Cookson Scholars celebrate diversity
23 Jun 2025
Annual conference showcases multidisciplinary research excellence from one side of the globe to the other.
The annual Cookson Scholars Conference highlighted the programme's multidisciplinary research excellence with 17 diverse presentations.
The conference brought together postgraduate researchers, supervisors, and colleagues from the Dual Award PhD Programme between our University and the University of Melbourne.
Presentations included A tale of two states: groundwater arsenic contamination in Bihar, India and Victoria, Australia; Investigating the role of systemic inflammation in the development of post-stroke cognitive impairment; The hidden structure of colour: a new perspective on the Australian fiddler beetle; and research towards a new, green, optimized sailing practice for the modern shipping sector.
They were a true showcase of the breadth, depth, and impact of research across this unique international collaboration.
The presentations, each followed by a Q&A session, were judged by academics from both institutions. They declared the winners:
Helen Barber, School of Natural Sciences, University of Manchester
Biochemical characterisation of a novel pathway for homotaurine metabolism in Burkholderia.
One of the four essential macronutrients, sulfur is required in some capacity by all life, moving through the environment in the biogeochemical sulfur cycle. Understanding this cycle is essential to understanding the role sulfur plays in life. Helen used the bacterium Burkholderia sp. to reveal a novel pathway for metabolism in this cycle and bioinformatics analysis to explore the distribution of this type of metabolism throughout bacterial species.
Dilshan Delgama, University of Melbourne
Digital tool preferences of parents and caregivers of young children with cochlear implants.
The study aims to explore the parent and caregiver preferences for a digital intervention to support families throughout the cochlear implantation process through an anonymous, online survey of parents and caregivers of children who received a cochlear implant before the age of three in Australia or New Zealand. Preliminary findings showed that parents and carers would welcome a digital tool to access evidence-based resources and peer support.
Further information
The Cookson Scholars Conference is an annual event for a joint PhD programme, which is part of an international research partnership between The University of Manchester and the University of Melbourne.
Postgraduate researchers on the joint PhD programme represent a diverse range of faculties from across the two institutions.
For more information, visit: