Eight Swansea University researchers have been named among Wales’s most promising emerging talent as part of the 2025 Welsh Crucible cohort. (L-R Dr Marcos del Pozo Baños, Dr Fernando Maestre Avila, Dr Ana Sergio Da Silva, Dr Laura Cowley, Dr Katie Preece, Dr Aimee Drane, and Dr Gemma Morgan.)
Eight outstanding researchers from Swansea University have been selected for the 2025 Welsh Crucible, an award-winning programme for developing the future research leaders of Wales.
Each year, 30 researchers across the country are invited to a series of residential skills labs, workshops designed to enhance research impact, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and build international research careers.
The Swansea University researchers in this year’s programme showcase academic excellence and innovation across diverse disciplines. Their participation underscores their potential to drive research advancements in Wales and beyond.
The researchers from Swansea University are:
- Dr Aimee Drane, Associate Professor and Clinical Academic in Echocardiography within the Health and Wellbeing Academy, studies how the cardiovascular system adapts to different environments and its susceptibility to disease through evolutionary mismatch.
- Dr Ana Sergio Da Silva, Associate Professor and Programme Director for the MSc/PhD Medical Education at Swansea University Medical School, researches how evidence-based education contributes to the development of a competent and sustainable healthcare workforce for the future.
- Dr Laura Cowley, Research Officer and Data Scientist, examines children’s health, social care, and family justice using administrative data and statistical modelling. She is currently undertaking a Health and Care Research Wales-funded Social Care Fellowship.
- Dr Marcos del Pozo Baños, Senior Lecturer at Swansea University Medical School, whose current research focuses on mental health data science, including self-harm and suicide prevention, and the mental health of children and young people.
- Dr Katie Preece, Senior Lecturer in Geography, is a volcanologist and geologist who integrates field studies with petrology, geochronology, and geochemistry to investigate eruption histories and dynamics.
- Dr Gemma Morgan, Associate Professor in Criminology, researches desistance, digital technology in the criminal justice system, and youth justice. Awarded a Fulbright Scholarship, she co-developed the My Journey app to support individuals transitioning from prison in the UK.
- Dr Fernando Maestre Avila, Lecturer in Computer Science, explores Human-Computer Interaction methods with marginalised communities, ensuring technology design amplifies their voices and mitigates negative impacts.
- Dr Mayara Silveira Bianchim, Research Officer at Bangor University, is an Honorary Re-search Associate at the Centre for Population Health at Swansea University, spe-cialising in realist evaluation and applied health research. Her work focuses on co-production and improving services for children and young people with chronic pain.
Professor Helen Griffiths, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, said: “We are immensely proud of Swansea University’s research community, and it is fantastic to see so many of our researchers selected for the 2025 Welsh Crucible.
“Their participation reflects our commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration and research excellence, and will provide invaluable leadership development, networking opportunities, and a platform to address pressing local and global challenges.”
The Welsh Crucible is a collaborative initiative funded by a consortium of Welsh higher education institutions and Wales’s Commission for Tertiary Education and Research (Medr).