Postmenopausal women experience an increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk due to ageing, decreased physical activity and increased body weight. This risk is further increased due to hormonal changes in menopause that may lead to elevated blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and poor blood vessel function. Worryingly, this increased cardiovascular risk can shorten a woman's lifespan.
Researchers from the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Medicine, Health, and Life Sciences at Swansea University are actively collaborating with other Welsh Universities and Health Boards to investigate ways to mitigate the risk of cardiovascular disease in women going through the menopause. Women's health is an active research theme across Swansea University’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes, facilitating a broad research group comprised of scientists and clinicians in fields including lifestyle, data and social sciences, medicine, engineering, and public health.
This Swansea University interdisciplinary research group has a clear focus in exploring ways to mitigate cardiovascular disease risk in women going through the menopause.
This will be achieved by a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, cohort studies, randomised controlled trials and qualitative interviews and focus groups.
A recent study from the group explored the interplay between lifestyle factors and cardiovascular health of postmenopausal women to identify the most beneficial physical exercise amounts for mitigating cardiometabolic risk– the conclusions of which were discussed at a UK All Party Parliamentary Group meeting on the impact of adjunct therapies on the menopause (14th Nov 2023).
In a broader context, the group aims to determine which cardiometabolic factors impact on CVD risk in postmenopausal women and by exploring the physiological mechanisms through which, for example, lifestyle interventions might influence their cardiovascular health. The group is also assessing the economic benefits of lifestyle interventions in terms of healthcare costs and improved quality of life.

Eyewitnesses to atrocities around the world can use their mobile phones to record evidence in real time. This citizen evidence can be useful to legal accountability efforts, particularly when investigators have been unable to gain access to the sites of these atrocities.
A key challenge is how to harness this evidence for human rights fact-finding and accountability. The volume of citizen evidence generated in contemporary conflicts is enormous, and investigators may struggle to find the most relevant pieces of evidence for a particular case. It can also be traumatic to view and analyse this evidence, and concerns abide about how it can meet the admissibility standards required by courts.
The OSR4Rights team, led by Professor Yvonne McDermott Rees at the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law, has sought to examine the extent to which open source evidence is transforming human rights fact-finding, and how technology can help overcome some of the barriers to its use in court.
As well as legal research based on many interviews with human rights investigators, these interdisciplinary projects have developed new technological tools for the preservation and analysis of open-source evidence. These projects involve collaborations with academics from Heriot-Watt University, University of Essex, University of Manchester, University of California, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University and Ateneo de Manila University, and industry partners GLAN, Amnesty International, various United Nations bodies, Syrian Archive, WAPR – Philippines, VFRAME, and Huridocs.
OSR4Rights has provided training and tools for the investigators, lawyers and judges pursuing accountability for human rights violations. The ultimate beneficiaries are the victims of those violations seeking justice, and witnesses to atrocities, who often take enormous personal risks in recording and sharing this evidence online.
Methodologies for human rights investigations
The team has delivered training to groups such as UN fact-finding bodies, Syrian investigators, Uyghur expat groups, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, INTERPOL, Europol, and United States Congressional staffers, to ensure that best practices for conducting investigations are followed and incorporated into methodologies.
By providing methodological guidance, they have ensured that investigations are carried out to the highest international ethical and legal standards, and that open-source evidence is admissible in court.
Development of tools to assist investigations
The technical tools developed to facilitate the conduct of open-source investigations are saving investigators time and resources – enabling them to focus on critical analysis rather than admin – as well as preserving the chain of custody of information.
The Auto-Archiver tool has been used to preserve thousands of images and videos of evidence of human rights violations in Ukraine, Israel/Palestine, Iran, and Myanmar, while FireMap and the hate speech detection tool have been used in investigations in Ethiopia and Sudan.
Informing use of open-source information in legal settings
The OSR4Rights team has extensively shared its research findings in bespoke training and presentations delivered to thousands of lawyers and judges from a range of domestic and international jurisdictions, including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals. The team worked on an open-access guide for judges on evaluating open-source information, which has been published in English, Ukrainian, Arabic, French and Spanish.

We are experiencing more frequent and intense heatwaves as a result of climate change, which are negatively impacting millions of people’s health around the world - including here in the UK.
Pregnant women and their newborn babies are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, with emerging evidence indicating an increased risk of preterm births, low birth weight and severe maternal illness. Despite the growing evidence, there is still much we don't understand about how heat affects pregnant women and their babies.
A key challenge in furthering intelligence and action in this area of research is the complexity of merging climate, environmental and health data, and subject-expertise to fully quantify the impact on mothers’ and babies’ health and modelling the longer-term effects in an increasingly warming world.
The MAGENTA study is led by a multidisciplinary team of geographers, epidemiologists, mathematical modellers, clinicians and immunologists, researching how the exposure to elevated or prolonged heat during pregnancy impacts pregnancy outcomes for people living in selected areas in Wales and London.
The Wellcome Trust has invested £2.2million in MAGENTA, to address multiple gaps in knowledge around the impact, modifying factors and biological mechanisms of exposure to elevated or prolonged heat during pregnancy in the UK. Large-scale analysis of linked temperature, environment and health data within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage Databank (SAIL), a Trusted Research Environment at Swansea University, will be combined with biological samples from a consenting cohort of pregnant women in Wales, as part of a novel approach to improve understanding around the impacts of heat.
Six out of seven of the MAGENTA Project’s senior leadership team are women, leading in their areas of expertise that remain male-dominated. The voices of doctors, midwives, community leads and pregnant women from across local communities will be included in all aspects of the research. MAGENTA is prioritising the voice of women in the research, both for themselves and for our communities.
MAGENTA is partnered with the Kids’ Environment & Health Cohort at University College London and is collaborating with the Office of National Statistics and Administrative Data Research Wales.
MAGENTA is working to address the following research questions:
What are the impacts of exposure to elevated heat during pregnancy in deprived communities, on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in Wales and London?
To what extent are associations observed modified by socio-demographic, housing qualities, and other environmental factors?
What are the impacts of heat stress on biological stress and inflammation measures especially of the placenta for pregnant women in Wales?
How do laboratory-derived biomarkers inform the observations in routinely collected data and can they be used to drive a population level understanding of the impacts of current and future climate change on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes?
The MAGENTA Project is driving research on the impacts of heat stress on women and babies - in doing so MAGENTA also aims to identify vulnerable groups who may be less resilient to climate change. With this evidence and meaningful public and stakeholder engagement, MAGENTA will produce actionable recommendations, maximising the impact of the research outputs on the public, policy makers and practice – and as a result improving health outcomes.

Achieving net-zero requires transformative changes to materials, manufacturing processes and societal attitudes towards product use and waste. At Swansea University's Materials and Manufacturing Research Institute, we bridge fundamental and applied research to drive discovery and innovation in these critical areas.
With a team of dedicated researchers and access to state-of-the-art facilities, the institute is at the forefront of shaping a sustainable and prosperous future. We aim to revolutionize industries such as aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy. From lightweight and high-strength alloys to energy-efficient coatings and novel nanomaterials, our innovations have the potential to transform these industries, making them more efficient, sustainable, and resilient.
We are focussing on the following areas:
· Materials Transition – Transforming how we use and value materials in society
· Materials for future society – Discovery and characterisation of new materials for future needs
· Smart sustainable design and manufacturing – Digital and smart innovations for manufacturing reducing environmental impact and improving efficiency
· Manufacturing technologies for industry, society and global challenges- Co-creating solutions with industry partners and engaging communities to shape policies and practices
In addition to material development, the Institute pioneers cutting-edge manufacturing techniques. By leveraging additive manufacturing, precision engineering, and automation, we optimise processes, reduce waste, and enhance productivity. Embracing Industry 4.0 technologies, we empower businesses to stay competitive in an ever-evolving global marketplace.
The Institute's commitment to community and inclusivity is evident in our collaborative approach. By forging partnerships with leading academic institutions, industry leaders, and governmental organisations, we foster interdisciplinary research and knowledge exchange. This collaborative ecosystem not only drives innovation but also promotes diversity of thought and expertise, enriching our research outcomes.
Interested in collaborating?
Contact us:
Professor Cinzia Giannetti
Professor Matt Carnie

How do we address climate change? How do we provide food and health services for everyone and how do we support a resilient economically viable society?
The Zienkiewicz Institute (ZL) brings together over 150 researchers and expertise from across Swansea University to advance research in Modelling, Data and AI, to pursue applications, translate emergent ideas into step change technologies and deliver responsible solutions to these local and grand problems.
We are focussing on the following areas:
· Climate Action - Developing and propelling innovative solutions in Data Science, Modelling and AI to address the climate emergency
· Agriculture and Health - Leveraging AI to improve agriculture production and support early diagnosis and new treatments of disease
· Materials and Manufacturing - Using computational modelling and data analysis to support high performance materials
· Social Sciences, Humanities and Economy - Developing AI-powered frameworks to examine human behaviours and culture in a digital society
· Foundation and Methods to underpin Modelling, Data Science and AI - Leading the development of innovative, novel methods and techniques in modelling, Data and AI
The ZI is built on Professor Olek Zienkiewicz’s legacy at Swansea University. Olek Zienkiewicz was an engineer and mathematician with a broad vision of modelling the world and using computers to generate and explore data to solve engineering problems. He alongside two others, pioneered Finite Element Methods. This computer-based technique has revolutionised design and analysis procedures in civil, mechanical, aerospace and other branches of engineering since the 1960s.
The ZI brings together scientific and engineering modellers, computer scientists and mathematicians from across the University, connecting with other academics and stakeholders from across the world.
Annual Statistics Over 500 publications Over 300 running research projects
Interested in collaborating?
Contact us:
Professor Arnold Beckmann
Professor Chenfeng Li

T-cells are a population of white blood cells within our immune system that are critical to our defence against disease. T-cells process our dietary fuels (e.g., carbohydrates, protein and fat) to generate energy and building blocks required to generate and maintain a successful immune response. This process is called immune cell metabolism. Unfortunately, T-cells are dysfunctional in certain conditions such as various autoimmune disorders (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis and lupus*) and cancer (e.g., T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia**). As a result of this dysfunction, T-cells derived from these patients have an altered metabolism. Excitingly, targeting this altered metabolic profile either in autoimmunity or leukaemia could lead to the development of new drugs and ultimately enter the clinic.
*It is estimated globally that there are 5 million people living with the autoimmune disease Lupus and a further 18 million with rheumatoid arthritis.
**In the UK there is an average of 791 cases each year of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, mainly affecting very young children between 0 – 4 years old.
Dr Nick Jones and his group are
• Investigating new drugs that target metabolic pathways in dysfunctional T-cells.
• Repurposing clinically available drugs, i.e. using them in another setting than they were originally intended for.
• The team have discovered that repurposing a commonly used, type 2 diabetes drug called canagliflozin, stops T-cells (either derived from autoimmune patients or T-cell leukaemia cells) from functioning.
• The drug may be useful in treating autoimmune disorders, published in Cell Metabolism and supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
• Work is ongoing on the T-cell leukaemia side of the project supported by the Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group and Little Princess Trust.
• It is hoped that both projects can progress towards clinical trials.

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer to affect men, with 52,000 cases diagnosed in the UK per year. The majority of patients have slow growing cancers, but some patients have aggressive disease and require urgent treatment.
Current diagnostic tests, such as the PSA blood test, are not sufficient and early identification of those patients with aggressive disease remains a major challenge. Accurate diagnosis often requires an invasive biopsy which has many associated risks, including potential impotency and incontinence. There remains an unmet need for a non-invasive means of early identification of patients with aggressive prostate cancer, with the potential to limit the need for invasive biopsy, therefore improving the lives of patients with prostate cancer.
To address this challenge, Dr Jason Webber and his team at Swansea University's Medical School have been studying the mechanisms associated with prostate cancer progression. It is widely understood that the tumour microenvironment is complex, and communication between the key players is fundamental to the pathological processes associated with tumour growth and disease progression.
One aspect that is rapidly gaining interest is the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs carry many of the cargoes associated with the cell of origin and can therefore be said to act as a miniature representation of the cell. Importantly, researchers have shown that these EVs can pass through tissues, cross biological barriers, and enter the circulatory system. EVs are therefore present in biological fluids such as blood and urine. We are therefore developing several assays that can detect prostate cancer EVs, either in patient blood or urine. At present, we have two assays focussing on detection of specific genetic material (RNA) contained within EVs, or sugars (glycosaminoglycans) present on the EV surface.
With prostate cancer being a disease that impacts men globally, the team are collaborating with researchers locally (Cardiff), nationally (Newcastle, Nottingham and London) and internationally (Spain, Netherlands and Finland) to tackle the challenges of prostate cancer diagnosis. They also work very closely with the NHS, collaborating with several health boards, allowing us to test our assays on genuine patient samples.
Due to the importance of this research, Dr Webber and his team have received support from several funders including Prostate Cancer UK, Cancer Research Wales and Cancer Research UK.
Results from the team's assays are very promising, showing that they are capable of predicting the outcome of biopsy with greater accuracy than the current PSA blood test.
Dr Webber and his team are now testing their assays on larger cohorts of patient samples. These assays could readily sit alongside existing tests used for prostate cancer diagnosis, providing additional information to both the patient and clinical team to help inform decisions relating to management of disease. Importantly, these assays only require a small sample (less than a teaspoon) of blood or urine so they are non-invasive and, if needed, can be regularly repeated throughout the care process – with no risk to the patient.
By limiting the need for biopsy the team hope to improve the lives of all men undergoing diagnostic testing for prostate cancer. Since the tests are non-invasive there is no associated recovery time – unlike biopsy, which is a surgical procedure, requiring patients and/or family members/carers to take time either away from work or other pursuits.

Crime affects individuals, families, communities, the economy, and society at large, either directly or indirectly. People in the criminal justice system (PCJS) face a complex web of stigma, exclusion, and inequality. Over the last 15 years, little attention has been given to preventing digital exclusion in this group. Without access to technology and the digital world, PCJS can't access essential support and resources in the real world, crucial for helping them to desist from crime.
Dr Gemma Morgan’s research aims to understand digital exclusion among those in the criminal justice system and its impact on their desistance from crime, well-being, and social inclusion. Gemma and a wider team developed the My Journey app, a user-friendly, human-centred, evidence-based digital tool to assist PCJS in desisting from crime and achieving positive outcomes. Furthermore, this technology will help organisations and practitioners in the criminal justice system to adopt evidence-based practice to support people in the CJS and reduce reoffending.
Dr Gemma Morgan collaborated with criminal justice system stakeholders and partnered with the Legal Innovation Lab Wales and Include UK to address digital exclusion. They developed the MyJourney app through systematic literature reviews, co-production, interviews, surveys, focus groups, and UX testing. Other key partners include Welsh Government, HMPPS, Ministry of Justice, HMP Swansea, HMP Parc, Swansea Probation Unit, and the Wallich. The app's development is considered groundbreaking, and Dr Gemma Morgan has received a Fulbright Scholarship at the Centre of Advancing Correctional Excellence, George Mason University. This will explore the potential for the ‘My Journey App’ to be adapted for the US. The project has received funding so far from Welsh Government's SMART Partnership grants, the Ministry of Justice's Prison Leavers Innovation Challenge, and CHERISH-DE.
Dr Gemma Morgan's research led to the creation of the groundbreaking and innovative 'My Journey' app, making a significant impact in the criminal justice system. The app, embedded within Include UK, supports desistance from crime and enhances practitioner support to provide a more tailored approach to the needs of individuals. Furthermore, it's being applied in a Swansea/Neath Port Talbot homeless project to combat homelessness over the next four years, offering valuable empirical insights into digital exclusion among those in the criminal justice system, an underexplored area for the past 15 years.

Semiconductors have enabled our modern world and are the key materials underpinning virtually all the technologies needed to achieve Net Zero.
The challenge is to create advanced semiconductor materials and platforms to enable the Net Zero Revolution; and develop manufacturing processes and supply chains to decarbonize the semiconductor industry.
Led by Professor Paul Meredith, Swansea University, through its new Interdisciplinary Research Institute the Centre for Integrative Semiconductor Materials (CISM) is helping the South Wales Semiconductor Industry address the challenges and opportunities of the Net Zero vision.
The CISM facility is a state-of-the-art, industrially inspired ‘wafer-fab’ capable of processing a large range of current and futuristic semiconductor materials and devices. CISM will provide critical services such as early-stage device prototyping, but also crucially, the ability for industry partners and academic innovators to ‘scale’ device designs and platforms to the batch-stage as proof of manufacturing principle.
Another unique feature of CISM will be the trailblazing of ‘integrative’ concepts – combining different semiconductor materials to deliver unrealised functionality. A particular focus of the CISM program will be power electronics for transport electrification and clean energy (CISM will have the UK’s only pilot line for creating advanced Silicon Carbide (SiC) power electronic components).
Furthermore, to help the sector deliver on Net Zero ambitions the Semiconductor Innovation for Net Zero (SIN_0) project will trial innovative emission reduction strategies in energy generation and storage, and resource and waste stream management. SIN_0 will not only trailblaze the decarbonisation of advanced research infrastructure like CISM, but will also de-risk the interventions that the semiconductor manufacturing industry will need to employ to reduce the carbon footprint of this critical sector rapidly and dramatically.
CISM provides a range of critical underpinning Research & Innovation services alongside bespoke Research & Development i.e., incubation for SMEs, advanced analytical and characterization, modelling and device design, process development, scaling to batch and proof-of-principle.
Along with its Csconnected partners, CISM will deliver the next generation of advanced semiconductor technology, not just for NetZero, but allied areas such as healthcare and optoelectronics.
CISM will trailblaze solutions for the decarbonization of semiconductor manufacturing and for reducing the emissions of advanced research infrastructure.
CISM will help train the scientists and engineers to fuel the growth of the South Wales (and UK) semiconductor industry. The South Wales semiconductor industry already provides around 2400 high paid jobs in the region, contributing £277M per annum (GVA). This is set to grow to 6500 jobs by 2030 with substantial inward investment already underway.

A portfolio of Swansea University based research is focused on operations management, organisational innovation and supply chain research within the context of health and care provision in the Welsh NHS. The ambition is to create an economic and environmentally sustainable health and care service for the community by harnessing the talents of NHS staff with the support of robust research of high impact.
Focused on driving process improvement, sustainability and innovation, recent projects have included:
Repurposing farming estate to grow fresh sustainable produce, and provide patient therapies, exercises, social interaction and improved mental health.
Rethinking waste streams and changing old mindsets.
Capturing and cleaning the steam and heat from hospital processes to use to support crop growing.
Using waste land for solar farming to offset energy bills and to assure a low-cost sustainable NHS service.
Recycling equipment and materials that benefit society including the repurposing of beds from temporary Covid hospitals to local children to alleviate sleep poverty.
Rethinking the role of the central pharmacy in reducing medicine wastes and packaging.
Recycling hospital consumable items to convert into new products of value to non-health supply chains.
Questioning the design of future hospitals and how efficiencies can be generated through better operating theatre designs and waste free flows.
Studies have been contextual and participative with preferred methodologies including those aimed at solving problems - case study analysis, participative action research and experiment cycles that unite academics and professionals.
The research is delivering significant impact for stakeholders (NHS staff, the Welsh Government, key clinical professions, the patient, local community and local environment) and academics across a range of fields of study (operations management, environmental management, supply chain management, innovation management and change management). Immediately, this is in the form of resource efficiency for the organisation and in total cost of ownership reductions. New impact has also been generated through the establishment of new community impact companies that are capable of generating profits and revenues that make the service provided ‘free’.
In the health and care context where governance is key, there have been many tangible and intangible benefits of the research including improvements in staff and patient morale, patient and process safety, the delivery of care (in terms of access, location and form), and in operational costs (actual savings, reduced avoidable costs, less waste, less effort and such like).
Swansea University’s Professor Nick Rich, Professor Gareth Davies and Dr Gary Walpole are collaborating on an ambitious portfolio of operations management, organisational innovation, and supply chain research to create an economic and environmentally sustainable health and care service for the community.

Globally, invertebrate pests cause hundreds of billions of pounds worth of damage to arable crops and forests every year, impacting on global food security. With increased restrictions on chemical pesticides, biopesticides have emerged as a viable alternative but need testing and registration with regulatory authorities.
Research conducted by Professor Tariq Butt and his team discovered that the fungus Metarhizium brunneum is an effective biocontrol agent against major plant pests such as thrips and weevils. Through extensive laboratory toxicity testing and fieldwork with industrial and academic partners they found that Metarhizium and its metabolites do not persist in the soil. Furthermore, the metabolites are produced in extremely low amounts and are unlikely to enter the food chain, making the fungus safe to use on crops. Professor Butt and his team discovered that volatile metabolites of M. brunneum conferred benefits to the plant such as repelling or killing soil invertebrate pests such plant parasitic nematode and molluscs. Together with industry these volatiles are being developed as new plant protection products.
Products in development include entomopathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium brunneum, botanicals and semiochemicals. Botanicals with attractant, repellent or insecticidal properties are used in conjunction with the fungi to create innovative pest control strategies which will "lure and kill", “stress and kill” or "confuse and kill" the targeted insect.
Prof Butt’s research has informed the regulatory authorities on the safety of Metarhizium fungal metabolites and paved the way for the registration of M. brunneum.
Intellectual Property has been licensed to industry and knowledge has been exchanged between a wide range of organisations including Rentokil Initial plc, Russell IPM Ltd, Agrifutur srl, Certis-Belchim, BioBest Group NV and Lallemand Inc. Products such as Met52 and GranMet have been commercially formulated from M. brunnuem and sold in Europe. In addition, Prof Butt’s research is being used by international companies such as Certis BV to formulate new next-generation biorational fumigants based on natural products. These will replace current chemical pesticides which have been or are being withdrawn from the market. He continues to work with European partners on reducing the regulatory burden around metabolites, and with industrial partners to discover and test new biocontrol agents and develop innovative pest control strategies.
Recognised as a world leader in Biocontrol and Natural Products, Professor Tariq Butt and the team have gone on to secure funding through the Community Renewal Fund in partnership with Swansea Council for the Natural Products BioHub, a unique multi-use BioHUB supporting researchers and businesses specialising in Biocontrol and Natural products.

Autistic people have worse physical and mental health than their allistic (non-Autistic) peers. This includes dying between 16 and 30 years early. Deficit narratives of Autism, discrimination towards Autistic people and significant healthcare inaccessibility all contribute to this. It is important to understand Autistic people’s lived experiences and healthcare needs to reduce and reverse health inequalities.
Dr Aimee Grant, an Autistic academic, in collaboration with researchers at the Centre for Lactation, Infant Feeding and Translational Research, Autistic UK and Fair Treatment for the Women of Wales has been working with Autistic people to understand the differences in Autistic experiences of healthcare, including in relation to pregnancy, pregnancy loss and breastfeeding. Her Wellcome Trust fellowship, Autism from menstruation to menopause will work with Autistic people to understand their everyday lives and reproductive health needs for eight years.
Dr Grant is a founding member of the Maternity and Autism Research Group, a collaboration of academics and clinicians from the UK with the aim of improving maternity care for Autistic people.
Directly informed NHS practice in relation to Autistic people, including the “About me” health passport within the forthcoming NHS Wales Digital App and NHS England training on Autism and Learning Disabilities.
Dr Grant and Professor Amy Brown, within the LIFT Research Centre have been awarded over £2.4m of funding from the Wellcome Trust to gain an in-depth understanding of reproductive health needs of Autistic women and other Autistic people who menstruate throughout the life course, in order to improve healthcare.
Dr Grant is the co-founder and co-chair of the international Autistic Health Research Network, a collaboration of Autistic clinicians and researchers who aim to improve Autistic health and healthcare through undertaking neurodiversity-affirming research.

The internet offers many enriching experiences and opportunities for children and adults alike to develop healthy relationships and to satisfy our natural curiosity about the world. However, it can also be exploited for ill. This is exemplified by the increasing volume and sophistication of harmful content online - ranging from extreme ideology groups’ hateful and violence-inciting messaging through to crypto-markets’ trafficking of illegal products and online child sexual abuse. Our challenge is to combat these manifestations of online harm, where communication is strategically deployed for nefarious purposes that can impact a lifetime.
Working alongside a committed team of linguists, criminologists, psychologists and computer scientists, Professor Nuria Lorenzo-Dus conducts quantitative and qualitative analyses of the communicative (language / images) tactics used for cyber-crime manipulation.
Professor Lorenzo-Dus specialises in tactics used for online jihadi radicalisation; for recruitment and community-building across extreme right groups’ social media channels; for deceptive trust-building to advance narcotics trafficking in crypto-drug markets; and for the sexual grooming of children online.
Supported by funding from the End Violence Partnership, CHERISH-DE and The Leverhulme Trust, her work is designed to detect harmful content (and its authors) and to develop resilience-building measures. Consequent research-evidenced interventions are co-created and co-tested with key stakeholder groups (law enforcement, educators, social workers and policy makers) in Wales, the UK and internationally.
Of particular note within Professor Nuria Lorenzo-Dus’ work on digital manipulation is her 2021-2022 project DRAGON-S (Developing Resistance Against Grooming Online – Spot and Shield. Swansea University gratefully acknowledges financial support provided for this Programme by the End Violence Fund.
This project will offer tools based on integrating Artificial Intelligence/Linguistics to keep children safe online. Professor Nuria Lorenzo-Dus and her team have an unwavering commitment to putting ethical, innovative and implementable research at the service of collective efforts to develop individual and social resistance against the major challenge of keeping our children safe from sexual abuse online.

The Challenge
Historically, healthcare and administrative data have existed in disparate siloes without the necessary linkage infrastructure to generate population level intelligence. A lack of uniformity and consistency of data standards across this landscape has only added to the inherent complexities.
The challenge for our SAIL Databank was how do you safely acquire vast amounts of data, in a safe and secure way, that robustly preserves the privacy of those individuals represented in the data?
The other major challenge was how do you then restrict access to only legitimate researchers and provide an advanced technology platform that allows authorised, remote users to make the most of the data for society’s benefit?
The final test was how do you achieve all that whilst maintaining stakeholder confidence and, crucially, public trust?
The Method
Since its inception, the SAIL Databank has benefitted greatly from a partnership with the NHS Wales’ Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) with core funding from Health and Care Research Wales. DHCW provides essential support with data transfer, and expertise to develop a separation principle for data anonymisation.
The SAIL Databank has developed a sophisticated suite of information security measures incorporating physical, technical and procedural controls. These features contribute to Digital Economy Act (DEA) 2017 accreditation from the UK Statistics Authority and ISO27001 certification. This means that SAIL Databank meets the strictest international standards.
An independent Information Governance Review Panel (IGRP) was established to review proposals to work with the data. The panel includes representatives of professional and regulatory bodies and the public. If research is approved by the IGRP, users are granted access to the high-powered Secure eResearch Platform (SeRP). SeRP allows data owners and researchers to store, access, share, analyse and link data, at scale, in a governed environment whilst always maintaining full control of the data.
Finally, to build public trust in our management of public data we established the Consumer Panel – an active panel comprising members of the public with a variety of interest areas who advise and steer all our data-intensive research projects.
The Impact
The SAIL Databank’s development over the last 15 years has led to a vast range of potential and achieved impacts. As one of the best characterised population databanks found anywhere in the world, the SAIL Databank were also well positioned to rapidly support COVID-19 research and response efforts. A short selection of our impact is listed below…
• University helping to improve medicine safety in early motherhood ( https://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/news-events/news/2022/02/university-helping-to-improve-medicine-safety-in-early-motherhood.php)
• SAIL Databank reveals no cases of rare form of clotting in COVID19 vaccinated population of Wales (https://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/news-events/news/2021/03/sail-databank-reveals-no-cases-of-rare-form-of-clotting-in-covid19-vaccinated-population-of-wales.php )
• Welsh super database and technology platform play major role in new international Covid-19 research collaboration (https://www.swansea.ac.uk/press-office/news-events/news/2020/07/welsh-super-database-and-technology-platform-play-major-role-in-new-international-covid-19-research-collaboration.php )
• SAIL Databank to support UK-REACH: a new UK study launched to investigate COVID-19 risks for BAME healthcare staff (https://popdatasci.swan.ac.uk/sail-databank-to-support-uk-reach-a-new-uk-study-launched-to-investigate-covid-19-risks-for-bame-healthcare-staff/ )
• SAIL Databank reveals link between household mental ill-health and developmental disorders in children (https://popdatasci.swan.ac.uk/sail-databank-reveals-link-between-household-mental-ill-health-and-developmental-disorders-in-children/ )

The Challenge
Digital technology is embedded into daily life and cannot be meaningfully separated from ‘real’ world experiences, including those of crime victims. Official statistics show the volume and impact of computer crimes and online fraud. Additionally, tech now plays an increasing role in gender-based violence and hate crime. As such, crimes are increasingly ‘hybrid’, taking place both online and offline. However, the victim response to online harms has been shown to be inconsistent, particularly with respect to identifying vulnerable victims and addressing repeat victimisation. In parallel, victim support services vary widely across geographical areas and the extent to which they are equipped to respond to the role of digital tech is ill understood.
The Method
We have worked with large datasets of police recorded crime and used a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to identify patterns of repeat victimisation and better understand victim vulnerability. With funded support from the Morgan Advanced Studies Institute (MASI) researchers at the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) and Swansea University’s Computational Foundry are currently working in partnership with South Wales Police (SWP) and the Swansea Council for Voluntary Service (SCVS) to (1) explore the extent to which victim services are adequate in a digital world, and (2) develop a ‘Cyber Clinic’ prototype, offering a blend of face-to-face and digital support, to both increase and research individuals’ resilience to and post-victimisation.
The Impact
CYTREC’s previous work on victimisation has been used:
To inform law enforcement fraud threat assessments in the Southern Wales region;
For awareness-raising and training sessions for law enforcement and wider stakeholders including within the cybersecurity industry and the charity sector;
To develop learning materials for practitioners and researchers to develop their knowledge of the legal and ethical implications of cybercrime research; and
To inform the development of new legislation and law reform.
Find out more at our Terrorism and Social Media Conference on 28-29 June 2022 and stay up-to-date by following Dr Sara Correia on ResearchGate

The Challenge
Terrorist groups use the internet for a variety of purposes, from disseminating propaganda and recruitment to fund-raising and psychological warfare. Developing responses that are effective and maintain respect for human rights and basic values is one of today’s most pressing challenges.
The Method
Researchers from the Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) work across disciplinary divides to advance understanding of terrorists’ online activities, assess the threat they pose and develop proposals for policy and practice.
The Impact
CYTREC emphasises the importance of collaboration with front-line practitioners, policymakers and industry. Its work has been used by social media companies to understand how terrorists exploit their platforms, in the training of law enforcement and to inform national and international law and policy.
Find out more at our Terrorism and Social Media Conference on 28-29 June 2022 and stay up-to-date by following Professor Stuart Macdonald on ResearchGate.

The Challenge
Anyone who has travelled on a plane will realise how important the weather is for flight: Wind and turbulence affect the routes that planes take, the total flight time and the amount of fuel needed. What the air is doing is every bit as important for birds in flight, whether they are on their daily commute, their annual migration or choosing where to nest. But it can be challenging to unravel these relationships as air is both invisible and almost always on the move.
The Method
We use a range of techniques to quantify animal movement, second by second, to understand how much it costs, and how animals respond to our changing world.
New 20T, tilting wind tunnel to study bird flight
We attach miniature, high-frequency data-loggers to birds to record the details of their wingbeats in the wind tunnel and relate that to the energy that their flight requires. We use the same loggers on birds flying in the wild to quantify how the wind and turbulence affects their flight costs and decisions.
The wind tunnel is a new facility designed to enable collaborative research on animal flight between biologists and engineers. It has a large test area where birds fly (1.8 m wide by 1.5 m high by 2.2 m long). Accelerating air through such a large volume requires a big structure to house the fans, reduce fan noise and minimise the turbulence of the airflow. The tunnel itself also tilts, enabling the study of climbing and gliding flight. The end result is a tunnel > 17 m long and weighing > 20T. All this to improve our understanding of birds that weigh about the same as a can of beans.
Visualising the Invisible
Our team used computational fluid dynamics models, borrowed from engineering, to visualise and map what the air is doing over fine scales and estimate the wind and turbulence experienced by seabirds close to their nesting cliffs.
When it comes to choosing where to nest, it turns out that not all cliffs are equal. The exposure to the prevailing wind can predict where common guillemots breed. This type of modelling could be important for management decisions, particularly where colonies have been lost, potentially allowing people to predict which areas species may return to/ should be encouraged back to. This is pertinent for the many seabirds that have experienced dramatic population declines in the last century.
Tag development in the Swansea Lab for Animal Movement
The Swansea Laboratory for Animal Movement, SLAM, uses individual-based approaches to examine how, why, and where animals move. We specialise in novel animal tagging techniques, and continue to develop the sensors deployed on animals, the best methods of attaching them, as well as metrics to inform ecologists about animal motion and its energetic costs (notably through Dynamic Body Acceleration).
This gives us new eyes on animals, whether they be condors soaring hundreds of metres above the Andes, lions tracking the borders of a reserve, or penguins twisting and turning in pursuit of prey underwater.
The Impact
The teams findings on Andean condors, which were reported in a recent paper (https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1907360117) showed just how adept these birds are at finding rising air, spending just 1% of their flight time flapping. They recorded a flight from one bird that travelled over 100 miles without a single wingbeat.
Further collaborative work on how gulls soar above buildings could help when it comes to planning flight paths for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones in urban landscapes. In a similar way to birds, these are affected by gusts and turbulence, far more than larger aircraft. Flying at low altitudes in close proximity to terrain and buildings is challenging, as flight control systems have not been developed to cope with complex urban environments: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.2015.0394
Understanding where seabirds nest could also be important for management decisions, allowing people to predict which areas species may return to. This is pertinent for the many species that have experienced dramatic population declines in the last century: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecog.05733?af=R

The Challenge
Cyberspace is a source of many benefits and opportunities. But its affordances are also exploited by malevolent actors. In this changing environment, it is essential to improve our understanding of emerging threats and of how cyberspace has caused other types of threat to evolve. It is also vital that responses to these threats are not only effective, but also proportionate and respect human rights and fundamental values.
The Method
The Cyber Threats Research Centre (CYTREC) explores a range of online threats, from terrorism, cyberwarfare and cyberespionage to cybercrime, online child sexual exploitation and abuse and other online harms. CYTREC is an interdisciplinary centre, with experts from a range of disciplinary backgrounds including law, criminology, political science, anthropology, linguistics and computer science. Its members work across disciplinary divides to advance understanding of a diversity of cyber threats, assess the threat they pose and develop proposals for policy and practice.
CYTREC is also collaborative, engaging with key stakeholders at all stages of the research process: from co-creating projects to ask the research questions that matter, to sharing findings and producing policy recommendations. CYTREC’s partners include: RUSI, Tech Against Terrorism and the Marie Collins Foundation. Its work has been presented around the world – including to the UK Home Office, US State Department, Europol, at NATO Advanced Training Courses and the British and Edinburgh International Science Festivals – and it regularly hosts multi-stakeholder events, including the biennial Terrorism and Social Media (TASM) Conference.
Examples of CYTREC’s work include:
Studying the tactics used by Islamic State to disseminate its online magazines via Twitter;
Analysing the strategic mobilisation of topical news events in far-right groups’ online propaganda and their systematic denigration of immigrants and Muslims;
Examining the extent to which personalization algorithms place further extremist content in front of consumers of such material;
Analysing mis/dis and mal-information into the body politic and social discourse;
Analysing the extent and impact of cybercrime victimisation on individuals, particularly those who are vulnerable and/or repeat victims;
Communicative profiling of online child sexual offenders, specifically those who groom children for sex online; and,
Conducting digital forensic investigations of computer and cybercrime, including the acquisition, preservation and analysis of digital evidence in a forensically sound manner.
The Impact
CYTREC’s work has been used:
For awareness-raising and training sessions for law enforcement;
By the tech industry to identify platforms being exploited by terrorists and to remove terrorist content;
To create resources for teachers and parents to increase resilience against online radicalisation;
To develop online grooming detection software and digital resources for upskilling professionals in child safeguarding roles about how online grooming works and can be prevented; and,
To inform the development of new legislation and law reform.
Stay up-to-date with CYTREC's research by following its director, Prof. Stuart Macdonald, on ResearchGate.
Find out more at our Terrorism and Social Media Conference on 28-29 June 2022 (https://www.tasmconf.com/) and stay up-to-date with CYTREC's research by following its director, Prof. Stuart Macdonald, on ResearchGate