Anouska Nithyanandan - Head of Research Development

Anouska joined Research and Innovation in May 2017. She offers LSE academics strategic advice and support to develop successful research proposals that secure grant funding from a range of UK and international funders.

Anouska’s first-hand experience of academia gives her a valuable insight into what it takes to translate great research ideas into highly successful grant applications.

Anouska has a first class MEng degree in Mechanical Engineering and Business Management from the University of Warwick, and a PhD in Biomaterials Engineering from University College London.

Prior to joining LSE, Anouska worked as an academic at UCL where she sourced and secured significant grant funding for her own research and that of her team, and worked alongside academic partners and industry to build collaborative research projects. She is therefore particularly interested in high impact interdisciplinary research that draws together social science with STEM subjects, as well as supporting early career researchers with their first grant applications. 

Gwen Cheve - Senior Research Development Manager 

Gwen joined Research and Innovation (R&I) in April 2023. In this role she provides strategic support and advice to academics so that they can develop their research ideas into distinct and fundable projects.

Gwen has a PhD in Politics and International Studies (feminist security studies and post conflict reconstruction) which she studied at the University of Warwick. She has a background in Anthropology and Political Science (BSc) and International Development: Conflict, Security and Development (MSc).

Prior to working in R&I, she worked at the University of Warwick as a Research Development Officer initially providing research development support to the Faculty of Social Science and then co-managing the institutional Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). Gwen has also worked at the University of Oxford as a Research Facilitator at the Department of Sociology supporting academic and research staff in securing funding for their research projects.

Liberty Gibson - Senior Research Development Manager

Liberty joined Research and Innovation (R&I) in July 2024. Previously working as a Research and Innovation Funding Manager at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) supporting a large portfolio of funding applications from charity and pilot grants, through to large scale multidisciplinary UK and international grants.

This includes external collaboration/multi partnership applications and Centre bids. Responsibilities also included developing and implementing new pre-award research processes, as well as influencing strategy around public engagement in research.

Liberty brings a wealth of expertise on the funding landscape, pre-award sector experience and a commendable track record of securing research funding. At LSE, Liberty will use her extensive experience to provide expert funding support to academics. 

Julia Howse - Senior Research Development Manager

As Senior Research Development Manager, Julia's role includes supporting academic colleagues in developing and submitting research proposals.

Prior to joining LSE, she worked at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, and at King’s College London, supporting research applications in a number of fields. Her earlier experience includes supporting the basic science funding committees at the Wellcome Trust.

Barbara Kolaric - Senior Research Development Manager

Barbara joined Research and Innovation in August 2019, as the Committees and Governance Manager in the Division’s Policy Team. In that role, she was primarily responsible for coordinating activities and meetings of the School’s Research Committee, its working groups and sub-committees, while supporting the Research Development Team (RDT) part-time. Her role with RDT became full-time in March 2022. 

Prior to joining LSE, she worked as Policy Manager for the American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia, and has held various positions in the Croatian public administration in the area of research and innovation policy, planning of calls and evaluation of innovative projects to be funded using EU Structural and Investment Funds and grant funding of technology transfer activities at Croatian universities.

She is also an LSE graduate, having completed the MSc in Politics and Government in the European Union at the European Institute in 2013.

Chelsea Oware - Research Development Officer

Chelsea supports the Team's Senior Research Development and Research Development Managers across various areas including Philosophy, Psychology, Mathematics and European Institute.

Chelsea has an MSc in Social Research Methods from LSE and a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Nottingham. She has a range of passions and interests from intersectional feminism, academic decolonisation and social movement theory, to musical theatre, visual arts and 90s RnB and Hip Hop. In her free time, Chelsea is a visual artist interested in abstract artwork.

Prior to joining LSE’s Research Development Team, Chelsea worked as a researcher at Executive Search firm Odgers Berndtson in the Higher Education practice, learning the ins and outs of the Higher Education landscape from an external perspective. She has also worked with organisations such as the Electoral Reform Society, UNESCO and the Centre for African Studies in Turin.

Henna Patel - Senior Research Development Manager

Henna joined LSE in December 2022. Her role builds on her previous experience working in research development at the University of Westminster and the University of Reading. Henna has also worked as a Policy Manager at the Economic and Social Research Council, giving her a unique insight into the way funders work. Henna maintains a keen interest in politics, since completing an MA in European Politics and a BA in Political Science and Philosophy. 

Dorota Rejman - Research Development Manager

Dorota joined Research and Innovation in 2007. She holds an Msc in International Finance and Accounting from LSE and is a qualified accountant. She excels in supporting LSE faculty in their pursuit of funding in the UK and internationally, providing an interface between applicants and funders throughout the contractual development. Dorota has extensive experience in managing complex and informational projects for a variety of major funders such as UKRI, the European Commission, DfID and Deutsche Bank.

EU research and innovation policy, challenges affecting research funding in general and in exploring novel means of sharing good practice are among Dorota’s current interests. In May 2021 she presented at INORMS (Hiroshima) on how universities can demonstrate to funders their capacity to govern and administer research effectively. 

Kerry Hocken - Research Accountant and Head of Research Awards 

Kerry joined LSE in 1990 and after an 18 month stint in Finance Division she moved to what was the Research and Consultancy Office. Kerry has seen Research and Innovation grow from a small team of 6 looking after research awards with annual income in the region of £4m to a team with 30 members of staff and research income in excess of £30m.

Since 1996 Kerry has been the LSE’s Research Accountant and later took full line management responsibility for the Research Awards Team. Kerry is responsible for the School’s research and accounting procedures and processes, providing guidance for the Research and Innovation and the School on research related finance, resource and accounting matters.

She is also responsible for managing and producing the HEFCE 10 year forecasts, year-end returns and HESA Financial Statistical returns in relation to research grant income and the financial data for REF.  

Kerry is committed to ensuring that the Research Awards Team strives towards providing exceptional service delivery and support to the LSE research community, helping to contribute towards the success of the School’s research. 

Fatima Arshad - Research Awards Manager

Fatima joined Research and Innovation in February 2023 as a Research Awards Manager, having completed her MA in Social Development from the University of Sussex.

Before pursuing her postgraduate degree in the UK, she served as a counsellor in the Student Affairs Department at Nixor College, Pakistan, where she had direct interactions with students and facilitated communication between various departments including the Dean's Office.

Fatima has also gained valuable skills in management and leadership through her diverse professional background.

Nazifa Azad - Research Awards Manager

Nazifa joined Research and Innovation as an Administrative Assistant in August 2023 having completed her BSc in International Relations at LSE. She became Research Awards Manager in 2024. In her current role she supports several research centres and academic departments in the management of their research projects.

Alistair Brown - Research Awards Manager

Alistair joined LSE Research and Innovation in January 2023 as Research Awards Manager, supporting several academic units in the management of their research projects.

Alistair has over 8 years experience of working in the Higher Education Sector, at the Universities of Huddersfield, Leeds and Bradford, in both pre and post award roles as well as working in central finance.  Alistair has a degree in Accounting, as well as being part qualified ACCA.

Catherine Cunningham - Senior Research Finance Manager 

Catherine joined LSE in September 2023. Her remit is to help departments and centres manage their research grant portfolios, with a particular emphasis on financial management.

She has previously worked at a number of prestigious research-focussed organisations including the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (now part of the Francis Crick Institute), the Alan Turing Institute and Imperial College London. As a consequence, Catherine has extensive experience of dealing with funders such as the European Commission and the UKRI Research Councils amongst others.

Passionate about research, Catherine started her career as a research scientist with a PhD from UCL before leaving lab work to move into research administration and re-training as a CIMA chartered accountant. 

Talisa Cruz  - Research Awards Admin Assistant 

Talisa joined LSE in June 2024. Since coming to the UK from the Philippines, Talisa has provided administrative services in various industries such as security, health and finance. Talisa works alongside the other Research Awards Admin Assistant in supporting the Research Awards Managers and the wider team.

Jane Ellison - Senior Research Finance Manager

Jane supports a broad portfolio of research awards for the School’s academic research community. She has various background experience which includes scientific training, industrial research leadership, management within small business and self-employment.

With her skills and attributes, Jane underpins LSE by ensuring an optimum use of project resource which enables the academic research community to achieve the best results from grant awards.

Natalie Hua - Research Awards Manager

Natalie joined LSE Research and Innovation in June 2020 as Research Awards Manager, supporting several research centres and academic departments in the management of their research projects. Prior to that she worked for Toyota Financial Services, Australia. Natalie has a Bachelor of Commerce, Majors: Finance and International Commerce from Monash University.

Helen Leung- Senior Research Compliance Manager 

Helen is the Senior Research Compliance Manager at LSE Research and Innovation.

Helen brings experience in research, teaching, quality assurance, and partner and project management from various universities in the UK and Australia, including the Open University, University of Nottingham, and Griffith University. Helen holds a PhD in Linguistics, a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in Linguistics, and a Bachelor of Commerce. 

Benjamin Nevius - Senior Research Finance Manager

Benjamin joined LSE in 2008. In his current role he helps departments and centres manage their research grant portfolios, provides training and support to his colleagues on the team, and assists the research accountant with her duties. He has experience working with all types of funders including the European Commission and Research Councils. 

Prior to joining LSE, he worked for over four years on the Pre-Award team of the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of Sponsored Projects, helping staff from the National Museum of Natural History locate funding opportunities and prepare and submit grant proposals, with emphasis on proposals to the National Science Foundation.

Before that, Benjamin worked at the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory services where he managed contracts for a government-funded juvenile delinquency prevention programme. 

He has a master's degree in social work from the University of Texas at Austin with a specialisation in non-profit administration and planning.

Sofia Pavlaki - Research Awards Manager [On maternity leave]

Sofia joined LSE Research and Innovation in August 2023 as a Research Awards Manager, supporting several research centres and academic departments in the management of their research projects.

Before joining LSE Sofia was working as a co-ordinator in Film, TV and Advertising. She has extensive experience in finance management for big TV Productions and Commercials.

Prior to that, Sofia worked in the Health Sector after completing an MSc degree from Oxford Brookes University in 2015.

Edward Perrin - Research Awards Manager

Edward joined Research and Innovation as a Research Awards Manager in August 2021. He previously worked as the Administrator: Finance, Projects and Facilities for 3 years supporting the LSE Department of Mathematics in its financial and operational processes.

Prior to this, Edward worked for the University of Cambridge Biomedical Services and Division of Anaesthesia in a financial and operational capacity. 

Edward has a BSc (Hons) Degree in International Management from Anglia Ruskin University, which included a year studying at the Hogeschool Zuyd (Maastricht) as part of the Erasmus programme. He has a PRINCE2 qualification and is working towards a CIMA professional qualification.

Karen Samuel - Research Awards Manager

Karen joined LSE as a Research Awards Manager in December 2024. She has over twenty years of experience in providing research & innovation professional support, gained from various Higher Education institutions including Institute of Education, Kings College London, London School of Hygiene, University of Westminster, London Metropolitan, Open University, Kent & UCL.   

Karen is passionate about supporting researchers. She is PGCert in Management, and PgDip in Higher Education Administration Leadership & Management.

Valeria Scacchi - Research Awards Manager

Valeria joined LSE as a Research Awards Manager in May 2023. She has extensive skills in grant administration specialising in the charity and academic sector. She worked for the University of Roehampton in various roles for over seven years and is experienced in designing impact studies for deep analysis of charitable activities.

Valeria was awarded a PhD by the University of Roehampton in 2022 with a thesis titled: “Reconceptualising professional learning and development through a Froebelian lens: Early Childhood educators’ perspectives on professional identities in the UK and Italy”. Her research is concerned with a reconceptualisation of professional development for educators in early childhood education and care and aims at developing and promoting an alternative approach to professional development and learning that is situated in the Froebelian tradition.

Valeria has experience in the academic field as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Roehampton and supported the Early Childhood Research Centre as a Research Officer for several years. 

Deborah Tupou  - Research Awards Admin Assistant 

Deborah joined LSE in February 2023. Educated in New Zealand at Epsom Girls Grammar, she has over 30 years experience in Administration working in both non-profit organisations and the private sector.

Deborah has also studied at Massey University in social work, community health and psychology. Her working career has mainly been in social services, councils, health, and government.

Agnes Yung - Research Awards Manager

Agnes joined Research and Innovation as Research Awards Manager in January 2023. She previously worked as Student Research Assistant in the Department of Art History at University of Göttingen in Germany, providing support in course preparation and research projects.

Prior to that, she worked for various organisations in the arts sector in Hong Kong, including a governmental museum office, a charity and a statutory funding body. Agnes has a master's degree in Art History from University of Göttingen.

Jo Hemmings - Head of Research Governance and Culture

Jo oversees the work of the Research Governance and Culture Team, which broadly focuses on supporting the research environment for academic colleagues.  She manages the School's submission to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) on behalf of the REF Strategy Committee and supports the team’s work on research ethics, research integrity and knowledge exchange and impact (KEI). 

Jo joined Research and Innovation in 2000 and has overseen the School’s submissions to four national research exercises to date.  Jo has a BA in English from the University of Liverpool and an MA in Renaissance Studies from Birkbeck.

Myriam Fellous-Sigrist - Research Ethics Manager 

Myriam supports the work of the Research Ethics Committee and the Senior Research Ethics Manager. She oversees research ethics applications submitted to the Research Ethics Committee for review and supports researchers, students and colleagues in other professional services divisions.

Myriam joined Research and Innovation in 2022. She has a PhD in Digital Humanities from King’s College London; her thesis analysed the ethical and legal impact of digital technologies on audiovisual archives, with a focus on oral history collections.

She previously worked at the British Library, providing copyright and data protection support for a large sound heritage project. Before that she worked at University College London Library where she helped research staff and students navigate expectations around research data management, research ethics and funders’ data sharing policies.

Lyn Grove - Senior Research Ethics Manager

Lyn assists the Research Governance and Culture Team in matters regarding research governance with particular reference to research ethics and (mis)conduct.

She provides advice and support on the School’s research ethics procedures and supports the work of the Research Ethics Committee. She plays a key role in ensuring that the School’s research ethics policy reflects sector-wide good practice. She also supports the School’s research ethics training and development activities.

Lyn has been at LSE since 2001. For many years she was the centre manager of the Centre for the Analysis of Time Series.

Lyn has a PhD from the UCL Institute of Education. Her thesis examined the effects of funding policies on academic research.

Casimira Headley-Walker - Committees and Governance Officer

Casimira manages the School’s Research Committees, including the Research Committee, REFSC, and KEFSC, scheduling, writing and receiving reports, and preparing minutes. She also runs Research Centre Reviews for the School, as well as dealing with committee related questions.

She joined the School from Birkbeck, where she is currently completing an MA in Historical Research.

Wendy Leung - REF Support Manager

Wendy joined Research and Innovation in February 2019 as REF Support Manager, co-ordinating the REF 2021 submission with a focus on the technical aspects of REF requirements and an oversight of the equality, diversity and inclusivity analyses in relation to REF 2021. She will continue to provide advice and training across the School in preparation for its submission to the next REF.

She has diverse experience in enabling research and researchers in the higher education sector. This includes several years in medical research and academic publishing as managing editor for a large portfolio of Psychology journals at Routledge, followed by some time at both KCL and UCL supporting research strategy across the life and medical sciences.

Nathalie Van der Elst - Senior Research Culture Manager [On maternity leave]

Nathalie joined Research and Innovation (R&I) in October 2020 as Research Development Manager where she provided strategic support and guidance for LSE faculty by facilitating and developing research grant opportunities to secure UK and international funding.

Nathalie completed a MSc in International Development and Humanitarian Emergencies from LSE and received her BA in International Relations from Boston University. Her interests include gender justice and care work.

Prior to working in R&I, Nathalie worked in Philanthropy and Global Engagement (PaGE) at LSE where she managed a diverse portfolio cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with UK and international trusts and foundations and the School. 

She moved to R&I's Research Governance and Culture Team in June 2024 taking up a new position to support both the Culture and Communication workstream of the Research for the World strategy, and the People, Culture and Environment part of REF2029, as well as working across academic units and PS divisions to help support a healthy culture for researchers.

Amanda Burgess - Head of Systems and Operations

Amanda is responsible for developing and maintaining supported and effective systems and data that underpin the LSE-wide research lifecycle and LSE 2030 Research for the World strategy, and support evidence-based decision making for funded research activity, innovation activities, and research impact. She oversees operations across the division and plays a pivotal role in ensuring that the division optimises its functioning in a blended working environment. 

She has worked in Research and Innovation since 1993, undertaking various roles including head of the Research Awards Team and a four-year secondment to LSE Enterprise. She has a strong commitment to customer service and service delivery, and providing infrastructure and tools to enable staff to efficiently perform their roles.

Miguel Alcalde – Research and Innovation Systems Assistant

Miguel joined the R&I Systems and Operations team in July 2024, after being a member of the LSE community for over 10 years. He provides system administration, reporting, and user support across all R&I systems, with a particular expertise in the Research Ethics Submission System.

Before his current position, Miguel’s diverse career has included teaching, research, and professional services roles at various universities. At LSE, he worked in the Data and Technology Services Division for many years and was a PhD candidate and GTA in the Department of Anthropology. His previous experience also includes a role as Faculty Liaison Officer in the Innovation and Enterprise team at the University of Kent.

With a unique background in both Information Technology and Anthropology, Miguel brings a user-centred approach to his work. He is dedicated to understanding the human aspects of systems and processes, ensuring that his solutions are not only technically sound but also truly meet the needs of the LSE community.

Charlotte Creamore - Research Development Administrative Assistant

Charlotte joined LSE Research and Innovation in August 2022 having completed an MA in English Literature at UCL and receiving a first class BA from the University of Warwick.

Throughout her four years at university, she has contributed to a number of higher education projects, working alongside organisations such as The Sutton Trust and The National Literacy Trust. 

Milo Thomson - Data Officer

Milo joined the team very recently. He has previously worked in the NHS research department, assisting in implementing and running research projects.

Milo then moved to University of Surrey working in the Research Ethics and Governance team, providing advice on governance and data protection for staff and students.

Crispin Williams - R&I Systems Manager

Crispin joined Research and Innovation in late 2018. He is the system administrator and expert user for Pure and provides first line support for all Research and Innovation systems.

Before joining the team, Crispin spent a number of years working for the NHS and has provided support in the implementation of various online systems to provide greater automation and improve management information within a corporate setting.

Christopher Daley - Head of R&I Evidence and Analysis

Chris joined LSE in September 2023. His role involves gathering evidence on the internal and external R&I landscape and producing reports, briefings and presentations which will inform strategic decision making and contribute to LSE fulfilling the objectives of the Research for the World strategy.

Chris holds a PhD in English Literature from the University of Westminster and originally worked in academia before moving into research management. He previously worked at Brunel University London and Royal Holloway in a variety of roles which involved research information management, open scholarship advocacy, research development and the implementation of strategic research programmes.

In 2022, Chris founded the Engaged Humanities Lab at Royal Holloway, an initiative that created diverse partnerships between academia, the heritage sector and local industry as well as being a vehicle for promoting the societal value of arts and humanities research.

Chris is an active member of ARMA and a mentor for the ARMA/AHRC/RLUK Research Catalyst Programme.  

Mariane Bignotto - R&I Funds Manager

Mariane joined LSE in September 2023 to implement activities related to hypothecated funding and major research and innovation projects, whilst supporting the progress of funded strategic projects to ensure they are delivered within the time and budget allocated. As part of the Evidence and Analysis Team, she will continuously monitor the effectiveness of internal funding schemes to ensure they are meeting or exceeding their expected purpose.

Mariane worked as a project coordinator for bioinformatics research at LSHTM and prior to that was the Executive Assistant for the Research PVC at the University of Westminster. Mariane has over 8 years of experience in research project management and a proven track record of overseeing research milestones, liaising with external stakeholders or partners and ensuring project activities are on track and auditable.

She supported the last REF submission, overseeing and advising on the progress of impact case studies and strategic output targets. Her strengths are facilitating discussions amongst a diverse range of researchers whilst building partnerships with collaborators and funders, and ensuring research projects are meeting expected targets.

Mariane has a keen interest in public policy and language usage, human-computer interactions and bias in algorithms. She is a graduate of linguistics, with further graduate training in social policy, data analysis and programming. 

Andreea Gavrila - Senior Research and Innovation Engagement Manager

Andreea joined LSE in July 2024 to develop and deliver a stakeholder engagement plan that takes a long-term strategic view of research and innovation. She will provide documentation and analysis for the PVCR and R&I leadership team. 

Prior to joining LSE, Andreea worked at King's College London supporting the Vice President for R&I and leading on key initiatives such as launching a revised IP Code of Practice, facilitating external visits from HE and industry and driving multidisciplinary cross-university projects.

Before King's, she worked at Imperial College London at a global challenge institute for security science and technology and in the Vice Provost for Research and Enterprise office. At Imperial Andreea's work focused on impact, postgraduate education and research collaborations with industry partners.

Andreea has an academic background in International Relations, Economics and Southeast Asian Studies with a keen interest in literature in translation and decolonisation. 

Nicholas Ansell – Impact Monitoring Manager

Nicholas also sits within our Innovation and Impact Team. View his bio here.