Marta Shahbazi Killed in Spain Rail Crash — SkimNews
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- Marta Shahbazi, an affiliate associate professor at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and an LMB group leader, died on Wednesday in a train collision near Urda in Toledo province; the crash killed at least 69 people.
- Marta Shahbazi had recently won the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology’s scientific excellence prize and was due to receive it at the organization’s conference in El Rompido, Andalucía.
- Laboratory of Molecular Biology described Shahbazi as an “inspiring, talented and passionate scientist” whose research illuminated the earliest steps in human embryo development and errors that lead to failed pregnancies.
- Roser Vento-Tormo said she and Shahbazi co-supervised two students and that some of their joint work would still be published in the coming months.
- Marta Shahbazi wrote about balancing her family and career, described herself as a “mother scientist,” and was described by the LMB as a role model.
- Spain recorded its second high-speed rail crash of the year on the Madrid–Seville line, which was also the site of the earlier collision.
- Pedro Sánchez called the collision a “tragedy” and promised an investigation after three days of national mourning began on Thursday.
Why it matters: Two jointly supervised students lose one of their mentors with Shahbazi’s death, while some of Vento-Tormo and Shahbazi’s joint work was still due for publication in the coming months. The loss also came before she could receive the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology’s scientific excellence prize at El Rompido.
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