Celebrating our academics on International Women’s Day

To mark International Women's Day, we are highlighting just some of the major contributions UCL women have made to the world in the last year, helping to inspire the next generation. In the past 12 months, the women in our community have not only played a vital role in the response to vaccine engineering and the coronavirus pandemic, but have also continued to advance their disciplines, producing groundbreaking research, informing government policy, winning vital research grants, taking on prominent new leadership roles and much more. While it is impossible to mention all their achievements, this snapshot provides an idea of the scale and scope of their impact here and across the globe. Thanks to a team led by Professor Rebecca Shipley (UCL Institute of Healthcare Engineering), a low-cost breathing aid developed in just 10 days by UCL, UCLH and Mercedes-AMG High Performance Powertrains, called the UCL-Ventura , is helping to cut deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals around the world. The CPAP device is quick to produce and easy for staff to learn to use. Many of UCL's experts are also playing an important role in advising on the UK Government's coronavirus response, both directly and indirectly. Professor Judith Breuer (UCL Division of Infection & Immunity) is advising the Government on the use of viral genomics to help control the outbreak, and Professor Susan Michie (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences) is advising the UK Government-convened advisory group, the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behavioural Science.