Wed 02 Jul 14:00: TBD
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Hilde Oliver, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Wednesday 02 July 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: BAS Seminar Room 1.
- Series: British Antarctic Survey - Polar Oceans seminar series; organiser: Dr Yohei Takano.
Wed 02 Jul 13:00: Bradford Hill Seminar – The Cancer Loyalty Card Study (CLOCS), aiming to help reduce the delays in cancer diagnosis using transaction data
The Cancer Loyalty Card Study (CLOCS), aiming to help reduce the delays in cancer diagnosis using transaction data
Professor James Flanagan, Professor of Cancer Informatics at Imperial College London
Register to attend: Please note this will be a free hybrid seminar, with the option to attend in-person (Large Seminar Room, East Forvie Building, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge CB2 0SR ) or virtually (via Teams).
No registration is required to attend in person.
Register in advance to attend this seminar online at:
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/9d02ab32-b2e7-4bdb-9b33-ad126d573679@49a50445-bdfa-4b79-ade3-547b4f3986e9
Abstract: The first Cancer Loyalty Card Study (CLOCS) project revealed that ovarian cancer patients begin buying over-the-counter medications months before seeing a doctor, suggesting a missed opportunity for earlier diagnosis. This research opens new conversations about how everyday data might support earlier cancer detection, and what it takes for the public to feel comfortable sharing that data.
About Professor Flanagan: Dr James Flanagan, completed his PhD in 2002 at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia, and has pursued postdoctoral work in Cancer Genetics, Epigenetics and Cancer Epigenetics. He was awarded a Breast Cancer Campaign Scientific Fellowship (Imperial, 2009-2014) and Senior Lecturer (2014-2019) and is now Reader in Epigenetics (2019-present) in the Division of Cancer, Dept. of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London.
He was awarded the British Association of Cancer Research Translational Researcher Award in 2011 and the prestigious DataIQ award in 2023 for his work using Shopping Loyalty Cards for early detection of ovarian cancer.
He is the principal investigator (PI) for the OCA funded programme “Risk and Prevention” and PI of the CRUK funded project “Cancer Loyalty Card Study (CLOCS)” In 2021 he was appointed as the Director of the MRes Cancer Biology.
About the Bradford Hill seminars: The Bradford Hill seminar series is the principal series of The Cambridge Population Health Sciences Partnership, in collaboration with the PHG Foundation. This comprises the Departments of Public Health & Primary Care, MRC Biostatistics Unit and MRC Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, bringing together a multi-disciplinary partnership of academics and public health professionals. The Bradford Hill seminar programme of internationally recognised speakers covers topics of broad interest to our public health research community. It aims to transcend as well as connect the activities of our individual partners.
All are welcome at our Bradford Hill seminars.
- Speaker: Professor James Flanagan, Imperial College London
- Wednesday 02 July 2025, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: Large Seminar Room, East Forvie Building, Forvie Site Robinson Way Cambridge CB2 0SR..
- Series: Bradford Hill Seminars; organiser: Paul Browne.
Mon 04 Aug 11:00: Learning Under Constraints: From Federated Collaboration to Black-Box LLMs
In both federated learning (FL) and large language model (LLMs) optimization, a central challenge is effective learning under constraints, ranging from data heterogeneity and personalization to limited communication and black-box access. In this talk, I present three approaches that address these challenges across different settings. FilFL improves generalization in FL by filtering clients based on their joint contribution to global performance. DPFL tackles decentralized personalization by learning asymmetric collaboration graphs under strict resource budgets. Moving beyond FL, I will present ACING , a reinforcement learning method for optimizing instructions in black-box LLMs under strict query budgets, where weights and gradients are inaccessible. While these works tackle distinct problems, they are unified by a common goal: developing efficient learning mechanisms that perform reliably under real-world constraints.
- Speaker: Salma Kharrat, Kaust
- Monday 04 August 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: Computer Lab, FW26.
- Series: Cambridge ML Systems Seminar Series; organiser: Sally Matthews.
Wed 16 Jul 16:00: Condensing the Message: How Notch Signaling Forms Transcriptional Hubs to Control Gene Activation
Developmental decisions rely on cells making accurate transcriptional responses to signals they receive. For example, Notch pathway activity results in rapid transcriptional outputs in the absence of any amplification steps. Local condensates or transcription factor hubs are proposed to facilitate recruitment of key nuclear complexes and their co-factors to promote gene activation. To investigate whether transcription hubs are formed under conditions of endogenous Notch signalling, we combined real-time measurements of Notch transcription-complex enrichments relative to a fluorescently tagged gene locus with quantitative live imaging of gene transcription from two linked loci. An enriched hub containing the co-activator Mastermind (Mam) was formed in a signalling-dependent manner during developmental stages when transcription occurs. Tracking hubs in real time revealed that they are highly dynamic and, when imaged together with transcription in the same nucleus, Mam condensation consistently correlates with the onset and profile of transcription. Manipulations affecting signalling levels had concordant effects on hub intensities and transcriptional profiles, altering the probability and amplitude of transcription. Together the results support a model in which signalling induces the formation of transcription hubs whose properties are instrumental in the quantitative gene expression response to Notch activation.
- Speaker: Carmen Santa Cruz Mateos. Department of Physiology Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge.
- Wednesday 16 July 2025, 16:00-17:30
- Venue: in person at Gurdon Institute.
- Series: Cambridge Fly Meetings; organiser: Daniel Sobrido-Cameán.
Wed 16 Jul 16:00: Hox Activity Levels Govern the Evolution of Behaviors
Despite being a fundamental question in Biology, the evolution of animal behaviour remains poorly understood. The divergence of behaviours has been correlated with neuronal circuit changes between species or with distinct genetic makeups, but actual demonstrations of the genetic processes that have taken place to drive the emergence of new behaviours have only been achieved in the sensory system in the context of receptor expression (Auer et al., Nature 2020). Here, we show that by merely tweaking the levels of expression of the key developmental Hox genes, different circuits with different behavioural outputs can be generated. This change occurs only at the final steps of embryonic development, refining connectivity in an otherwise unchanged system. In other words, rather than requiring specific developmental blueprints for each motor circuit—in the case of the fruit fly, those governing, rolling, turning, crawling, etc.—a single blueprint is used, with gene expression levels at the final stages determining the final designation of each circuit. Such a mechanism ensures the system stability and simplifies circuit diversification—within organisms and potentially also across all organisms.
- Speaker: Jimena Berni. Medical Research Building Brighton and Sussex Medical School. University of Sussex
- Wednesday 16 July 2025, 16:00-17:30
- Venue: in person at Gurdon Institute.
- Series: Cambridge Fly Meetings; organiser: Daniel Sobrido-Cameán.
Mon 16 Jun 14:00: Polyhomogeneity and precise asymptotic expansions for quasilinear waves scattering from past to future null infinity, with applications to general relativity
Already for the linear wave equation on the Minkowski spacetime, scattering solutions arising from data in the infinite past (at “past null infinity”) have surprisingly different asymptotic behaviour towards future null infinity depending on both the dimension and on the nature of the scattering data. In this talk, I will explain and prove these differences, and I will then sketch how to more generally determine the asymptotics towards future null infinity for a much wider class of quasilinear equations.
In the context of the Einstein equations of general relativity, this work allows to determine the asymptotics of gravitational radiation, and thus the smoothness of null infinity, in physically realistic scattering scenarios.
Based on joint work with Istvan Kadar (Princeton University)
- Speaker: Leonhard Kehrberger (Leipzig)
- Monday 16 June 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: MR13.
- Series: Partial Differential Equations seminar; organiser: Dr Greg Taujanskas.
Fri 06 Feb 08:45: Grand Rounds - soft tissue
Chaired by Laura Owen
- Speaker: Layla Thompson, Department of Veterinary Medicine
- Friday 06 February 2026, 08:45-10:00
- Venue: LT2.
- Series: Friday Morning Seminars, Dept of Veterinary Medicine; organiser: Fiona Roby.
Wed 09 Jul 14:00: Symmetry Breaking Routes to Natural and Unnatural Ladderanes
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Prof. Santanu Mukherjee, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
- Wednesday 09 July 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Dept. of Chemistry, Pfizer Lecture Theater.
- Series: Synthetic Chemistry Research Interest Group; organiser: Dr. Robert J. Phipps.
Wed 18 Jun 16:00: Decadal changes in Southern Ocean Water Masses inferred from observations
In this talk I will present how using a combination of data-driven and machine learning methods we infer a slowdown of Antarctic bottom water (AABW) and an expansion and poleward shift of Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW). In particular, I will present analyses based on four decades of CFCs and SF6 observations to reconstruct global tracer budgets and infer decadal variability of deep ocean circulation and tracer ventilation rates.
- Speaker: Laura Cimoli (University of Cambridge)
- Wednesday 18 June 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: BAS Seminar Room 1.
- Series: British Antarctic Survey - Polar Oceans seminar series; organiser: Dr Birgit Rogalla.
Fri 13 Jun 15:00: The Geometry of Equilibrium Book Tour: Lecture 1
This month Cambridge University Press are publishing “The Geometry of Equilibrium: James Clerk Maxwell and 21st-Century Structural Mechanics”.
Edited by Bill Baker and Allan McRobie, the book is the result of around 10 years’ collaborative research with contributions from many others, including current and former members of the Structures Group; Petia Tzokova, Marina Konstantatou, Cameron Millar, Simon Guest and John Ochsendorf.
The talk will explain how a re-examination of the papers of James Clerk Maxwell can lead to a highly geometric perspective on structural engineering theory that is strikingly different to the one usually taught in this and other engineering departments. This ‘new’ perspective is of great relevance to modern, material-efficient structural design. The talk will also describe some of the more recent research into the foundations of structural mechanics that has since been built on Maxwell’s insights. This is founded on Legendre transforms and polarities in 3D and 4D projective geometry, with added elements from algebraic topology, homology and cohomology. Much of this material is too recent to have made it into the book.
- Speaker: Allan McRobie, University of Cambridge
- Friday 13 June 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: CivEng Seminar Room (1-33) (Civil Engineering Building).
- Series: Engineering Department Structures Research Seminars; organiser: Shehara Perera.
Fri 04 Jul 11:00: Metal-Catalyzed Cycloisomerizations of Enyne and Allene in Polycyclic Natural Product Synthesis
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Professor Xiao-Shui Peng (Chinese University of Hongkong)
- Friday 04 July 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: Dept. of Chemistry, Unilever Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Synthetic Chemistry Research Interest Group; organiser: Jasmine Mitchell.
Thu 06 Nov 15:00: Challenges and opportunities in understanding the dynamic behaviour of engineering materials under complex loading paths
In the automotive and transportation sectors, engineering materials are frequently subjected to impulsive loading during collision events. Understanding their behaviour under such conditions is essential for designing safer, more impact-resilient structures. However, current research often overlooks critical factors, such as the combined influence of complex loading paths, strain rate, and environmental conditions.
This seminar will explore two key areas: (i) state-of-the-art experimental techniques for investigating the behaviour of lightweight materials under complex loading and environmental conditions; and (ii) the potential of controlling stress wave synchronisation and timing, alongside data-driven modelling approaches.
- Speaker: Antonio Pellegrino, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath
- Thursday 06 November 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: Seminar Room West, Room A0.015, Ray Dolby Centre, Cavendish Laboratory.
- Series: Physics and Chemistry of Solids Group; organiser: Stephen Walley.
Thu 12 Jun 13:00: An Introduction to Self-supervised Learning
Abstract
I will present a short tutorial on some approaches to self-supervised learning (SSL), assuming no background in machine learning. If time permits, I will present examples of the use of SSL for problems in energy systems.
Bio
Srinivasan Keshav is the Robert Sansom Professor of Computer Science at the University of Cambridge, focusing on the intersection of computer science and sustainability. He earned his PhD from UC Berkeley and has held roles at Bell Labs, Cornell University, and the University of Waterloo. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, ACM , and IEEE , Keshav is recognized for his contributions to networking and sustainability. His research includes innovations in energy systems, carbon footprint reduction, and forest conservation using remote sensing. Keshav emphasizes practical applications of computer science to global challenges, fostering collaborative solutions in smart grids and biodiversity conservation.
- Speaker: Srinivasan Keshav, University of Cambridge
- Thursday 12 June 2025, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: Room SS03 at the William Gates Building and on Zoom: https://cl-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/4361570789?pwd=Nkl2T3ZLaTZwRm05bzRTOUUxY3Q4QT09&from=addon .
- Series: Energy and Environment Group, Department of CST; organiser: lyr24.
Mon 09 Jun 11:00: Time-Resolved Collapse and Revival of the Heavy-Fermion State by Pulsed Light
The collapse of the Kondo regime, followed by a delayed THz pulse emission upon its recovery has been observed in recent THz spectroscopy experiments on heavy-fermion compounds such as CeCu$$Au${x}$. This work provides a theoretical framework to describe the non-equilibrium dynamics by employing the Anderson lattice model, time-dependent non-equilibrium dynamical mean-field theory, and the non-crossing approximation. We identify two key non-equilibrium mechanisms that play pivotal roles in the collapse and subsequent revival of Kondo coherence. First due to the pulse intensity the hybridization between localized $f$-electrons and conduction electrons increases, shifting the system to a mixed-valence regime, leading to a rapid destruction of the Kondo state. Second, while the distribution function and the single-particle peak recover quickly, the Kondo peak requires significantly more time due to the intrinsic low-energy effects associated with Kondo physics. Additionally, we confirm the system’s ability to emit a non-superradiant delayed pulse upon the recovery of the Kondo regime, confirming the many-body origin of the experimentally observed delayed pulse.
- Speaker: Michael Turaev, University of Bonn
- Monday 09 June 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: Seminar Room 3, RDC.
- Series: Theory of Condensed Matter; organiser: Gaurav.
Wed 11 Jun 11:00: Vision-language models (VLMs) Teams link available upon request (it is sent out on our mailing list, eng-mlg-rcc [at] lists.cam.ac.uk). Sign up to our mailing list for easier reminders via lists.cam.ac.uk.
This talk will chart the evolution of vision-language models (VLMs) and illustrate how architectural innovations and training paradigms have progressively closed the gap between visual perception and natural‐language understanding. I will cover models such as CLIP , Flamingo and LLaVA and discuss each of their design principles, strengths and weaknesses, and comparative performance across standard benchmarks.
Teams link available upon request (it is sent out on our mailing list, eng-mlg-rcc [at] lists.cam.ac.uk). Sign up to our mailing list for easier reminders via lists.cam.ac.uk.
- Speaker: Varun Jain (University of Cambridge)
- Wednesday 11 June 2025, 11:00-12:30
- Venue: Cambridge University Engineering Department, CBL Seminar room BE4-38..
- Series: Machine Learning Reading Group @ CUED; organiser: .
Wed 11 Jun 11:00: Vision-language models (VLMs) Teams link available upon request (it is sent out on our mailing list, eng-mlg-rcc [at] lists.cam.ac.uk). Sign up to our mailing list for easier reminders via lists.cam.ac.uk.
This talk will chart the evolution of vision-language models (VLMs) and illustrate how architectural innovations and training paradigms have progressively closed the gap between visual perception and natural‐language understanding. I will cover models such as CLIP , Flamingo and LLaVA and discuss each of their design principles, strengths and weaknesses, and comparative performance across standard benchmarks.
Teams link available upon request (it is sent out on our mailing list, eng-mlg-rcc [at] lists.cam.ac.uk). Sign up to our mailing list for easier reminders via lists.cam.ac.uk.
- Speaker: Varun Jain (University of Cambridge)
- Wednesday 11 June 2025, 11:00-12:30
- Venue: Cambridge University Engineering Department, CBL Seminar room BE4-38..
- Series: Machine Learning Reading Group @ CUED; organiser: .
Thu 12 Jun 14:00: The enigmatic long-period radio transients
The long-period radio transients are a newly-discovered class of Galactic radio sources that produce pulsed emission lasting tens of seconds to several minutes, repeating on timescales of tens of minutes to hours. Such cadence is unprecedented, and there is currently no clear emission mechanism or progenitor that can explain the observations, which include complex polarisation behaviour, pulse microstructure, and activity windows that range from hours to decades.
Could they be ultra-long period magnetars, and connected to the phenomenon of Fast Radio Bursts? Could they be white dwarf pulsars, defying the expectations of the magnetic field evolution of these stellar remnants? In this talk I will describe the ten discoveries made so far, informative simulations of their evolution, the potential physical explanations, and the prospects for detecting more of these sources in ongoing and upcoming radio surveys, that will help uncover their true nature.
- Speaker: Prof. Natasha Hurley-Walker (Curtin University)
- Thursday 12 June 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Coffee area, Battcock Centre.
- Series: Hills Coffee Talks; organiser: Charles Walker.
Thu 12 Jun 11:15: The enigmatic long-period radio transients
The long-period radio transients are a newly-discovered class of Galactic radio sources that produce pulsed emission lasting tens of seconds to several minutes, repeating on timescales of tens of minutes to hours. Such cadence is unprecedented, and there is currently no clear emission mechanism or progenitor that can explain the observations, which include complex polarisation behaviour, pulse microstructure, and activity windows that range from hours to decades.
Could they be ultra-long period magnetars, and connected to the phenomenon of Fast Radio Bursts? Could they be white dwarf pulsars, defying the expectations of the magnetic field evolution of these stellar remnants? In this talk I will describe the ten discoveries made so far, informative simulations of their evolution, the potential physical explanations, and the prospects for detecting more of these sources in ongoing and upcoming radio surveys, that will help uncover their true nature.
- Speaker: Prof. Natasha Hurley-Walker (Curtin University)
- Thursday 12 June 2025, 11:15-12:00
- Venue: Martin Ryle Seminar Room, Kavli Institute.
- Series: Hills Coffee Talks; organiser: Charles Walker.
Fri 13 Jun 16:00: The splendours of Isfahan, Iran, enabled by Late Quaternary earthquake faulting and drainage reversal
Abstract not available
- Speaker: James Jackson
- Friday 13 June 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Tea Room, Old House.
- Series: Bullard Laboratories Tea Time Talks; organiser: David Al-Attar.
Thu 06 Nov 15:00: Title to be confirmed
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Antonio Pellegrino, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath
- Thursday 06 November 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: Seminar Room West, Room A0.015, Ray Dolby Centre, Cavendish Laboratory.
- Series: Physics and Chemistry of Solids Group; organiser: Stephen Walley.