 UTC

Constant friendly and helpful pressence, goes above and beyond organising seminars and the like and making it look easy.

Timothy Johnston, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:14:42 UTC

Tim has brought the joy back into the D31. Our lab constitutes 3 different groups and the dynamic is usually difficult to navigate. Tim is such a welcoming a friendly person, we nicknamed him smiley Tim, and he has managed to bring the whole lab together. He not only goes above and beyond for our own lab, supervising multiple masters students, but he also is always helping other PhD and masters students. Tim is the most deserving of this award, putting others before himself constantly while maintaining an amazing standard of work for himself.

Tala Abbasian, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:21:01 UTC

Tala has always over performed on her tasks, always going beyond what is reasonably expected. She is by far the best experimental researcher I've been working with in my professional life. She recently manufactured a 3 meters tidal turbine blade with a complicated polymer to work with. Her work us bringing a lot of prestige to the university. She really is the best.

Adam Dennis, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:21:34 UTC

Exceptional help to many of the PGRs in the group, willingly and openly providing both technical and non-technical support. He is a a person you can rely on when times are getting tough, providing practical and friendly advice for things relating directly to your work or life as a PGR in general. I have personally found them to have been a key person in the upkeep of my mental health in the last year, and have helped guide my future career decisions with truthful and highly useful advice.

Latham Haigh, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:22:11 UTC

Latham joined SMASH earlier this year, but it feels as if he's been around for years. He has an incredible depth of knowledge and he's always happy to share his wisdom with everyone in the group. Latham is super approachable and passionate about science, which irradiates to those who interact with him.

I am very grateful that Latham joined our research group!

Maria Petrillo, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:22:45 UTC

Maria is an outstanding postdoc researching unpaid care and care inequalities. She recently published 3 papers in leading international journals (two in Social Science & Medicine, one in Journals of Gerontology B) and won two highly competitive awards as PI totalling over £300k including an ADR UK Fellowship on the care pay gap. She also leads an NHS project collaboration expanding the Unpaid Care Dashboard, co-authored policy recommendations with the Centre for Ageing Better, held a visiting fellowship in Lisbon, advised researchers at the Karolinska Institutet and organised the Second QAR-Net Care Workshop. An amazing postdoc: brilliant to work with and richly deserves recognition.

Sam Lister, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:23:12 UTC

Sam is the most helpful and supportive postdoc I have ever experienced. Since the start he has always done his best to produce excellent work whilst offering endless support to everyone in the office. He is incredibly humble, always making everyone feel heard and is a pleasure to work alongside. He is without a doubt the most deserving winner of this award.

Joyce Mamode, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:23:36 UTC

I am delighted to nominate Dr Joyce Mamode in recognition of her exceptional commitment and dedication to her work and the success of our research. Joyce is a highly skilled and thoughtful researcher who consistently demonstrates intellectual rigour, initiative and professionalism, while making an invaluable contribution to the wider research project.

Damla Ulker, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:24:00 UTC

Last year Damla helped out her home School (MPS) considerably by teaching a lecture course and running a third year group lab project, which is a substantial time investment. She also contributes significantly towards the new Cancer Research Centre.

Bradley Westwater, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:24:26 UTC

Bradley has helped out his home School (MPS) considerably at a time of staff shortages by teaching lecture courses and will soon be delivering a third year lab group project, as well as contributing towards schools outreach.

Ankita Mishra, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:24:55 UTC

A wonderful scholar and researcher who always thinks of our research community alongside their very incredibly busy schedules. Their work is pushing us to decolonise and depathologise many elements of our research programme. Thank you Ankita

Christina Lee, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:25:32 UTC

A fabulous scholar and researcher who manages to combine a very busy set of knowledge exchange activities alongside a total commitment to our community. Their work is getting us to think differently about how gather and come together. Thank you Christina

Armineh Soorenian, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:26:11 UTC

A superb scholar and researcher who is pushing our research team to think productively about dysfluency as an opportunity to reset how we understand and create inclusive research cultures. Thank you Armineh

Nikita Hayden, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:26:47 UTC

A fabulous researcher whose commitment to researchers with learning disabilities is broadening our research team's understanding of inclusive research. Thank you Nikita

Johnny Mitchell, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:27:15 UTC

Since I first started in the department Johnny has been incredibly welcoming and supportive. He is a thorough and generous colleague, always sharing his work and taking time to explain his thoughts and ideas. I always enjoy our chats and I've learned so much from him. Thanks Johnny!

Tom Braxton, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:38:14 UTC

Tom is an exceptional postdoc and the true heartbeat of our lab. As a trusted "big brother," he selflessly helps everyone solve challenges every single day with warmth and actionable solutions.

He is a walking helper who eagerly advances our research by deeply analyzing problems. A true lab engineer, Tom can repair broken equipment and build new setups from scratch. He also quietly cleans and maintains our lab, ensuring a safe workspace for all. Beyond research, he is a wonderful friend who generously shares life wisdom and social etiquette.

Tom’s technical expertise, selflessness, and warm leadership embody the finest qualities of a postdoctoral researcher. He truly deserves this recognition!

Jess Dunn, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:49:06 UTC

Jess is a great colleague - she chairs the ECR group for the Institute for Sustainable Food and helps to organise a seminar programme for plant scientists in the School of Biosciences. In addition, Jess has had a very successful year in research; winning a highly competitive BBSRC Discovery Fellowship, and having her wheat research on display in the Future of Food Exhibition at the Science Museum in London.

Adam Dennis, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:49:32 UTC

Adam is exceptionally supportive of those around him, both technically and pastorally. He takes time to check in with people, listens actively, celebrates successes and talks through challenges to help make navigating them easier. Life at Sheffield would look very different without him, and I'm so pleased to have had him as a friend and supervisor over the course of my PhD. I'd hope to emulate the qualities he exemplifies when it comes time for me to be someone that people lean on.

Dain Farrimond, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:50:06 UTC

I'd like to thank Dain for being so thoughtful in his proactive efforts to provide me with and support me through several brilliant professional development opportunities that I would have otherwise have been blind to, and likely let slip by if not. In the past few months alone, he has given me the confidence and guidance to design, run and deliver my very first experimental campaign -- something I've been telling myself for literally 10 years I wouldn't have a hope of ever doing successfully. I know of several people -- myself included -- who would have aimed lower and achieved less without Dain's empowerment.

Daniel Baird, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:50:47 UTC

Dan has done so much for our group since he joined. He’s always so helpful and positive!

Eleanor Markham, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-06 13:51:16 UTC

Eleanor is excellent in the lab and has been a huge positive contribution to the group. I am nominating her because, over and above this, she has taken a remarkably proactive approach to her own development. Eleanor comes from a technical background and has worked in the University for many years, only recently completing her PhD. Eleanor is not content to remain as a PDRA, but is building towards fellowships and independent careers. As part of her development, I have been co-reviewing grants and papers with her and have been hugely impressed. Even for things outside our immediate expertise, Eleanor has provided thorough and well-researched reviews, which have needed only minor input from me. This focus on her own development is remarkable.

Narges Azadvar, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:52:19 UTC

I am delighted to nominate Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Researcher Dr Narges Azadvar for her excellent contribution in industrial-oriented research in civil engineering during her first year in the University of Sheffield. Despite the significant challenges she has faced over this year, she has tirelessly strived for research excellence as reflected in her strong publication record and continued contributions to the field.

She is a passionate advocate for women in academia and engineering. Above all, she is an inspiring and amazing human being!

Her combination of research excellence, resilience, leadership, and genuine commitment to others makes her highly deserving of this nomination.

Jenni Adams, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:52:51 UTC

Jenni has done an excellent job on the MORPHSS (Materialising Open Research Practices in the Humanities and Social Sciences) project, working with our collaborators in partner institutions, and also liaising with other stakeholders, including senior policymakers. She has led several strands of work with vision and has designed and carried out the research in a rigorous and theoretically-informed way. She has been lead author on several outputs, including journal articles and reports aimed at practitioners and policymakers, and has presented our findings in different fora. She has produced high-quality work, taking the initiative but also working in a collegial way. She has always delivered on time and consistently exceeded expectations.

Jonathan Hinchliffe, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:55:33 UTC

Jon is an excellent and innovative postdoc who is always willing to try new experiments, learn new techniques and tackle unfamiliar problems. He brings a consistently positive and cheerful attitude to the lab, is generous with his time and ideas, and is always ready to help others. Most importantly, he is genuinely fun to work with.

Chaoyue Niu, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:55:59 UTC

I am delighted to nominate Chaoyue for the Outstanding Postdoc award. Chaoyue has demonstrated exceptional research leadership on an MRC-funded sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) project, successfully leading data curation, signal processing, and AI-driven acoustic modelling. His outstanding productivity includes publishing 4 journal papers and 4 conference papers in the 2025/26 academic year (5 as first author) and presenting at BSS 2025 and ICASSP 2026. Beyond his innovative R&D work, Chaoyue has driven international collaboration through talks in China and provided vital technical supervision to PhD students. His blend of high-impact research, leadership, and mentorship makes him truly outstanding.

Sara Memarpour Hobbi, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:56:25 UTC

Sara is caring, kind, organised, responsible, reliable, and knowledgeable… she can do it ALL. She takes the time to help others in the group, offering assistance, guidance and advice to their work and everyday experiments. She takes the initiative to organise group social events, which are both enjoyable and memorable.

Rita Neves, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:58:10 UTC

Rita has been very kind and supportive since I started my PhD last year and has given me lots of advice that’s helped me settle in. She also helped create a very warm and friendly environment in the group, treating us to coffee daily and giving us a chance to converse and see friendly faces everyday, in what would otherwise be a very lonely experience. So I am very grateful to her for helping make my first year of the PhD so special.

Emily Lunn, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:58:38 UTC

Emily has been a fantastic RA for the Sexual Rights in Care Homes project. She works incredibly hard and produces work that is of a very high standard. Emily is friendly, easy-going, and fits into our team really well. She is skilled in a range of activities, and is quick to identify and learn new ways to work in areas that are new to her. Emily is a proactive problem-solver, and has taught me a few things! Thank you Emily for being an outstanding member of the team. You truly deserve this recognition.

Juntong Lai, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:59:05 UTC

Juntong is an amazing researcher. Not only can he acquire new technical skills very rapidly, he is well organised and always prepared for progress meetings. Juntong is also a generous researcher, sparing his time in helping others and sharing his knowledge for the benefit of others. Juntong has all the attributes to become a great academic leader.

Ning Wang, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 14:59:26 UTC

Ning is a very conscientious Postdoctoral researcher who goes the extra mile in his research to make sure the project outcome is delivered successfuly, timely and at a high standard. He has also done well in navigating the complex environment of our multi-displinary research project.

Rosie Whitcombe, Arts and Humanities

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 15:47:48 UTC

Rosie is now entering her third year as the AHRC Research Associate on the Ann Radcliffe, Then and Now research project that I lead at the University of Sheffield. Her patience, diligence, and levels of enthusiasm in organizing and recording the podcasts with participants, co organising the two conferences that we are running or have run, and dealing with the large editorial team, are excellent. Rosie has a bright future ahead of her, wherever she chooses to pursue that. She is one of the best podcast hosts that I have listened to, and works across all tasks with grace, intelligence and efficiency. Thank you, Rosie.

Lewis Tetlow, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-09 15:48:34 UTC

You have hit the ground running as a post doc Lewis. You've run a range of projects from intense short term experimental contracts at our Buxton lab to desk studies back in Sheffield. That's required a switch of emphasis towards more of a staff and resource management role. That wouldn't be easy for a very experienced PDRA but you've handled the work excellently, while still working on your research ideas. It's great watching you develop and become integral to the team. Nice one!

Rosie Whitcombe, Arts and Humanities

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:28:28 UTC

Lewis Tetlow, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:28:50 UTC

You have hit the ground running as a post doc Lewis.You've run a range of projects from intense short term experimental contracts at our Buxton lab to desk studies back in Sheffield. That's required a switch of emphasis towards more of a staff and resource management role. That wouldn't be easy for a very experienced PDRA but you've handled the work excellently, while still working on your research ideas. It's great watching you develop and become integral to the team. Nice one!

Tommy Lodge, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:29:08 UTC

Another year of you making my job easy Tommy. You make everything work at the Buxton lab, both on a day to day basis and on strategic development. And always with an upbeat approach. You're equally at home with a spanner in your hand or discussing research with international experts at conferences. And you're a pleasure to work with. Despite the shorts.

Marcelle De Paula Ribeiro, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:29:30 UTC

For always keeping the group supplied with excellent coffee! For organising group meetings and being a crucial part of the Rothman group! The best year being PDRAs together and supporting each other through the Fellowship process!

Grace Whitfield, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:29:53 UTC

Grace is an exceptional researcher and an excellent colleague. We will miss her!

Adam Dennis, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:30:16 UTC

Adam continues to be a real asset to the Blast group. This year he has worked tirelessly to build contacts in leading software firms, and brought that expertise in-house through negotiated discounts and upskilling of researchers and dissertation students. Adam has also continued to pioneer his cutting edge machine learning methods, which has led to funded work from Dstl and several wonderful publications. Adam is always keen to help out, is endlessly positive, and is a great member to have on the team. Importantly, Adam took on a huge teaching role, voluntarily, for the benefit of the wider group, and has always been willing to share his expertise to help lighten the load of others. Top work Adam!

Dain Farrimond, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:30:35 UTC

Dain has really grown into a mature, integral part of the team, often acting as the "voice of reason" and contributing to growth and sustainability of the group. Not only does he continue to be a world-leading experimentalist, producing several REF3.5-4* papers, but Dain has really stepped up his management credentials and is now a valued, generous, and organised leader within the team. Dain's global reputation continues to grow, and he has been a fundamental part of several funding streams, both through Blastech and through ambitious university projects. Dain keeps us all on an even keel, is not afraid to speak up for what is right, can impress with his technical know-how, and is always willing to roll his sleeves up and get dirty on site!

Lucy Urwin, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:30:52 UTC

Lucy is a PDRA in the School of Medicine and Population health. Lucy is very busy but still finds time to organise the lab, improving the space for everyone. Lucy always gives lots of support and advice to all members of the team and is an excellent teacher to the students that do projects with us.

Ross Waddoups, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:31:10 UTC

Thank you Ross. Your diligence in planning and delivering projects makes you a joy to work with. You are a great team player and always willing to go the extra mile to ensure that we get the best results possible. You have already had a very productive 3 months. I'm very much looking forward to seeing where we end up in the future.

Jialun Liu, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:31:32 UTC

I believe Jialun is an outstanding postdoc as during my first meeting with him for my SURE placement, he took the time to ensure I was organised, making me feel part of the team. He always approached every question I had with patience and clarity and provided constructive feedback. Although he balances projects from two research labs, he is always on time for meetings, delivering on what he commits and is organised, whilst still checking in on the people he supervises. Overall, working with him is not just productive, but genuinely enjoyable. He brings an energetic presence to the lab that makes collaboration easy and always seems to get along with everyone in the lab. This is why I think he makes an outstanding postdoc and mentor.

Klaudia Slowik, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:31:51 UTC

Klaudia is extremely knowledgeable. Anyone can come to her for help (and they do, often!) and she'll be able to point them in the right direction. She does a lot behind the scenes to help people out and keep things running smoothly in our group, as well as doing her own research with an incredible degree of organisation and skill, often running many experiments at once and working incredibly efficiently. She's also a joy to be around and always up for a laugh.

Isabel B Fernandes Parreira, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:32:13 UTC

Isabel is a great postdoc, executing her work to an incredible standard and juggling many experiments at once. She also does incredibly well at doing all the extra things, applying for and winning grants, applying to fellowships. She's incredibly knowledgeable and good at what she does - as well as fun to work with.

Nick Woodrow, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:32:34 UTC

Nick is a consistently outstanding Post-doc and wonderful colleague. I really appreciate Nick’s diligence, amazing work ethic, and generous and collegial approach to everything he does. I’ve lost count of the number of compliments I’ve received from colleagues within and external to the university on Nick’s wonderful work and way of working. He is adept at getting his head around complex theory, working up tricky ethics applications and synthesising nuanced, messy qualitative data. He’s also incredibly modest and always a good laugh. Nick is a real asset to the University of Sheffield and deserves every success in his career.

Sharda Rozena, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:32:55 UTC

Sharda has produced a remarkable project on a really important topic. Her work on the last handful of secure tenants in the insecure world of private renting will be an important influence on academic urban and housing studies scholarship, but it will also have real traction in society more broadly as we unpick the corrosive effects of housing insecurity. Her efforts to organise a high-level, two-day workshop and to track down her elusive interviewees is testimony to her resilience and effort. Massively well done!

Jonathan Orpwood, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:33:10 UTC

Jo is THE BEST. When I started my PhD, Jo was there for me to make sure I was set up properly with the proper software starter packages that he made. Jo has shown a great amount of support to PhD students working on the same experiments and in other experiments as well. For his work, Jo playes major roles in an international collaboration with more than 30 institutions across the world. In addition to his research in the collaboration, he is a group coordinator, a trainer, and a shift supervisor. We are so lucky to have Jo.

Elsie Place, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:33:33 UTC

Elsie has expanded the lab's research from hypothalamic into wider forebrain development, introducing techniques (single-cell RNA-seq and multiplex HCR) now adopted across my group and others, and leading to high impact publications. She is now developing independent research directions. Her Nature Communications paper, where she is senior author, advances a new theory of forebrain developmental organisation, and has already drawn review invitations and new collaborations — clear external recognition of its quality. She has also contributed substantially beyond research: covering a 0.3 FTE teaching role in 2023 with excellent student feedback, and engaging widely through Biofest, the DRN video/podcast, and as DRN Sustainability Lead.

Marianne Day, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:33:55 UTC

Marianne is exceptionally knowledgeable and displays excellent attention to detail in her work. Marianne always takes a measured approach and consistently goes above and beyond to support other more junior colleagues in the research group.

Jayne Carrick, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:34:22 UTC

Jayne has performed exceptionally for three years as a postdoc on the South Yorkshire Sustainability Centre project. She has published 4 peer reviewed articles in prominent journals with teams in other Schools and Faculties. She has been instrumental in contributing to the requirements of the Centre to conduct over 20 roundtable events and multiple case studies for the Centre’s final report, collaborating across Schools and Faculties. In addition to this, Jayne has actively contributed to teaching by leading a Masters module in the School of Architecture, and has led University events, for example at the Festival of Debate. Thank you Jayne for your contributions!

Fatima Haouari, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:34:41 UTC

Fatima has been an excellent post-doc for several years running: proactive, original, independent researcher, comprehensive knowledge, always keeping up to date with the relevant research in a very fast moving research field. She is performing also excellently in our recent collaboration with the EU Joint Research Centre in Ispra. She's very supportive and approachable towards PhD students too.

Olesya Razuvayevskaya, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:34:58 UTC

Olesya is a very strong, original, and proactive independent researcher. She's also excellent at collaborating with external researchers as part of our EU and UKRI funded projects. She's also been publishing very strong research papers and keeping up to date in a very fast moving research field. Thank you so much Olesya! I cannot wait to see where the next year will take you in your research!

Tala Abbasian, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:35:22 UTC

I would like to nominate Tala for the Best Postdoc Award in recognition of her valuable contributions to our composites group. She has taken a leading role in developing our new large-format additive manufacturing (LFAM) process, demonstrating initiative, dedication and strong organisational skills.

Tala is hardworking and a collaborative team member who consistently delivers both academic and project outputs. She combines a clear focus on research with the practical demands of process development, helping the group advance its manufacturing capabilities and meet project objectives.

Her commitment, reliability and contribution to the team make her a highly deserving candidate for this award.

Tala Abbasian, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:35:42 UTC

Tala has done great research within the composites group and is always willing to contribute to discussions and developing younger researchers.

Paulo Piva, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:36:15 UTC

In just six months, he has taken a sensor from concept to installation-ready hardware for an industrial partner. He designed it from scratch, taught himself CFD to validate the design, worked out the manufacturing details, sourced and ordered every component, and assembled the full system. Remarkably, he did all this with no prior experimental background. His speed of learning, determination and willingness to step far outside his expertise have been exceptional, and his work now underpins our collaboration with industry.

Maryam Azam, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:36:32 UTC

Maryam is an incredibly knowledgeable and supportive postdoctoral researcher who is always willing to share, offer guidance, and help others. Her dedication make her an invaluable member of our team. Thank you, Maryam, for always taking the time to teach, encourage, and support us!

Jacky Wong, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:36:49 UTC

Jacky is a fantastic postdoctoral researcher who brings positivity and enthusiasm to the lab. He is always approachable, generous with his time, and willing to lend a hand whenever someone needs support. Thank you, Jacky, for being such a wonderful colleague and making our lab a better place to work!

Megan Maton, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:37:05 UTC

For enthusiatically helping and engaging with more junior PhD researchers, alongside her existing work commitments, and in general being a brilliant team player.

Jen Kettle, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:37:26 UTC

Jen has had another incredible year in the project. I welcome her diligence, care and kindness so much - everything she does in the project is always handled with such thought and consideration. In particular, it's really exciting to see her co-lead our photographic storytelling work - thank you Jen!

Julie Ellis, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:37:51 UTC

It's a joy to work with Julie - I always feel supported in the project. Her work and care on our IRAS submission, and all the technical and relational behind the scenes work, has been so integral. I relish her taking her exceptional ethnographic skills out into the NHS for the next year in the project. Thank you Julie!

Suzanne Glover, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:38:10 UTC

Suzanne's continued work to engage and work with our Community Researcher Cooperative has been brilliant this year: she is a constant support in the project for them, and the wider team. It's also been great to watch Suzanne's work outside of the project grow, with other colleagues, institutions and funders - Go Suzanne! And thank you!

Caitlin Ryan, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:38:26 UTC

I’d love to nominate Caitlin because she is genuinely such a great person to have on the team. She’s organised, efficient and incredibly good at solving problems, often finding really clever and creative ways to make things happen. She doesn’t just stop when she finds a challenge, she’ll think outside the box, go the extra mile and find a way forward.

She has great ideas, takes real initiative and is someone you can rely on to get things done. She’s also a pleasure to work with, always positive, helpful and fun to have around. Caitlin really embodies all the things you’d want in a postdoc and I think she’s amazing!

Malwina Matella, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:38:44 UTC

I’d like to nominate Malwina because she is honestly such a huge part of making our project work. She sits right between the computational and biological sides of the project, and somehow manages to bring those two worlds together and keep everything moving. We quite literally couldn’t do it without her!

She’s incredibly knowledgeable and talented, but also fun, approachable and always lovely to work with. Malwina is brilliant at what she does, a fantastic colleague, and just an all-round lovely person to have on the team.

Mary Paterson, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:39:00 UTC

I’d like to nominate Mary because she brings such a positive attitude to the team and is always great fun to work with, especially at outreach events (and in meetings with strawberries!). She has amazing coding skills and can somehow sort through a mess of data and make sense of it in seconds like some kind of data wizard.

Her AI and machine learning work is beyond my comprehension, but she makes it look effortless. She’s incredibly talented, approachable and a brilliant person to have on the team. I love working with her as part of our postdoc team.

Raj Bahadur, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:39:16 UTC

Raj is a very helpful and knowledgeable post doc in our lab and has helped all of us in many aspects of research. I highly recommend Raj as a nomination candidate as I (and our lab) believes he deserves a lot of appreciation from the community

Matthew Wray Perry, Social Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:39:37 UTC

Matt's been a great contribution to the Sheffield political theory community, and has played a very active role in organising a recent conference on animal politics in Sheffield on top of his other priorities. Since arriving at the uni he's been working on a number of great research articles and collaborating on various projects with other amazing scholars, helping strengthen Sheffield's reputation as a key site for political theory research about nonhuman animals and dignity. He's also been very generous with his time when it comes to commenting on the work of fellow researchers, and he's a very affable presence around the office.

Jade Howard, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:39:55 UTC

Jade consistently supports her team and PhD students, she always goes above and beyond her role. She is very thoughtful, knowledgeable and reliable. I've had the pleasure to collaborate with Jade and she is very inspirational. She has had a huge impact on my project and confidence during my time as a PhD student. She is so great at what she does!

Zhangjie Peng, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:40:13 UTC

It was an absolute pleasure to supervise Zhangjie through both her MSc Dissertation and her PhD, and I was so happy to be able to welcome her back to work with me again as a postdoc. One year into the project, she has taken complete ownership of the work, and designed and completed the first phase of novel experimental work to an excellent standard. She is hugely resourcesful and always willing to help, often going beyond project-specific boundaries to support me and other colleagues in the group. Thank you, Zhangjie!

Haider Al-Janabi, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:40:29 UTC

I am thrilled to nominate Haider for postdoc appreciation week. Haider has worked really hard the past year, enthusiastically supporting projects in the group, while also bringing his own ideas to the work that we do - and winning a Catalyst for Cancer grant! I very much appreciate all his hard work. Thanks Haider!

Hannah Smith, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:40:50 UTC

It is my pleasure to nominate Hannah for postdoc appreciation week. Hannah consistently brings a strong work ethic and competency in designing new complex experiments, in particular the scRNAseq done this year. She also generously supports others in the team with training and supervision. Hannah, I'm am grateful for your talent in the lab, and the support you give to the team. Thanks!

Georgia Stewart, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:41:08 UTC

It is my pleasure to nominate Georgia for postdoc appreciation week. Georgia has had a fantastic return from maternity leave, and I'm impressed with what she has already achieved in that time. I'm grateful for the energy that she brings to the team, and know that everyone truly values having her back. Georgia, thank you for supporting everyone else in the team, while doing a fab job of managing and delivering your own project!

Karim Elamawy, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:41:35 UTC

I would like to nominate Karim for his generosity and intellectual openness towards colleagues. As a PhD researcher, I have often approached him to discuss my work, and he has always been willing to give his time, even when the topic lies outside his expertise. He listens carefully and seeks to understand the problem before offering his view. He also sets out options for us to weigh and leaves the final decision to us, which has helped me develop my own judgement as a researcher. He extends the same support to other colleagues. His diligence, humility and willingness to learn show that he goes the extra mile, not only in his own research but also in fostering a collegial culture at the University.

Kim Snooks, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:41:57 UTC

Kim is doing excellent work on a project which simultaneously involves research, impact and engagement. She is playing a leading role in the development of the Digital Good Index, a tool to evaluate the societal outcomes of digital technologies, a high-profile, flagship output of the ESRC Digital Good Network. She has an amazing combination of knowledge and expertise: of social justice and in/equity issues relating to digital tech, social science research and analysis, co-design methods and design thinking, creativity, and a sharp and thorough mind. This is a complex project requiring a broad range of skills and ability to work well with all sorts of people, and Kim is doing outstanding work on all fronts.

Shizhi Zhang, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:42:19 UTC

I would like to nominate Shizhi Zhang as an excellent postdoctoral researcher. Within PLURALIZE, he has combined excellent research with remarkable initiative and leadership, managing demanding fieldwork and complex project tasks with great independence and ease. Beyond his own research, he organised a China-related workshop for two consecutive years, building a valuable network and research community around it. He has also played an important role in keeping the PLURALIZE team connected, informed and engaged with each other’s work. Alongside all this, he developed an excellent research grant proposal. Shizhi is not only a highly capable researcher, but also a generous colleague, network-builder and emerging academic leader.

Latham Haigh, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:42:39 UTC

Latham is a truly valued member of the SMASH research team, and has quickly taken on senior leadership role within the group. He is always keen to help out others and has taken the initiative in improving training and skills development of the team, as well as many operational matters for the group. He does all of this whilst managing his own personal research projects, and always with a smile and cheerful demeanour! Thanks Latham for all you do for SMASH!

Ella Cliff, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:42:56 UTC

Ella is a truly valued member of the SMASH research team, rapidly stepping into a senior leadership role. Beyond driving her own research projects forward, she consistently goes above and beyond to support colleagues, elevate group training and activities, and streamline operational tasks. Best of all, she manages all of this with a sense of calm positivity. Thank you, Ella, for everything you bring to SMASH!

Madeline Rihner, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:43:21 UTC

Madeline is a truly valued member of the SMASH team, who has quickly emerged as a key leader of the group. While excelling in her own research, she continually takes the lead on team organisation and group operations, as well as mentorship and support for colleagues and in particular more junior team members, always bringing a warm smile and a ready-to-help attitude. Thanks Madeline for everything that you do for SMASH!

Latham Haigh, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:43:53 UTC

Latham is an exceptional researcher and great asset to our research group. He brings his full engagement, expertise and creativity into each of our projects in the group, in a way that is irreplacable. Beyond his own research contributions, Latham is always willing to support others. He is approachable, generous with his time, and happy to share his considerable knowledge and expertise. He is an inspiration for all and it is a privelege to work with him.

Elisabeth Knight, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:44:13 UTC

As a first year PhD student, I've really enjoyed working with Liz! She's friendly and approachable, and I've really benefitted from her experience and expertise. She has impacted my PhD experience in a really positive way, both through her practical work on the LEVANTE project and by being an amazing person to work with :)

Alexander Robson, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:44:34 UTC

Working with Alex has been a central part of my PhD. Being in a small research group, his approachable and dependable nature makes him an invaluable mentor and friend. He acts as a constant sounding board for ideas both in and out of the lab, encouraging me to step outside my comfort zone and grow as an independent researcher. Beyond his individual mentorship, Alex is the one who always keeps our lab running smoothly, offering technical support whenever we need it, supervising master’s students, and constantly working on papers and grants. Thank you so much for everything you do, I honestly wouldn’t be where I am without you!

Yanan Liu, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:44:52 UTC

Yanan has been an outstanding postdoctoral researcher and a highly valued member of our lab over the past three years. As the lead postdoc on the DEFRAG project, she was critical in setting up our air pollution system, which is now the basis for a whole new research direction for us, looking at how air pollution affects native plants and insects. She combined experimental ecology with eco-physiology, biochemistry and hyperspectral imaging, developing innovative approaches to address complex environmental questions. She was always an active, positive and generous member of the lab and made an important contribution to our collaborative research efforts!

Xuyao Tang, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:45:09 UTC

Xuyao is a dedicated and valued member of our Functional Materials and Devices group. He has made excellent progress in developing lead-free dielectric ceramics for energy storage, completing a comprehensive study and manuscript draft on thermal hysteresis, and established new research directions in SBN-based materials. He excels in student supervision, supporting two MSc students, one undergraduate and another postcoc with experimental work, data analysis and independent research. He also helps manage the laboratory, maintains and troubleshoots shared equipment, and generously shares his expertise with colleagues. His technical expertise, adaptability and dedication to sustaining the group's research make him an outstanding postdoc.

Elisabeth Knight, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:45:26 UTC

Liz is a phenomenal colleague and postdoc, and we are very lucky to have her in our team. She has an incredible eye for detail, supports all members of the team, and proactively helps out with various aspects of the research process. She also seeks out opportunities to collaborate with other colleagues and always takes on opportunities to learn new skills, to further support her ability to address important research questions that have potential real-life benefits for supporting children's learning. Her approach to research is both rigorous and innovative, and it is incredibly exciting to be a part of her journey as a postdoc.

Kelly da Costa, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:45:41 UTC

Kelly is a fantastic post-doc, colleague, and a huge part of our group. She has been working tirelessly on several complex projects of her own, yet still finds the time to help me and others in the team with numerous additional queries and side-projects (including shipments!). She isn't just super helpful, she's always happy to catch up and makes in-office days so much more fun. Thanks for everything you do, Kelly, it's great working with you!

Debashis Puhan, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:46:00 UTC

Their tireless work and help within our Tribology group, as well as their impressive expertise in the field of friction and wear analysis. Deb never turns down a chance to teach and help the PhDs and undergrads in the Leonardo Centre for Tribology, and deserves recognition for his contribution to the academic environment in MAC.

Yuri Mejia, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:46:17 UTC

She volunteers to communicate with me for my thesis writing process. She is very responsible in this volunteer role. She wrote down and proposed many helpful details. I think she definitely contributes a lot to the life of the University, for supporting groups and colleagues,

Hugh J. Banes, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:46:33 UTC

For his support and guidance of the PhD students.

Miguel Espadero Sanchez-Crespo, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:47:14 UTC

For his support and guidance of the PhD students.

Alex Newman, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:47:32 UTC

Alex is a fabulous postdoc. He delivers exceptional work across a range of projects, from hydrogen use in aviation to social impact assessment of reusable plastics. Alex is very knowledgeable and has a real dedication to research. He engages with external partners very professionally and always delivers, not only on time but above and beyond what is expected. His enthusiasm, energy and support to others is second to none. Thank you for being a fantastic team member Alex!

Jo Sharpe, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:47:55 UTC

Jo is an integral part of the West lab team. Her work is meticulous and well thought out and, as a result, she has produced an enormous amount of interesting preliminary data that will support any future funding applications. She has shown a huge amount of resilience whilst working on a project that is very complex and challenging and should feel proud of this. Her introduction of weekly Social Coffee brings the lab together and her artistic flair when making birthday cards for everyone in the team is unmatched.

Fatima Haouari, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:48:14 UTC

Continuous outstanding support for multiple projects, professional engagement with project partners and stakeholders, and for contribution in outstanding papers.

Olesya Razuvayevskaya, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:48:36 UTC

Continuous outstanding support for multiple projects, professional engagement with project partners and stakeholders, and for contribution in outstanding papers.

Yue Li, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:48:55 UTC

Outstanding work on supporting multiple projects, dealing with internal and external stakeholders and contributing to top tier papers.

Martina Smith, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:50:24 UTC

Martina has made an outstanding contribution to the public involvement and equality, diversity and inclusion work in the School for Social Care Research. She has built excellent relationships with the academic team, professional services colleagues and with members of the public who are involved in research at the School. Her commitment to public involvement, EDI and care for people shines through and she strives to improvements in the work we do every day. Thank you, Martina

Tom Ryan, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:51:06 UTC

Tom has demonstrated excellent leadership in his SSCR project. He has embraced the challenges of the role. Tom has built collaborative relationships with colleagues within and beyond the university. He works carefully and ethically with participants and project partners. His innovative research is already making a contribution to knowledge, including theory development. Congratulations, Tom!

Timothy Johnston, Health

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:51:29 UTC

Tim is a great post doc and is always here to help students - even prioritising students work above his own! Tim is a great addition to the lab, he is always a friendly face and throws himself

into socialising and making everyone feel welcome.

Luis Montana Gonzalez, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:52:44 UTC

Luis joined our group 7 years ago. Throughout this time, Luis has consistently demonstrated outstanding dedication and an unwavering commitment to excellence. His work continuously meets the absolute highest standards, driving key projects forward and ensuring our team's research is rigorous, impactful, and thoroughly executed.

Luis brings a level of dependability and expertise that elevates the work of the entire team. His sustained excellence over the past 7 years exemplifies what it means to be an outstanding postdoctoral researcher.

Tala Abbasian, Engineering

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:53:16 UTC

Tala always goes above and beyond to achieve whatever research goals we as a group have. She is based at AMRC, even though funded from my faculty research contracts. She is diligent and always alive to different opportunities and ways to pursue the group’s development and the interests of our customers and research partners.

Joe Tyler, Science

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:53:39 UTC

Joe has been an amazing scientist and mentor! I really admire his deeply considered philosophy of science, especially when it comes to the actin cytoskeleton, and our discussions with him always spark new ideas and make me think more deeply about my own research. He also acts almost like a mini-PI for us, offering insightful advice on everything from practical experimental tips to the broader direction of our projects and how we can reach our research goals.

Alexandra Boutopoulou, Social Sciences

thinkahead — 2026-10-13 08:54:18 UTC

Alexandra is the epitome of a superb post-doc and in just 12 months in role has made wide ranging and far reaching impacts that are a testament to her skill, enthusiasm and dedication to her work. When Alexandra took on this post-doctoral post she was taking an a completely unknown topic that required her to quickly master a legally complex field of study and develop and maintain a wide network of contacts with academic and non-academic stakeholders. In an extraordinarily short space of time Alexandra had excelled. Moreover, her unrelenting curiosity has pushed the wider team to take on new challenges and raise our ambitions. Alexandra is not only an essential member of the team, but an invaluable, highly talented and valued colleague.