Imperial Life Sciences
@imperiallifesci.bsky.social
We are Imperial College London's world-leading Life Sciences department. Where scientific imagination reveals our world, from molecules to ecosystems, and shapes its future.
Study with us / join our community: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/life-sciences
Study with us / join our community: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/life-sciences
New to Imperial? We want to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the Welcome Experience Survey by 15 December and help shape future Welcome seasons.
Your feedback already drives real change, from the revamped Welcome Fair to new spaces and digital tools that make campus life better for everyone.
Your feedback already drives real change, from the revamped Welcome Fair to new spaces and digital tools that make campus life better for everyone.
December 9, 2025 at 9:07 PM
New to Imperial? We want to hear from you. Share your thoughts in the Welcome Experience Survey by 15 December and help shape future Welcome seasons.
Your feedback already drives real change, from the revamped Welcome Fair to new spaces and digital tools that make campus life better for everyone.
Your feedback already drives real change, from the revamped Welcome Fair to new spaces and digital tools that make campus life better for everyone.
Missed Professor Marc Dionne’s inaugural lecture on the costs and consequences of immunity? The recording is now online. Learn how immune responses protect us, why they’re costly, and how hosts cope with ever-changing infections.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=817L...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=817L...
Costs and consequences of immunity
YouTube video by Imperial College London
www.youtube.com
December 9, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Missed Professor Marc Dionne’s inaugural lecture on the costs and consequences of immunity? The recording is now online. Learn how immune responses protect us, why they’re costly, and how hosts cope with ever-changing infections.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=817L...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=817L...
🪴 A £11.34 million gift from the Michael Uren Foundation is set to transform #OurImperial Silwood Park campus.
This generous support will go towards building a new, state-of-the-art research facility that aims to bridge the gap between lab and field.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
This generous support will go towards building a new, state-of-the-art research facility that aims to bridge the gap between lab and field.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
December 2, 2025 at 9:12 PM
🪴 A £11.34 million gift from the Michael Uren Foundation is set to transform #OurImperial Silwood Park campus.
This generous support will go towards building a new, state-of-the-art research facility that aims to bridge the gap between lab and field.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
This generous support will go towards building a new, state-of-the-art research facility that aims to bridge the gap between lab and field.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
🌍🧬 190 years after Darwin landed in Falmouth, we're still asking how his ideas hold up in a world reshaped by climate change & habitat loss. Check out BBC Radio 4 Rare Earth with our own Prof Armand Leroi, bringing insight into how evolution is playing out right now.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
BBC Radio 4 - Rare Earth, The Evolution of Evolution
What would Darwin and the other great naturalists think of our world today?
www.bbc.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 8:55 PM
🌍🧬 190 years after Darwin landed in Falmouth, we're still asking how his ideas hold up in a world reshaped by climate change & habitat loss. Check out BBC Radio 4 Rare Earth with our own Prof Armand Leroi, bringing insight into how evolution is playing out right now.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
New study published in Nature, led by PhD student Thomas Weeks and Professor Tobias shows human land-use change is eroding the vital ecological roles birds play, reducing ecosystem resilience.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
November 30, 2025 at 12:40 PM
New study published in Nature, led by PhD student Thomas Weeks and Professor Tobias shows human land-use change is eroding the vital ecological roles birds play, reducing ecosystem resilience.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Imperial Life Sciences
Back again to chat about immune health!
November 29, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Back again to chat about immune health!
Dinesh Aggarwal of the Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology had a fantastic 3 days engaging with patients & the public across 3 clinical sites for #AMR Awareness Week, highlighting our new S. aureus human challenge model! 🌍💉
Big thanks to Robert Varro & Laura Alvarado Cruz for their support!
Big thanks to Robert Varro & Laura Alvarado Cruz for their support!
November 21, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Dinesh Aggarwal of the Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology had a fantastic 3 days engaging with patients & the public across 3 clinical sites for #AMR Awareness Week, highlighting our new S. aureus human challenge model! 🌍💉
Big thanks to Robert Varro & Laura Alvarado Cruz for their support!
Big thanks to Robert Varro & Laura Alvarado Cruz for their support!
Reposted by Imperial Life Sciences
Podcast chat about Immune Health with Liz Earle lizearlewellbeing.com/listen/healt...
Orange juice won't cure your cold (but this might) – with Professor Daniel M. Davis - Liz Earle Wellbeing
Leading immunologist Professor Daniel M. Davis joins Liz to bust immune health myths and reveal what really keeps you well this winter (spoiler: not orange juice).
lizearlewellbeing.com
November 7, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Podcast chat about Immune Health with Liz Earle lizearlewellbeing.com/listen/healt...
🌍 Africa’s wildlife has lost over a third of its ecological energy since pre-colonial times, with elephants, rhinos & lions hit hardest.
A new Nature study by Imperial’s Professor Joe Tobias & Oxford reveals dramatic declines shaping ecosystems.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/271193/...
#Biodiversity
A new Nature study by Imperial’s Professor Joe Tobias & Oxford reveals dramatic declines shaping ecosystems.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/271193/...
#Biodiversity
The “power” of Africa’s wildlife in dramatic decline | Imperial News | Imperial College London
Africa’s ecosystems have lost over a third of the energy they once had, with far-reaching impacts on biodiversity and human livelihoods.
www.imperial.ac.uk
November 5, 2025 at 1:35 PM
🌍 Africa’s wildlife has lost over a third of its ecological energy since pre-colonial times, with elephants, rhinos & lions hit hardest.
A new Nature study by Imperial’s Professor Joe Tobias & Oxford reveals dramatic declines shaping ecosystems.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/271193/...
#Biodiversity
A new Nature study by Imperial’s Professor Joe Tobias & Oxford reveals dramatic declines shaping ecosystems.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/271193/...
#Biodiversity
🧬 Imperial researchers have linked COVID-19 control measures to a surge in serious infections in children after the pandemic.
The study, with Prof Shiranee Sriskandan, found lockdowns & school closures may have delayed children’s immunity.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/270153/...
The study, with Prof Shiranee Sriskandan, found lockdowns & school closures may have delayed children’s immunity.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/270153/...
COVID-19 linked to decline in immunity to life-threatening childhood infections | Imperial News | Imperial College London
Scientists have uncovered a link between COVID-19 control measures and a surge in serious infections in children following the pandemic.
www.imperial.ac.uk
October 21, 2025 at 9:21 AM
🧬 Imperial researchers have linked COVID-19 control measures to a surge in serious infections in children after the pandemic.
The study, with Prof Shiranee Sriskandan, found lockdowns & school closures may have delayed children’s immunity.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/270153/...
The study, with Prof Shiranee Sriskandan, found lockdowns & school closures may have delayed children’s immunity.
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/270153/...
🧫 New study led by Prof Shiranee Sriskandan on mortality in invasive Group A Strep (iGAS) infections.
Mortality remains strikingly high and similar between M1UK & M1global lineages. Rapid deaths highlight the urgent need for prevention & faster diagnostics.
🔗 academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...
Mortality remains strikingly high and similar between M1UK & M1global lineages. Rapid deaths highlight the urgent need for prevention & faster diagnostics.
🔗 academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...
Mortality Among Patients With Invasive Group A Streptococcal Infections Caused by the M1UK Lineage: A Retrospective Cohort Study in England and Wales
Emm1 invasive Strep A incurs a high case fatality rate. In this national cohort, 24.4% of those with M1UK iGAS died, though this was not different from anc
academic.oup.com
October 21, 2025 at 9:18 AM
🧫 New study led by Prof Shiranee Sriskandan on mortality in invasive Group A Strep (iGAS) infections.
Mortality remains strikingly high and similar between M1UK & M1global lineages. Rapid deaths highlight the urgent need for prevention & faster diagnostics.
🔗 academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...
Mortality remains strikingly high and similar between M1UK & M1global lineages. Rapid deaths highlight the urgent need for prevention & faster diagnostics.
🔗 academic.oup.com/cid/advance-...
🧬 How does the body fight infections and what are the hidden costs of immune defence?
Join Professor Marc Dionne, Professor of Innate Immunity as he explores why some immune responses succeed while others fail.
🗓️ Wednesday 3 December
🔗 Register here: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19788...
Join Professor Marc Dionne, Professor of Innate Immunity as he explores why some immune responses succeed while others fail.
🗓️ Wednesday 3 December
🔗 Register here: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19788...
Costs and consequences of immunity
Join Professor Marc Dionne from the Department of Life Sciences for his inaugural lecture.
www.imperial.ac.uk
October 21, 2025 at 8:08 AM
🧬 How does the body fight infections and what are the hidden costs of immune defence?
Join Professor Marc Dionne, Professor of Innate Immunity as he explores why some immune responses succeed while others fail.
🗓️ Wednesday 3 December
🔗 Register here: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19788...
Join Professor Marc Dionne, Professor of Innate Immunity as he explores why some immune responses succeed while others fail.
🗓️ Wednesday 3 December
🔗 Register here: www.imperial.ac.uk/events/19788...
🔬🌿 New paper!
Imperial researchers from @imperiallifesci.bsky.social , @imperialchemeng.bsky.social & @imperialphysics.bsky.social collaborated to uncover long-missing chlorophyll f pigments in Photosystem I, confirming their active role in solar energy conversion.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Imperial researchers from @imperiallifesci.bsky.social , @imperialchemeng.bsky.social & @imperialphysics.bsky.social collaborated to uncover long-missing chlorophyll f pigments in Photosystem I, confirming their active role in solar energy conversion.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Locating the missing chlorophylls f in far-red photosystem I
The discovery of chlorophyll f-containing photosystems, with their long-wavelength photochemistry, represented a distinct, low-energy paradigm for oxygenic photosynthesis. Structural studies on chloro...
www.science.org
October 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
🔬🌿 New paper!
Imperial researchers from @imperiallifesci.bsky.social , @imperialchemeng.bsky.social & @imperialphysics.bsky.social collaborated to uncover long-missing chlorophyll f pigments in Photosystem I, confirming their active role in solar energy conversion.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Imperial researchers from @imperiallifesci.bsky.social , @imperialchemeng.bsky.social & @imperialphysics.bsky.social collaborated to uncover long-missing chlorophyll f pigments in Photosystem I, confirming their active role in solar energy conversion.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
If you missed Bugs, Birds & Beasts Day this year, take a look at this lovely editorial showcasing all the fun, science and activities that took place in Silwood this summer at the annual nature activity day!
www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/bugs...
www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/bugs...
“I like bugs!”
29 July 2025 marked Bugs, Birds and Beasts Day at Imperial’s Silwood Park Campus and we sent our very own Lily Baker Haynes along to find out more.
www.imperial.ac.uk
October 20, 2025 at 7:05 PM
If you missed Bugs, Birds & Beasts Day this year, take a look at this lovely editorial showcasing all the fun, science and activities that took place in Silwood this summer at the annual nature activity day!
www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/bugs...
www.imperial.ac.uk/stories/bugs...
Excellent work Tom, well done!!
Tom Smith from @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social is our #BESAG annual prize winner for outstanding contribution for his career stage! well done, Tom, and great talk too! #BESAG2025 #aquatic #marine #freshwater #bodysize #ecology #evolution 💦💧🌊🧪🌍
October 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Excellent work Tom, well done!!
Interested in a new role as Head of Technical Operations in Life Sciences? Take a look at the opportunity below!
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
Description
Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities ment...
www.imperial.ac.uk
October 20, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Interested in a new role as Head of Technical Operations in Life Sciences? Take a look at the opportunity below!
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
www.imperial.ac.uk/jobs/search-...
Join @imperialsci.bsky.social for the FoNS Make-A-Difference Final on Wednesday🎉 Students have been working over the summer on low-cost tech with societal impact.
Watch them as they go head-to-head in the final!
🗓️ 22 Oct, 16:00-20:00
📍 SAFB, South Kensington
Register now 🔗 bit.ly/3KIn3PV
Watch them as they go head-to-head in the final!
🗓️ 22 Oct, 16:00-20:00
📍 SAFB, South Kensington
Register now 🔗 bit.ly/3KIn3PV
Faculty of Natural Sciences Make-A-Difference (FoNS-MAD) Competition Final 2025
We are very pleased to invite you to the Faculty of Natural Sciences Make-a-Difference (FoNS-MAD) Competition Final Judging Event which will take place on 22 October 2025 from 16.00.
bit.ly
October 20, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Join @imperialsci.bsky.social for the FoNS Make-A-Difference Final on Wednesday🎉 Students have been working over the summer on low-cost tech with societal impact.
Watch them as they go head-to-head in the final!
🗓️ 22 Oct, 16:00-20:00
📍 SAFB, South Kensington
Register now 🔗 bit.ly/3KIn3PV
Watch them as they go head-to-head in the final!
🗓️ 22 Oct, 16:00-20:00
📍 SAFB, South Kensington
Register now 🔗 bit.ly/3KIn3PV
🌱🛡️ New paper out in The Plant Cell! First author Enoch Lok Yuen and Group Leader @tolgaboz.bsky.social uncover a hidden plant defense - chloroplasts move and anchor at pathogen entry sites to deliver targeted immunity. The find could help improve crop disease resistance!
doi.org/10.1093/plce...
doi.org/10.1093/plce...
Membrane contact sites between chloroplasts and the pathogen interface underpin plant focal immune responses
Chloroplast tethering to the pathogen interface via membrane contact sites promotes focal callose deposition and strengthens plant immunity.
doi.org
October 20, 2025 at 6:50 PM
🌱🛡️ New paper out in The Plant Cell! First author Enoch Lok Yuen and Group Leader @tolgaboz.bsky.social uncover a hidden plant defense - chloroplasts move and anchor at pathogen entry sites to deliver targeted immunity. The find could help improve crop disease resistance!
doi.org/10.1093/plce...
doi.org/10.1093/plce...
Reposted by Imperial Life Sciences
New speaker announcement!
Dr. @sarahsteinlubrano.bsky.social, Researcher and Author, will join us as a panelist at the Grantham Institute Annual Lecture 2025 🧵
📅29 October
🕠 17:30–20:30
📍 South Kensington Campus (also livestreamed)
buff.ly/4sEkBik
Dr. @sarahsteinlubrano.bsky.social, Researcher and Author, will join us as a panelist at the Grantham Institute Annual Lecture 2025 🧵
📅29 October
🕠 17:30–20:30
📍 South Kensington Campus (also livestreamed)
buff.ly/4sEkBik
October 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
New speaker announcement!
Dr. @sarahsteinlubrano.bsky.social, Researcher and Author, will join us as a panelist at the Grantham Institute Annual Lecture 2025 🧵
📅29 October
🕠 17:30–20:30
📍 South Kensington Campus (also livestreamed)
buff.ly/4sEkBik
Dr. @sarahsteinlubrano.bsky.social, Researcher and Author, will join us as a panelist at the Grantham Institute Annual Lecture 2025 🧵
📅29 October
🕠 17:30–20:30
📍 South Kensington Campus (also livestreamed)
buff.ly/4sEkBik
New paper just out from #OurImperial @tcostalab.bsky.social
The assembly of a hybrid type IV secretion system by a Crohn’s disease-associated Escherichia coli strain.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The assembly of a hybrid type IV secretion system by a Crohn’s disease-associated Escherichia coli strain.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The assembly of a hybrid type IV secretion system by a Crohn’s disease-associated Escherichia coli strain - Nature Communications
Adherent-invasive strains of E. coli are commonly isolated from patients with Crohn’s disease. Here, the authors show that an AIEC harbours a hybrid Type IV secretion system (T4SS) that mediates pilin...
www.nature.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:38 PM
New paper just out from #OurImperial @tcostalab.bsky.social
The assembly of a hybrid type IV secretion system by a Crohn’s disease-associated Escherichia coli strain.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
The assembly of a hybrid type IV secretion system by a Crohn’s disease-associated Escherichia coli strain.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Imperial Life Sciences
Immunologist Daniel Davis wants to eradicate long-held myths and replace them with wonder at the complexity of the body’s defence system
Why everything you thought you knew about your immune system is wrong
Immunologist Daniel Davis wants to eradicate long-held myths and replace them with wonder at the complexity of the body’s defence system
www.newscientist.com
October 8, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Immunologist Daniel Davis wants to eradicate long-held myths and replace them with wonder at the complexity of the body’s defence system
🚁 New paper worked on by #OurImperial @sarabssethi.bsky.social shows that robotics-assisted acoustic surveys using UAVs can deliver reliable, landscape-level biodiversity insights!
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Robotics‐assisted acoustic surveys could deliver reliable, landscape‐level biodiversity insights
Deploying and maintaining sensors is often a major bottleneck in collecting rapid biodiversity data. We tested whether autonomous hopping drones equipped with acoustic recorders could collect reliabl....
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
October 20, 2025 at 6:27 PM
🚁 New paper worked on by #OurImperial @sarabssethi.bsky.social shows that robotics-assisted acoustic surveys using UAVs can deliver reliable, landscape-level biodiversity insights!
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by Imperial Life Sciences
Lovely time on Times Radio!
October 11, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Lovely time on Times Radio!
Delighted to congratulate Dr Lauren Cator and international colleagues on receiving a £1.47M Wellcome Discovery Award.
This project will investigate how evolutionary dynamics can be harnessed to strengthen mosquito control strategies. Well done Lauren and team!
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/268933/...
This project will investigate how evolutionary dynamics can be harnessed to strengthen mosquito control strategies. Well done Lauren and team!
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/268933/...
New Wellcome award to harness evolution for mosquito control | Imperial News | Imperial College London
An international team led by Imperial has been awarded a £1.47 million Wellcome Discovery Award.
www.imperial.ac.uk
October 2, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Delighted to congratulate Dr Lauren Cator and international colleagues on receiving a £1.47M Wellcome Discovery Award.
This project will investigate how evolutionary dynamics can be harnessed to strengthen mosquito control strategies. Well done Lauren and team!
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/268933/...
This project will investigate how evolutionary dynamics can be harnessed to strengthen mosquito control strategies. Well done Lauren and team!
www.imperial.ac.uk/news/268933/...
🚲 DIY journey - Imperial Biochemistry student Kidus Tesera, 24, is cycling 780 miles across the UK on a bike he built himself, made almost entirely from recycled parts and wood. 🌍♻️ #Sustainability #Innovation
uk.news.yahoo.com/student-trav...
uk.news.yahoo.com/student-trav...
Student travels 780 miles across UK - on handmade wooden bike
A London student has cycled 780 miles across the UK on a bike he built from recycled parts and scrap wood. Kidus Tesera, 24, a biochemistry student at Imperial College, created the wooden-framed bike ...
uk.news.yahoo.com
October 1, 2025 at 12:06 PM
🚲 DIY journey - Imperial Biochemistry student Kidus Tesera, 24, is cycling 780 miles across the UK on a bike he built himself, made almost entirely from recycled parts and wood. 🌍♻️ #Sustainability #Innovation
uk.news.yahoo.com/student-trav...
uk.news.yahoo.com/student-trav...