university of manchester phd student investigation

Police investigate UK PhD student over masturbation study

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University of Manchester has suspended doctoral student as it assists police with enquiries

Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation into a PhD student who used masturbation to erotic comics depicting young boys as a research method.

Karl Andersson, a PhD student at the University of Manchester, sparked a public outcry after publishing a controversial article on “using masturbation as an ethnographic method in research on shota subculture in Japan” in the Sage journal Qualitative Research.

Shota refers to comics and illustrations that, as the study described it, “feature young boy characters in a cute or, most often, sexually explicit way”. Some critics of the study have questioned the ethics as well as legality of viewing such materials in the UK, though it is not yet clear where the research was conducted.

Following the uproar, the article was first removed and t hen retracted by the journal . The University of Manchester has launched its own investigation into the matter.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed that they had also opened an investigation. “We are working closely with the University of Manchester, who are assisting us with our enquiries to establish what, if any, offences have been committed,” they said. No arrests have been made.

The University of Manchester said it was assisting police with the investigation to establish if offences had been committed “in the UK or elsewhere”. The university added that it had suspended Andersson as a precautionary measure pending the outcome of its full investigation.

In a statement published on 22 August, the university said it had now completed the initial phase of the investigation.

“We are examining all aspects of the student’s work and academic supervision, the origin of the article, his prior background, the associated university processes for admission to our PGR programme and research conduct, and other questions that have been raised,” the institution said.

According to the university’s initial findings, some of the research described in the paper was conducted as part of Andersson’s Master’s degree course at Free University of Berlin. However, it adds that “there is contradictory information regarding when the period of self-immersive research activity took place”.

It adds that the basis for the article published in the journal was a paper for the course, ‘Topics in interdisciplinary queer studies: Autoethnography’ at the University of Stavanger, Norway.

Research Professional News has approached the University of Stavanger for comment. The Free University of Berlin declined to comment.

The University of Manchester added that the described research methodology and data collection for the study were not submitted to the institution for ethics approval and that the paper was not part of his supervised PhD programme of study.

Although Andersson was registered for a PhD at the university, it said the research design which he proposed for conducting the research for his PhD was rejected by the University Research Ethics Committee on 17 June 2022.

After the paper stirred controversy online, numerous people flagged up previous controversial work by Andersson, including his time running a magazine that published sexualised images of young boys.

The university said it was not aware of the background information on the student and that the case has “highlighted that we must ensure our PhD student recruitment processes are sufficiently robust to appropriately scrutinise the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues of the proposed research and applicants’ prior related activities where relevant”.

Research Professional News has approached Andersson for comment.

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PhD student says he’s masturbating to ‘young boy’ comics for research

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Manchester University is investigating a PhD student after he wrote a paper documenting his experiences of masturbating while looking at ‘extreme’ comics featuring drawings of ‘young boys’.

Karl Andersson spent three months deriving sexual pleasure from a subgenre of underground Japanese comics and keeping a journal, eventually writing a 4,000-word study on the subject.

The books depict young males in a ‘cute or, most often, sexually explicit way’, according to the author himself.

In the paper, which was first published in April but has only just come to the university’s attention after it was seized on by social media users, Mr Andersson gives graphic accounts of his sexual habits.

He writes that he began the practice after he ‘hit a wall’ in his studies of comics, adding ‘I realised that my body was equipped with a research tool of its own that could give me, quite literally, a first-hand understanding’.

Mr Andersson, originally from Sweden, says he eschewed ‘regular’ porn and sex during a three-month ‘research’ period, claiming it ‘deepened my understanding’ of why people read the comics.

According to his own Twitter account, his studies are funded by the The School of Arts, Languages and Cultures at The University of Manchester and focus on ‘how fans of subcultural comics in Japan experience desire and think about sexual identities’.

His paper was published in the Journal of Qualitative Research under the title: ‘I am not alone – we are all alone: Using masturbation as an ethnographic method in research on shota subculture in Japan’.

In it, Mr Andersson writes: ‘I therefore started reading the comics in the same way as my research participants had told me that they did it: while masturbating.

‘In this research note, I will recount how I set up an experimental method of masturbating to shota comics, and how this participant observation of my own desire not only gave me a more embodied understanding of the topic for my research but also made me think about loneliness and ways to combat it as driving forces of the culture of self-published erotic comics.’

He records how ‘my desire did not only emanate from the content…but from the fact that other people too were excited by this often extreme content and masturbated to it’.

Mr Andersson said the ‘feeling was enhanced when I read a secondhand [comic], which I assumed had been used for masturbation by its previous owner, and thus been “charged”, like a magic charm that would continue to bring happiness to new owners’.

A University of Manchester spokesperson said: ‘The recent publication in Qualitative Research of the work of a student, now registered for a PhD, has raised significant concerns and complaints which we are taking very seriously.

‘We are currently undertaking a detailed investigation into all aspects of their work, the processes around it and other questions raised. 

‘It is very important that we look at the issues in-depth.

‘While that investigation is ongoing, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further at this time.’

Metro.co.uk has contacted Mr Andersson for comment. 

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected] .

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Statement on investigation into work of PhD student

22 Aug 2022

Outcome of initial phase of investigation

We have completed the initial phase of investigation into the recent publication of the work of a student, who had registered for a PhD, which has raised widespread and significant concerns and complaints, all of which we take extremely seriously.

We are examining all aspects of the student’s work and academic supervision, the origin of the article, his prior background, the associated University processes for admission to our PGR programme and research conduct, and other questions that have been raised.

This investigation is not yet complete, however, we wanted to provide initial findings where we are able, and actions we have taken, particularly as there are significant broader concerns about the student beyond research misconduct.

Qualitative Research

The basis for the article published in Qualitative Research was a paper for the course "Topics in Interdisciplinary Queer Studies: Autoethnography" at the University of Stavanger, Norway.

The research involving participants described in the paper was conducted for his MA at a University in Berlin. There is contradictory information regarding when the period of self-immersive research activity took place.

The described research methodology and data collection were not submitted for University of Manchester research ethics approval. The production of the paper was not part of his supervised PhD programme of study.

However, there are wider questions for the University which we continue to investigate.

Supporting a police investigation

Greater Manchester Police has opened an investigation. We are assisting them with their enquiries to establish what, if any offences, have been committed in the UK or elsewhere.

PhD continuation and next steps

The student was registered for a PhD but the research design which he developed, and the methods he proposed for conducting the research for his PhD was submitted to, and rejected by, our University Research Ethics Committee (UREC) on 17 June 2022.

As a precautionary measure, the student has been suspended pending the outcome of a full investigation under the Student Conduct Discipline regulation. 

Important further University actions

There are a number of serious issues raised by this case, that we are still investigating. We have robust procedures for approving new research via our University Research Ethics Committee, in accordance with the standards applied by all research funders aross the sector. The student’s proposed research methods and data collection for his programme of study were rejected.

We were not aware of the background relating to this student which has now come to light, and this case has highlighted that we must ensure that our PhD student recruitment processes are sufficiently robust to appropriately scrutinise the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues of the proposed research and applicants’ prior related activities where relevant.

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Statement on investigation into work of PhD candidate

Outcome of initial phase of investigation

We have completed the initial phase of investigation into the recent publication of the work of a student, who had registered for a PhD, which has raised widespread and significant concerns and complaints, all of which we take extremely seriously.

We are examining all aspects of the student’s work and academic supervision, the origin of the article, his prior background, the associated University processes for admission to our PGR programme and research conduct, and other questions that have been raised.

This investigation is not yet complete, however, we wanted to provide initial findings where we are able, and actions we have taken, particularly as there are significant broader concerns about the student beyond research misconduct.

Qualitative Research

The basis for the article published in Qualitative Research was a paper for the course "Topics in Interdisciplinary Queer Studies: Autoethnography" at the University of Stavanger, Norway.

The research involving participants described in the paper was conducted for his MA at a University in Berlin. There is contradictory information regarding when the period of self-immersive research activity took place.

The described research methodology and data collection were not submitted for University of Manchester research ethics approval. The production of the paper was not part of his supervised PhD programme of study.

However, there are wider questions for the University which we continue to investigate.

Supporting a police investigation

Greater Manchester Police has opened an investigation. We are assisting them with their enquiries to establish what, if any offences, have been committed in the UK or elsewhere.

PhD continuation and next steps

The student was registered for a PhD but the research design which he developed, and the methods he proposed for conducting the research for his PhD was submitted to, and rejected by, our University Research Ethics Committee (UREC) on 17 June 2022.

As a precautionary measure, the student has been suspended pending the outcome of a full investigation under the Student Conduct Discipline regulation.

Important further University actions

There are a number of serious issues raised by this case, that we are still investigating. We have robust procedures for approving new research via our University Research Ethics Committee, in accordance with the standards applied by all research funders aross the sector. The student’s proposed research methods and data collection for his programme of study were rejected.

We were not aware of the background relating to this student which has now come to light, and this case has highlighted that we must ensure that our PhD candidate recruitment processes are sufficiently robust to appropriately scrutinise the legal, ethical and safeguarding issues of the proposed research and applicants’ prior related activities where relevant.

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University of Manchester investigating after being criticised for allowing ‘PhD in masturbation’

A spokesperson for institution said "it is very important that we look at the issues in-depth."

The University of Manchester (UoM) has confirmed it has launched an investigation following criticism that it allowed a student to publish a “PhD in masturbation”.

For an article recently-published in the Journal of Qualitative Research, PhD student Karl Andersson was conducting research into the “shota” genre of Japanese comic books – which are known for centring around prepubescent or pubescent male characters depicted in a “suggestive or erotic” manner.

In his 4,000-word article – which is titled ‘I am not alone – we are all alone: Using masturbation as an ethnographic method in research on shota subculture in Japan’ – Mr Andersson said he wanted to “understand how [individuals] experience sexual pleasure when reading shota”, and so to do this, he decided to undertake his own research.

He claims that he embarked on a three-month stint of masturbating to the comic books himself, and making notes on each session, the Telegraph reports .

Andersson added that he had recently come out of a long-term relationship when he began his research – which he said contributed to his “willingness and eagerness”.

Outlining the methodology for his research, Andersson explained: “For a period of three months, I would masturbate only to shota comics. For this purpose, I would use dōjinshi and commercial volumes that I have bought or been given during fieldwork in Japan.

“In short: I would masturbate in the same way that my research participants did it. After each masturbation session I would write down my thoughts and feelings – a kind of critical self-reflection – in a notebook, as well as details about which material I had used, where I had done it, at what time, and for how long.”

But shortly after the article was published, Mr Andersson and the University of Manchester came under fire and were berated by both members of the public on social media and politicians – who branded the piece “a PhD on masturbation”.

Conservative MP Neil O’Brien was someone who took particular offence to the publication of the article, taking to Twitter to question: “Why should hard-working taxpayers in my constituency have to pay for an academic to write about his experiences masturbating to Japanese porn?

“The non-STEM side of higher education is just much too big, producing too much that is not socially useful.”

The University of Manchester has since confirmed it has launched an investigation into the publication of the article, with a spokesperson saying in a statement: “The recent publication in Qualitative Research of the work of a student, now registered for a PhD, has raised significant concerns and complaints which we are taking very seriously.

Read more: Manchester graduates named the ‘most targeted’ by the UK’s top employers

“We are currently undertaking a detailed investigation into all aspects of their work, the processes around it and other questions raised.

“It is very important that we look at the issues in-depth.”

SAGE Journals – which is responsible for the publishing of the Journal of Qualitative Research – has also addressed the criticism it received for allowing the article on its platform, saying it is “aware of concerns”.

We are aware of concerns about a paper published earlier this year in our journal, Qualitative Research. The article is under investigation, and we will ensure that any actions taken comply with the standards of the Committee of Publication Ethics. — SAGE Journals (@SAGEJournals) August 10, 2022

Taking to Twitter, SAGE Journals said: “We are aware of concerns about a paper published earlier this year in our journal, Qualitative Research. The article is under investigation, and we will ensure that any actions taken comply with the standards of the Committee of Publication Ethics.”

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Parklife has announced it will have an alcohol-free bar on the festival site for the first time ever this June, welcoming Love From to the fields at Heaton Park.

The huge Manchester festival confirmed that Love From, the city’s only booze-free boozer, would be joining its list of vendors.

It’s the first time in Parklife’s 14-year history that it will have an alcohol-free bar on site, a move with festival boss Sacha Lord says is ‘exciting and important’.

Love From first opened its doors as a pop-up at Kampus in January, where it’s since been granted residency.

Founded by Karl Considine, Love From has long maintained the ‘cutting out isn’t missing out’ and has provided a space that offers all the best bits of a classic cocktail bar, minus the hangover.

Parklife will be the local bar’s biggest event to date (and they don’t come much bigger than this).

It’s hoped it can spread the importance of the Love From messaging among the young crowds who flock to the festival every year, breaking boundaries around drinking culture as it goes.

To celebrate this milestone achievement, Love From has even taken over the huge billboard at Victoria Warehouse, and will be collaborating with Parklife to give away to VIP weekend tickets through Instagram .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by LOVE FROM – ALCOHOL-FREE BAR (@love.fromco)

Founder of Parklife festival and Night Time Economy Advisor for Greater Manchester, Sacha Lord commented: “We’re really excited to be bringing Love From to Parklife festival this Summer.

“Working with local brands is always exciting, but specifically working with Love From as a result of the impact they are having in the alcohol-free space is a really important part of running an inclusive festival.”

Founder of the Love From bar, Karl Considine, said: “Personally this is a real pinch me moment for a few reasons, even though I don’t drink I love house music, and I am excited to be able to bring my business to Parklife.

“It is wild to me that Love From is only a few months old and here we are working with one of the biggest festivals not just in the UK, but in Europe.”

It’s also been reported that almost half of young adults (44%) regularly drink no- or low-alcohol drinks.

Sacha continued: “From my own experience through my work for The Warehouse Project, we are seeing first hand how younger audiences want different experiences which includes more propensity to drink no and low drinks.

“Hospitality has to adapt our industry to suit current societal changes, there is a huge resurgence in the non-alcoholic market and we have watched Love From do incredibly well in this space.

“Working with Love From was no brainer for us and we hope it is the start of a long term partnership!”

Karl concluded: “The fact that a festival like Parklife recognises not just that sentiment of ‘you don’t need to drink to have fun or join in’, but also that they’ve recognised the changing behaviours in drinking culture amongst younger generations is amazing to see.”

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A man from Oldham who sexually assaulted two women on trams in Manchester city centre has been handed a jail sentence.

Tahir Ali, who is from the Lees area of Oldham , appeared at Manchester Crown Court last Friday (10 May 2024) and was found guilty of two counts of sexual assault after his offending and reprehensible actions were uncovered following a thorough investigation by Greater Manchester Police ‘s (GMP) dedicated Transport Unit.

The 37-year-old was found to have “intentionally touched two females in a sexual manner” on trams in Manchester city centre, despite being challenged, GMP explained.

A police investigation into the reports made regarding Ali’s actions was subsequently opened, and GMP worked closely with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) on the case – with analysis of CCTV, and witness and victim statements from the tram network and platform, all being carried out and taken into account.

During this investigation, Ali was identified from CCTV images, and then went onto be charged and remanded.

After being found guilty of two counts of sexual assault, Ali has now been sentenced to three years in jail, and has also ben given an indefinite ‘Sexual Harm Prevention Order’ that bans him from any Metrolink tram, platform, or car park in Greater Manchester .

“This sentence shows our commitment to keep passengers safe,” commented PC Matthew Cowin, of GMP’s Transport Unit.

“Violence against women and girls will not be tolerated, and our proactive patrols are the reason we provide visible enforcement and reassurance to all passengers.

“This investigation, and the bravery of the victims to report and recount their experiences, have ensured we have been able to apply and be granted a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which has strict restrictions in place to prevent re-offending due to the risk he poses because of his behaviour.

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“Working alongside TfGM we encourage all passengers to report any incidents directly to officers and staff in person, or by calling 101, in full confidence.”

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No evidence foreign students are abusing UK graduate visas, review finds

Migration Advisory Committee says the risks are low, despite Tory claims the route is being exploited

There is no evidence of widespread abuse of the UK’s graduate visa route, the government’s immigration advisers have concluded, despite repeated claims from senior Conservatives that it is being exploited to enter the jobs market.

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) said the graduate visa entitlement – allowing international students to work for two or three years after graduating – should remain in place. Members said the risks of abuse were relatively low and were “not undermining” the integrity and quality of the higher education system.

The report’s release has stoked an internal Conservative party row over net migration, with senior rightwing MPs describing it as a “whitewash”.

Robert Jenrick, a former immigration minister, wrote that the committee’s inquiries were tightly controlled by the commission from James Cleverly , the home secretary.

“The MAC’s conclusions have clearly been constrained by the narrow terms of reference deliberately set by the government. If you order white paint, you get a whitewash,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Neil O’Brien, a Tory MP who is an ally of Jenrick, described the report as a “whitewash” on Substack: “We are pursuing an arbitrary target, and the expansion of universities for their own sake.”

Another Conservative MP said backbenchers were “piling pressure” on Rishi Sunak to ignore the committee’s conclusions.

The government has so far declined to say whether it will accept the MAC recommendations. A source close to the home secretary said he would read the review thoroughly and listen to Prof Brian Bell, the committee’s chair, carefully before he makes any decision. They were due to meet on Tuesday afternoon.

The committee’s decision was greeted with relief by university vice-chancellors, who have warned that abolishing the graduate visa would spell financial turmoil for the sector. But higher education leaders said they still feared No 10 could cherrypick elements of the report to justify a further crackdown.

University leaders had been told to expect the government’s response in the middle of next week, alongside the publication of the ONS’s net migration figures. But the MAC report in favour of retaining graduate visas may have scuppered plans by ministers to use it as the centrepiece of a fresh crackdown.

Cleverly commissioned the review amid a growing clamour in Tory circles that graduate visas were being abused to gain access to employment.

Last week, Jenrick published a report with the Centre for Policy Studies thinktank that called for the graduate visa to be abolished, claiming it “allowed people to come and work in the gig economy and on very low wages”.

In a forthright response, Bell said: “Our review recommends the graduate route should remain as it is, and is not undermining the quality and integrity of the UK’s higher education system.

“The graduate route is a key part of the offer that we make to international students to come and study in the UK. The fees that these students pay helps universities to cover the losses they make in teaching British students and doing research. Without those students, many universities would need to shrink and less research would be done.”

The committee said:

There is no evidence of widespread abuse specifically for the graduate route. The risks of abuse are relatively low due to the limited number of conditions the route imposes.

There is concern about potential exploitation of both student and graduate visa holders due to poor practices by certain agents who recruit students on to courses and may be mis-selling UK higher education, but this is a separate issue from abuse of the rules of the graduate route.

114,000 graduate route visas were granted for main applicants in 2023 with a further 30,000 granted for dependants.

The use of the graduate route is concentrated among four nationalities: the top four – India, Nigeria, China and Pakistan – account for 70% of all graduate visas with India accounting for more than 40%.

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Most of those on the graduate route completed postgraduate taught courses.

Graduate visa holders are initially “overrepresented in lower-paid work” but their outcomes improve over time, the report said.

The MAC review was unable to assess the risk of overstaying due to a lack of Home Office data.

Alex Proudfoot, the chief executive of the representative body Independent Higher Education , said: “We urge the government to swiftly confirm they will follow their experts’ recommendation that the graduate visa be retained in its current form, and commit afresh to working with the education sector to maximise the benefits that international students bring.”

Tim Bradshaw, the chief executive of the Russell Group of leading research universities, said: “The overall message from the MAC is that the graduate route is achieving its objectives as set out by the government. We would therefore urge ministers to end the uncertainty and confirm as soon as possible that the route will continue in its entirety.”

In February, Universities UK (UUK) said it would review international student admissions processes after the allegations of “bad practice” by agents recruiting overseas students.

The MAC has recommended the government should establish a mandatory registration system for international recruitment agents, and universities should be required to publish data on their use of agents to “help protect the integrity” of the UK higher education system.

The review was launched in March after Cleverly instructed the committee, which gives independent advice to the government, to investigate “any evidence of abuse” of the graduate route, “including the route not being fit for purpose”, and to look at which universities were producing graduates who used the route.

Vivienne Stern, the chief executive of UUK, said: “The MAC’s recommendation that the graduate route should remain on its current terms is extremely important and welcome.

“The uncertainty caused by the decision to review the visa has been toxic,” she said. “We hope and expect that government now listens to the advice they have been given and provides categorical reassurance that the graduate visa is here to stay.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to attracting the best and brightest to study at our world-class universities, whilst preventing abuse of our immigration system, which is why the home secretary commissioned an independent review of the graduate route.

“We have already taken decisive action to address unsustainable levels of migration and our plans are working, with a 24% drop in visa applications across key routes in the first three months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

“We are considering the review’s findings very closely and we will respond fully in due course.”

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'it is never too late': 83-year-old woman earns doctorate, becomes howard university's oldest graduate.

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At 83 years old, Marie Fowler has officially earned her doctorate from Howard University — and she’s become the Historically Black Research University’s oldest student to earn a degree.

Fowler, who earned a degree in divinity, told WJLA she believes God called her to Howard University’s program.

"It was never my thought that I would go beyond maybe one semester because, after all, I started school when I had been out of school since 1959,” Fowler said. “I didn't even know if I could even retain information."

Fowler has a message for folks who believe they’re too old to go to school, follow their calling, or accomplish their dreams.

"The other thing I wanna say is that it is never too late,” she said. “ I want everyone to realize that."

See more of Fowler's story in the video player above.

Linguistics and English Language

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Roxanne Taylor - 'Argument realisation and argument structure in the Old English eventive noun phrase' (supervised by Kersti Börjars and Tine Breban).

Chit Fung Lam - 'Control and Complementation in Parallel Constraint-based Architecture: An Empirically Oriented Investigation of Mandarin Chinese' (supervised by Kersti Börjars and Eva Schultze-Berndt).

Maria Chioti (2023) 'Attitudes to English-English Accents: An Examination of Their Formation' (supervised by Wendell Kimper, Marije Van Hattum and Alex Baratta).

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Kaiyue Xing (2022) - 'The Sociophonetics and Phonology of Mandarin Rhoticity' (supervised by Maciej Baranowski and Patrycja Strycharczuk).

Anh Khoi Nguyen (2022) - 'Heritage Language Maintenance in an 'Integrated' Minority' (supervised by Yaron Matras).

Colin Rutland (2022) - 'Vagueness in Nouns and Adjectives: Towards a Unifying Theory' (supervised by Andrew Koontz-Garboden and Martina Faller).

Juliette Angot (2022) - 'A Cross-Cultural Study of French and Korean Epistemic Markers' (supervised by Maj-Britt Mosegaard Hansen and Martina Faller).

Aseel Almuhaimeed (2022) - 'Phonological Processes in the Najdi Arabic Dialect: An Optimality Theory Approach' (supervised by Wendell Kimper and Yuni Kim).

Massimiliano Canzi (2021) - 'Lexical Knowledge and its Influence on Speech Perception' (supervised by Wendell Kimper and Patrycja Strycharczuk).

Lorenzo Moretti (2021) - 'Do Between Modal Auxiliaries in Early Modern English: A Usage-Based Study' (supervised by Tine Breban and Kersti Börjars).

Leonie Gaiser (2021) - 'Arabic in a Global Diaspora - Maintenance of and Provisions for Arabic in Manchester, UK' (supervised by Yaron Matras and Rebecca Tipton).

Lisa Donlan  (2021) - 'You Either Die a Cinnamon Roll or Live Long Enough to Become a Problematic Fave: The Carnivalesque Discursive Practices of Fandom Blogs on Tumblr' (supervised by Maj-Britt Mosegaard Hansen and Andrea Nini).

Donald Morrison (2020) - 'The Phonology of Scottish Gaelic' (supervised by Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero, Claire Nance and Wendell Kimper).

Stefano Coretta (2020) - 'Vowel Duration and Consonant Voicing: An Articulatory Study' (supervised by Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero and Patrycja Strycharczuk).

Heidi Reid  (2020) - 'The TMA System of Bastimentos Creole English' (supervised by Eva Schultze-Berndt and Delia Bentley)

Pablo Fuentes Opazo (2019) - 'The Semantics of Modality and Tense in Predictive Illocutions: A Cross-Linguistic Study in English and Mapudungun' (supervised by Martina Faller and Graham Stevens).

Simone De Cia  (2019) - 'At the Edge of Ladin, Venetan and Friulian: A Morpho-Syntactic Study of Two Dialect Areas in the South-Eastern Part of the Province of Belluno (Sovramontino and Lamonat) and in North-Western Part of the Province of Udine (Fornese di Sopra)' (supervised by Delia Bentley and Julio Villa-Garcia). 

Haifa Alroqi (2019) - 'A Case-Control Study of Media Viewing and Language Delay in Saudi Young Children' (supervised by Thea Cameron-Faulkner, Ludovica Serratrice and Eman Abdoh (King Abdulaziz University)).

Victoria Thomas (2019) - 'Auxiliary Ellipsis in Early Modern German: Synchrony and Diachrony' (supervised by Kersti Börjars and George Walkden).

Deepthi Gopal (2019) - 'The Morphology-Phonology Interaction in Kazakh and Kyrgyz Reduplication Processes' (supervised by Yuni Kim and Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero).

George Bailey (2019) - 'Dialect Levelling in Northern Greater Manchester: Working with Forced Alignment Software' (supervised by Maciej Baranowski and Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero).

Mary Begley  (2019) - 'The lexical field of INSANITY in Middle English: semantic change and conceptual metaphor' (supervised by David Denison and David Matthews).

Eman Alkroud (2018) -  ' Renarrating  the Berbers in Three Tamazight Translations of the Holy Quran: Paratextual and Framing Strategies' .

Hannah Booth (2018) - 'Expletive Subjects in Icelandic: A Diachronic Study' (supervised by Kersti Börjars and Tine Breban).

Kathleen Easlick (2018) - 'Language Policies in a Changing Europe: Regional and Immigrant Languages in Multi-Sited Comparisons' (supervised by Yaron Matras and Yuni Kim).

Khawla Ghadgoud (2018) - 'Negation Patterns in Libyan Arabic and Modern Arabic Varieties' (supervised by Kersti Börjars and John Payne).

Henri  Kauhanen (2018) - 'Neutrality, Biases and Social Network Effects in Language Change' (supervised by Ricardo Bermúdez-Otero, Tobias Galla and George Walkden).

Student News

News, information, and events for your student life.

Update about vandalism on Oxford Road

In the early hours of the morning, 13 May, the University and Manchester Museum were subject to an act of criminal vandalism. 

If you are coming on to campus today, you may see that there has been some criminal damage primarily to the Manchester Museum and Queens Arch, with paint sprayed over part of the building early this morning. 

We have CCTV footage of the incident and are working with Greater Manchester Police who are investigating the incident. Meanwhile, specialist paint removal contractors have been called and will be dealing with the damage as soon as possible.

The Museum will be open as usual.

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Marloes Peeters

• Chair in Engineering Biology , CE - Academic & Research

Accepting PhD Students

PhD projects

Please discuss potential projects with Prof Peeters.

Personal profile

I graduated from Eindhoven University of Technology (the Netherlands) with a degree in Chemistry & Chemical Engineering. For my PhD, I moved to research institute IMO/IMOMEC in Belgium where I was part of the BIOSensors group of Prof Wagner. After finishing my PhD, I continued as a postdoctoral researcher within the same group to develop a novel thermal detection method for measurements of both small molecules and proteins in complex matrices. Since 2014 I have been in the UK after taking up a PDRA position within the organic chemistry group at Queen Mary University of London, where my project focused on the electrochemical detection of enzyme catalysis. My independent research career commenced at Manchester Metropolitan in 2015, and I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2018. In 2019, I moved to Newcastle University, where I was promoted to Professor in 2023. In December 2023, I joined the University of Manchester as a Chair (Professor) in Engineering Biology.

My research group focuses on the development of advanced functional polymer materials to solve complex healthcare problems such as in the field of biosensors, bioelectronics, and drug delivery. I have been granted four patents on developing novel polymer-based sensor platforms and have been actively work with industry to co-design new diagnostic tools. Furthermore, I am a keen science communicator and I am very active in promoting research on polymer science via my role as member of the IUPAC Polymer Division and via videos available on my YouTube channel.

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

Education/Academic qualification

Doctor of Engineering, Universiteit Hasselt

1 Jan 2010 → 1 Jul 2013

Award Date: 1 Jul 2013

Master of Engineering, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

1 Sept 2008 → 1 Sept 2009

Award Date: 1 Sept 2009

Bachelor of Engineering, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven

1 Sept 2004 → 1 Sept 2008

Award Date: 1 Sept 2008

External positions

Member, UK Young Academy

31 Jan 2024 → …

Fellow , The Royal Society of Chemistry

1 Dec 2023 → …

Member of the Polymer Division, IUPAC International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

1 Jul 2018 → …

Areas of expertise

• TP Chemical technology
• QD Chemistry
• drug delivery

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

• Advanced materials
• Biotechnology
• Christabel Pankhurst Institute

Research output

Research output per year

Early detection of SARS-CoV-2 with functionalized gold and molecularly imprinted polymeric nanoparticles: a mini review

Research output : Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Electrochemical and thermal detection of allergenic substance lysozyme with molecularly imprinted nanoparticles

Enhancing encapsulation of hydrophobic phyto-drugs naringenin and baicalein in polymeric nano-micelles, a critical review on the use of molecular imprinting for trace heavy metal and micropollutant detection, healthcloud: a system for monitoring health status of heart patients using machine learning and cloud computing, macro group uk early career award.

Peeters, Marloes (Recipient), 2023

Prize : Prize (including medals and awards)

• Occupations 100%
• Occupational Career 100%
• Polymer 100%
• Science 33%
• Polymers 33%

Manchester University offering 5 remote courses to high school students this summer

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. (WPTA) - Manchester University is offering five online and asynchronous courses to high school students this summer interested in earning college credits before they graduate.

Courses, which are part of Manchester’s Early College Experience program, will be split between two summer sessions. The first will be from May 28 to July 5 and the second session will be from July 8 to August 16.

During the first session, the university will offer Introduction to Psychology, Introduction to Clinical and Rehab Sciences and Medical Terminology. Foundations of Human Communication and Developmental Psychology will be offered in the second session.

The university says the courses will also help students experience college.

“The Manchester Early Experience Program allows high school students to get a head start on college and experience Manchester University firsthand,” said Jacob Sweet, assistant director of admissions.

Registration for the courses closes on May 31. For more about the Early College Experience and how to apply, click here .

To be the first to get the latest breaking news alerts, download the 21Alive News App.

Download for both iPhone and Android devices can be found  here .

Copyright 2024 WPTA. All rights reserved.

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83-year-old woman becomes Howard University’s oldest graduate

WASHINGTON (WJLA) - An 83-year-old graduate is now Howard University’s oldest student to earn a degree.

Marie Fowler, Howard University’s most senior student, said earning her doctorate degree in divinity was a calling from God.

“It was never my thought that I would go beyond maybe one semester because, after all, I started school when I had been out of school since 1959. I didn’t even know if I could even retain information,” she said.

After initially doubting her ability and finances at this stage of her life, Fowler said it was her parents’ experiences and her father’s words still ringing in her ear that pushed her forward.

“My mom and dad was born in an era when it was illegal for them to learn to read and write. We taught my dad how to read and write and how to sign his name,” she said.

Throughout her three years at Howard’s Divinity School, Fowler made her mark.

“She was the life of the party,” said Alice Ogden Bellis, professor of Hebrew Bible. “She knew what she needed, what she wanted, and she came here and she did that.”

Fowler said it is never “too late.”

“I want everyone to realize that,” she said.

Fowler said her father used to say, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”

Copyright 2024 WJLA via CNN Newsource. All rights reserved.

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