Travelling to collect a scientific excellence prize, Cambridge scientist Marta Shahbazi dies in Spanish train crash
Researcher and award recipient
Shahbazi was an affiliate associate professor at the University of Cambridge and led a group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. She was travelling to an awards ceremony in her native Spain to collect a prize for scientific excellence.
She had received several awards for her work on human embryos and cell biology. Shahbazi ran the Shahbazi Laboratory at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Tributes from her institute
The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology said Shahbazi had written about balancing her family and career. It described her as a much-admired role model for a “mother scientist,” a term she used for herself. The institute called her death “a profound shock and a huge loss for LMB.” Shahbazi was a wife and mother of two young children.
Crash in Spain
The crash involved a state-operated Renfe high-speed train striking the back of a stationary train operated by Iryo. Shahbazi died in the disaster while travelling to the ceremony.
Key points
- Marta Shahbazi died in a Spanish train crash while travelling to collect a scientific excellence prize.
- She led a research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.
- Her research focused on human embryos and cell biology.
- The crash involved a Renfe high-speed train and a stationary Iryo train.