Rate My Professor JoJoannaanna Collingwood

Professor Joanna Collingwood is Professor and Chair of the School of Engineering at the University of Warwick, where she founded and leads the Trace Metals in Medicine Laboratory. She holds an MPhys in Physics from the University of York and a PhD in Physics from the University of Warwick. Following postdoctoral research at Keele University and the University of Florida, supported by research fellowships from the Alzheimer’s Society, Dunhill Medical Trust, EPSRC, and RCUK, she was appointed to a lectureship in the School of Engineering and progressed to Professor in the Systems and Information stream. Collingwood has developed international collaborations with facilities including Argonne National Laboratory, the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, and Diamond Light Source synchrotron, where she chaired the user committee from its inception and served as the UK representative for the European Synchrotron Users Organization.

Her research specializes in the imaging and quantification of transition metal ions in the human brain, focusing on changes associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Multiple System Atrophy. She employs techniques including synchrotron X-ray spectromicroscopy, high-resolution MRI to assess iron-related effects and biomarkers, electron microscopy, and magnetometry to characterize metal distributions in tissues and protein aggregates. Collingwood founded and co-led the Warwick Medical Imaging Network, served on the Science & Technology Facilities Council Advisory Panel for Public Engagement, the Alzheimer’s Society Biomedical Grant Advisory Board, and peer review panels for SOLEIL synchrotron and Diamond Light Source. She represents the University of Warwick on the Alzheimer’s Research UK Midlands Network. In addition, she chairs the School of Engineering Equality and Diversity Committee, led the department to Athena SWAN Silver award, chairs the University Gender Task Force, and serves on committees for professorial promotions, human samples steering, and research culture.