THE Connect

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Iain Styles, a professor in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen’s University Belfast. Iain is also the director of the Centre of Intelligent Sustainable Computing.

They discuss the challenges of integrating AI into healthcare settings, ongoing debates about the ethics of AI in healthcare and engagement with local communities.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the National University of Singapore, host Sreethu Sajeev speaks with Koh Lian Pin, associate vice-president and chief sustainability scientist at the National University of Singapore.

They discuss how sustainability education can be used to foster innovative solutions to pressing environmental and social challenges – upskilling learners in the process.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Sheffield, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Tim Chico, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Sheffield.

They discuss the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, exploring the ways the hub uses cutting-edge research to develop digital technologies for disease diagnosis and treatment.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Tara Shears, a professor of physics and frontier lead for particle physics, Monica D’Onofrio, professor of physics and head of research, and Christos Touramanis, a professor of experimental particle physics at the University of Liverpool.

They discuss the university's involvement in cutting-edge research and innovation at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Richard English, a professor of politics and director of the Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast.

They discuss how universities can contribute to analytical discussions on terrorism, replacing fear-driven narratives with research-backed solutions and perspectives.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Sheffield, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Dan Blackburn, a senior lecturer in neuroscience, Heidi Christensen, professor in computer science, and Caitlin Illingworth, a neuroscience PhD student at the University of Sheffield.

They discuss their work on CognoSpeak, an online tool harnessing AI to analyse speech patterns and cognitive cues. CognoSpeak can identify subtle markers of cognitive decline that might be missed during routine evaluations, improving the dementia diagnosis experience for patients from all backgrounds.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with John Barry, a professor of green political economy and director of the Queen’s Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action.

They discuss the ideologies that underpin green politics, the way it challenges capitalist growth models and the importance of radically rethinking widely accepted economic paradigms.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Karl Coleman, dean of physical sciences, Gabriella Pizzuto, a Royal Academy of Engineering research fellow and lecturer in robotics and chemistry automation, and Alessandro Troisi, a professor of chemistry at the University of Liverpool.

They discuss the university's Materials Discovery Frontier, which brings together diverse disciplines and stakeholders to tackle global challenges and problems.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Alistair Lawrence speaks with Shampa Das, professor of antimicrobial therapeutics, Reecha Sofat, Breckenridge chair of clinical pharmacology, and Paul O’Neill, professor of chemistry at the University of Liverpool.

They discuss the university's Therapeutics Innovation Frontier, a platform designed to deliver new therapies and improve existing ones for the benefit of patients locally, nationally and globally.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Aedín Cassidy, chair in nutrition and preventive medicine and director of interdisciplinary research at the Institute for Global Food Security, and Mark Emmerson, professor of biodiversity.

Queen’s University Belfast has been awarded £60 million of joint funding to establish two collaborative, cross-institutional co-centres: the Co-Centre for Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems and the Climate+ Co-Centre. Cassidy and Emmerson discuss how the co-centres will tackle the grand challenges of food sustainability and climate change, looking at why an interdisciplinary approach is so valuable.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Queen's University Belfast, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Mark Lawler, associate pro vice-chancellor and professor of digital health, and Philip Dunne, reader in molecular pathology at the Patrick G. Johnston Centre for Cancer Research.

They discuss the growing availability of data in the healthcare sector and explore how this proliferation of information can empower clinicians to make data-driven decisions, elevating the patient experience and improving health outcomes. This data can also be used to spur policy change, acting as a force for positive transformation that’s backed by fact.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Santo Tomas, host Gitanjali Goswami speaks with Moises Norman Garcia and Maria Rosario Virginia Cobar, who are both professors and researchers in the university’s Department of Biological Sciences and the Research Center for Social Sciences and Education. Elfritzon Peralta, programme coordinator at the Organismic and Environmental Biology Cluster, also joins the conversation.

They discuss the University of Santo Tomas’ efforts to integrate environmental awareness into its academic programmes, institutional policies and initiatives, exploring the challenges and successes brought by taking an interdisciplinary approach to addressing the climate crisis

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Joost Vossebeld, head of particle physics, Eva Vilella Figueras, UKRI Future Leader Fellow in the Department of Physics, and Graziano Venanzoni, Leverhulme International Professor of Physics.

They discuss the unique expertise and infrastructure that the University of Liverpool offers its researchers, allowing them to push the frontiers of particle physics to understand the deepest secrets of the universe.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Larry Barham, professor in the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at the University of Liverpool, Nicola George, research technical professional at the University of Liverpool's Professor Elizabeth Slater Archaeological Research Laboratories, and Perrice Nkombwe, director of the Moto Moto Museum in Zambia.

They discuss the Deep Roots of Humanity, a collaborative project investigating early technological change in south-central Africa. The project brings together researchers from different disciplines, institutions and academic backgrounds to expand our understanding of the way early humans planned and made tools.

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with the University of Liverpool, host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Alison Holmes, David Price Evans chair in global health and infectious diseases, William Hope, Dame Sally Davies chair of antimicrobial resistance research, and Ishwar Singh, reader in pharmacology and therapeutics.

They discuss the global challenge posed by antimicrobial resistance and the approaches they are taking to mitigate this threat, from developing new antibiotics to changing the behaviours that lead to their misuse. 

In this episode of the THE Connect podcast, produced in partnership with Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), host Ashton Wenborn speaks with Megha Nataraj, PhD Scholar in the Department of Physiotherapy, Smita Nayak, additional professor in the Department of Humanities and Management, and Dr B. Unnikrishnan, dean and professor of Community Medicine at Kasturba Medical College.

They discuss the proactive approach MAHE has taken to promoting collaboration across diverse fields of study and encouraging researchers to work together on complex societal challenges.