LSE Hosts Its First Falling Walls Lab Competition

On 9 June, LSE hosted Falling Walls Lab UK, a competition for early career researchers who pitch their innovative ideas in three minutes to a jury of experts.

The winner secures a spot at the Falling Walls Science Summit and Global Finale in Berlin in November 2026, where 100 contestants from labs across the world compete to become the Breakthrough Winner in the Emerging Talents category.

The lab was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), an organisation that fosters the international exchange of students and researchers, and the German Federal Foreign Office, and developed in partnership with the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering.

The event was introduced by Professor Michael Bruter, LSE’s Associate Vice President for Research. Professor Bruter, also the Director of the Electoral Psychology Observatory and Professor of Political Science at LSE, won the Falling Walls competition in 2012 and 2024 respectively. When asked about the significance of LSE hosting the Falling Walls Lab UK, Professor Bruter stated: “This gives extraordinary opportunities for emerging scholars to pitch their efforts to make major advances in their fields to an incredible audience, and I am delighted that LSE is now partnering with Falling Walls and Cambridge on this exciting journey.”

Pitches across disciplines

LSE was proud to welcome 13 early-career researchers from LSE, Cambridge, Oxford and London South Bank University, who presented on topics ranging from technology assessing drought response to molecular and cell biology in the brain. Participants pitched to a panel of experts, chaired by Professor Bruter (LSE), comprising Professor Neil Lee (LSE), Rachel Waites (NYU), Dr Yizhou Yu (Healthspan Biotics) and Dr Andreas Hoeschen (Director DAAD London Office).

We were especially delighted to support two LSE representatives, Juan Pablo Calderon Meza (current PhD researcher in International Relations at LSE) and Christine Toavs (MSc International Health Policy at LSE from 2023/24 and current PhD researcher in Sustainable Engineering at Cambridge).

Calderon Meza, in his third year of a PhD in International Relations at LSE, presented on “Breaking the wall of corporate impunity for atrocity crimes,” claiming that international courts focus on state leaders and those fighting along or against them, but fail to address the economic causes of crimes. As a result, corporate officers who remotely contribute to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are rarely tried. Calderon Meza suggests that technology, specifically a moral crisis chat, can foster trust in whistleblowers and help prosecutors identify the businessmen behind the scenes and collect evidence.

Calderon Meza highlighted the importance of social scientists being represented at competitions like the Falling Walls Lab, to advance timely conversations such as on the role corporate executives play in economically facilitating lawless and immoral acts. Speaking of his experience as a doctoral researcher at LSE, he stated that, being a new parent in the midst of his studies, the university “has been very supportive of promoting my ideas and balancing life, work and studies.”

Toavs (MSc International Health Policy) is in her first year of a PhD in Sustainable Engineering at the University of Cambridge, with her research focusing on mitigating the environmental impact of single-use plastic in diabetes care technology and supplies. Her pitch, “Breaking the wall of plastic: circularity in diabetes care,” directly relates to her thesis. The research investigates the intersection of health and the environmental impact of diabetes-care waste using a circular economy framework to create a more sustainable field without compromising patient health, a conversation that has been initiated in the healthcare field but has yet to make it to diabetic care.

Advancing to represent the UK in Berlin

The winner of the 2026 Falling Walls Lab UK event was María Jenkinson Álvarez from the University of Cambridge, with the pitch “Breaking the wall of brain biology.” Her project suggests that AI foundational models can be used to improve imaging and produce spatially resolved brain maps.

The first runner-up was Dr Xhoela Bame from the University of Oxford, who presented on “Breaking the wall of the silent neurodegeneration,” and the second runner-up was Sera Tolgay Marshall from the University of Cambridge, with a pitch on “Breaking the wall of water crises in conflict zones.” Finally, the audience award went to Asja Puncuh from the University of Oxford, who presented on “Breaking the wall of personalised cancer immunotherapy.”

Well done to all the participants for pitching their innovative research, and congratulations to María Jenkinson Álvarez, who will be representing the UK at the Falling Walls Global Finale in November.

A full list of participants and pitches is available below.

Photo Credits: Simon Williams