The 2025 InterCDT Student Conference this June was organised by three postgraduate students studying at Churchill College: Reece McCoy (G20), Celia Chen (G22), and Juliana Ferraro (G23). PhD students from participating Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) around the UK came to Cambridge University on 26 and 27 June 2025. The conference aims to encourage postgraduate students to practice presenting and networking in a friendly environment before presenting at more discipline-focussed conferences in the summer.
Celia Chen (G22) gained experience as lead organiser for Churchill’s third annual two-minute thesis competition, ‘2MT’, in 2023. ‘2MT’ challenges members of the MCR to take to the stage of Wolfson Hall to explain their research to a general audience in just two minutes with the help of only one slide without animations. Presenters are tasked with explaining what their research is about, why it is interesting, and what they have found, whilst also avoiding jargon and explaining terminology.
Similarly to both the College’s 2MT and the Conference on Everything, the 2025 InterCDT Student Conference is organised entirely by students, for students. This is the sixth annual InterCDT Student Conference and past locations have included Durham and Birmingham. Reece McCoy (G20) had co-organised the prior two InterCDT Student Conferences and made it his mission to unite students in Cambridge for a hat-trick before concluding his PhD.
The broad themes this year were sustainability and soft matter. The invited Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) were:
- Nanoscience and Nanotechnology CDT – University of Cambridge
- Sensor CDT – University of Cambridge
- Formulation Engineering CDT – University of Birmingham
- Topological Design CDT – University of Birmingham
- Fluid Dynamics – University of Leeds
- Molecules to Products CDT – University of Leeds
- Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation CDT – Durham University, University of Leeds and the University of Edinburgh
- Engineered Tissues for Discovery, Industry and Medicine CDT (LifETIME) – Aston University, University of Birmingham and the University of Glasgow
Prizes at this year’s InterCDT Student Conference were awarded for three categories:
Long presentation
- John Cooper: Topological Design CDT, University of Birmingham
- Benjamin Devenish: Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation CDT, Durham University
Short presentation
- Emily Maxwell: Engineered Tissues for Discovery, Industry and Medicine CDT (LifETIME), University of Glasgow
- Vinothan Vaheesan: Topological Design CDT, University of Birmingham
Poster presentation
- Juliana Ferraro: Sensor CDT, University of Cambridge (Churchill College)
- Ella Sapsford: Soft Matter for Formulation and Industrial Innovation CDT, University of Edinburgh
“This student-led conference offers a unique platform for PhD researchers from Doctoral Training Centres across the UK to connect, collaborate and share their work in a supportive and vibrant environment.”
Celia Chen (G22)
Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs)
Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) are collaborations between universities and leading industry, business, government, and charity partners that provide structured PhD training. Funded by UKRI, CDTs offer fully-funded four-year Studentships. In some cases, they may offer an integrated Masters in the first year, known as a 1+3 programme. Unlike traditional PhDs, students in a CDT train as part of a cohort, benefitting from structured learning and collaboration, and focussing on both academic knowledge and practical skills. Undertaking a doctoral programme through a CDT provides the opportunity to engage in research collaborations with leading researchers from across the partnership, which fosters an innovative and engaging postgraduate research experience.
Support from the College and its donors
A grant from the College’s Tizard New Opportunities Fund has helped to contribute towards the costs of hosting the 2025 InterCDT Student Conference. The conference is organised without registration fees so that cost is not a deterrent to any students.
The Tizard New Opportunities Fund was established in honour of Dick Tizard (1917–2005), a Founding Fellow of Churchill College. Its purpose is to facilitate the investigation and application of ground-breaking ideas, both to promote intellectual advancement and to bring recognition to the College. The Fund provides invaluable opportunities for current students to expand their knowledge while studying at Churchill.
Celia Chen
(G22)
Meet the Churchill students
Both Reece (G20) and Celia (G22) are part of the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology CDT (NanoCDT).
Celia has been freezing perovskites in a glass host matrix to trap the active phase and improve stability to unlock the full potential of the next generation of photovoltaic and electronic devices. They have employed bespoke scanning electron microscopy to investigate the complex interactions between the glass-perovskite composites. The outstanding spatial resolution offered by this cutting-edge technique, pioneered by the University of Cambridge, is unparalleled in mapping intricate nanostructures. Through their research, they aim to shed light on the black-yellow perovskite phase transition and gain a deeper understanding of the interfacial interactions at play. This knowledge holds great potential for advancing the development of perovskite-based technologies. Read more here.
The intestine is a complex organism hosting a diverse microbiome that is ever increasingly implicated in disease. Modelling the complexity of the human intestine and extracting valuable information is often difficult to do outside of the body. By combining biological techniques with electrical measurements, Reece’s project aims to create electrically-integrated models of the intestine outside of the human body at varying levels of biological complexity and studying the response to pathogens, toxins and pharmaceuticals. This technology enables the recording of biological phenomena in models that match human physiology. Reece is the co-founder of Electra Bio, a spin out company created to translate the techniques developed in the lab during his PhD, with the aim of expediting drug discovery. Read more here.
Juliana (G23) is part of the Sensor CDT. During her PhD, she is exploring the clinical procedures that would be needed for aerosol delivery of drugs to treat respiratory diseases. Her research aims to develop lab-based models and measurement devices to understand the behaviour of aerosol interactions with tissue using a combination of optical and electrical sensing techniques. By creating complex 3D models to mimic disease, the effect of different treatment parameters can be investigated, reducing the need for animal testing. The insights obtained from this work have the potential to accelerate the translation of treatments at the intersection of personalised medicine and targeted drug delivery.