Alumni news

Taking pride in our alumni

For Pride Month 2025, the University celebrated 25 pioneering individuals from the global Leeds community at the forefront of LGBTQ+ progress.

The Pride 25 list included artists, academics, writers, data scientists, activists and business leaders. Individuals on the list have inspired others, brought about life-changing laws, and been firsts in their field.

A number of alumni featured, including former Church of England vicar Reverend Richard Coles (MA Theology and Religious Studies 2005); broadcaster and DJ Adele Roberts; and actor, comedian and producer Mark Gatiss (Drama 1989).

Going public to fight cancer

TV presenter Nick Owen (Classics 1969) says celebrities talking about prostate cancer have helped raise awareness of the illness, ensuring that more men than ever have their symptoms checked.

The broadcaster, who was treated for prostate cancer in 2023, says the illness is now “more talked about than ever before”, with high- profile figures such as cyclist Sir Chris Hoy and actor Stephen Fry speaking publicly about their experiences.

It is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK, with earlier diagnosis giving men a much better chance of beating the disease. “It is fantastic that all this awareness has come forward now,” says Nick.

After graduating from Leeds, Nick joined the Doncaster Evening Post – the first step in a career which included anchoring TV coverage of the Olympic Games and football World Cups. He is best known as a pioneering presenter on breakfast TV, alongside long-time co-host Anne Diamond. Now aged 77, Nick remains on air as a regular presenter of BBC Midlands Today. A lifetime fan of Luton Town FC, he was club chairman from 2008 to 2017.

Nick was awarded an MBE for his services to broadcasting in 2024, and told us: “I still can’t quite believe it. It’s something that would have been utterly unimaginable in the days I shared some really dodgy flats and houses with my mates at Leeds back in the 1960s!”

The science of the very small

The opportunity to study in the UK was pivotal in shaping the academic career of Dr Theerapong Puangmali (MSc Nanoelectronics and Nanomechanics, 2006, PhD Quantum Electronics, 2010).

“I was inspired by reading Quantum Wells, Wires and Dots by Leeds Professor Paul Harrison. The Thai government recognised the importance of the emerging field of nanotechnology, and I was fortunate to be awarded a scholarship to study with him.”

After completing his master’s degree, Theerapong pursued a PhD and is now a lecturer at Khon Kaen University in Thailand where his research focuses on applying nanotechnology to biomedical challenges, particularly in early cancer detection. He wrote the first Thai textbook on nanophysics and has published more than 35 scientific papers.

A fellow with energy

Recently elected as a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, Ollie Folayan MBE (PhD Engineering 2002) is Head of Process Engineering at Costain Group, with over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector. The co-founder of the UK Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers, Ollie was a finalist in the Outstanding Contribution of the Year category at the Black Scottish Awards and received an MBE in 2023 for services to equality, diversity and inclusion in engineering.

It's a Laing road

Reality TV celebrity and BBC Radio 1 presenter Jamie Laing (Theatre and Performance 2011) completed a gruelling Ultra Marathon Challenge, raising more than £2m for the charity Comic Relief. Over five days, the former Made in Chelsea star ran five consecutive 30-mile ultra marathons, taking him from Broadcasting House in London to the BBC’s northern base in Salford.

Jamie, who had never run more than 5km before taking on the challenge, admitted he found it hard going: “At one point I thought

I was down and out. Mentally I was gone, physically I was broken. I didn’t have anything left in me.” He also opened up about living with anxiety in his twenties:

“I’m running to raise money for people affected with loneliness, anxiety, depression, OCD, insomnia, whatever it may be.”

This year’s 40th anniversary Comic Relief raised £32m for projects promoting positive and lasting change in the lives of poor and disadvantaged people both in the UK and overseas.

Sharing the world of jazz

Blues and Roots Ensemble (BARE), founded by Ed Babar (English and Music 2009), has a mission to the share the music of marginalised composers with a wide audience through concerts, education workshops and outreach projects.

Based in London, double bassist and bass guitarist Ed combines his performing career with teaching – and spreading his passion for bandleader Charles Mingus and other composers of protest music.

To found BARE, he assembled a collective of top international musicians who have built a reputation for their captivating performances and community work. BARE take their music into primary and secondary schools, and those working with children with Special Educational Needs. As well as performing live for more than 5,000 primary school children, BARE has also created free online resources all designed to make jazz more accessible, which have been used by tens of thousands of young people worldwide.

Award-winning author

Ordinary people caught up in extraordinary historic events are at the heart of the work of author Hallie Rubenhold (MA History 1995, MPhil 1997). Her best-selling books include The Covent Garden Ladies, which inspired BBC series Harlots, and The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, which won the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction. Her recent work, Story of a Murder; the wives, the mistress and Dr Crippen won a Clue Award for True Crime Book of the Year.

Ambassador for industry

Newly elected as Master Cutler of Hallamshire, a role that stretches back 401 years, Professor Keith Jackson (1990 BEng Mechanical Engineering) will be an ambassador of the manufacturing industries of Sheffield and South Yorkshire, the traditional home of the UK steel industry and now the centre of UK Advanced Manufacturing.

Living off the land

It was during her student days that foraging expert Lisa Cutcliffe (Biology 2002) began to take an interest in living off food found in the wild. “I was watching a cookery programme which said porcini mushrooms grew wild in the UK. They were very expensive to buy, so I started looking for them.”

Two decades on, Lisa shares her passion for foraging through eduliswildfood.co.uk which shows customers how to find wild fungi, fruits, flowers, seaweeds and foliage from nature’s larder. “I teach people about fire cooking, cheese-making, preserving, fermenting and more.”

Lisa also took part in the Wildbiome Project, which involved living only on wild food for three months. It proved the health advantages of foraging, with participants experiencing improved gut health, lower BMI – and improved mental health.

News in brief

Nigeria’s National Theatre is to be renamed in honour of celebrated author and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka (English, 1957, Hon DLitt, 1973) who was once imprisoned for speaking out against the country’s ruling regime.

Rebecca Caravan (PhD Chemistry 2015) a chemist at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, has been awarded the Wing Tsang Early Career Award which recognises excellence in chemical kinetics research.

Named in Fortune India’s Most Powerful Women of 2025, Shradha Suri Marwah (MSc International Marketing Management 1999) is Past President of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India.

Oliver Coppard (Politics and Parliamentary Studies 2005) was re-elected as Labour Mayor of South Yorkshire in 2024 and has achieved his election pledge of regaining public control of Sheffield’s tram network.

As ‘The Dogsmith of Estepona’, Louise Stapleton-Frappell (Portuguese and Spanish 1988) promotes force-free pet training in southern Spain. The professional canine trainer and behaviour consultant uses positive reinforcement as the basis for training dogs, without shouting or physical restraint. She also develops training and delivers online courses for pet professionals worldwide.

Met Office Executive Director of Science Simon Vosper (Maths 1991, PhD 1995) leads the agency's research, and is responsible for ensuring it harnesses scientific and technological advances to remain at the forefront of weather and climate science.

The podcast Unpolished Players in Business, by Yuning Zhao (MBA 2024) explores the life stories of entrepreneurs of different cultures, going beyond their success stories to explore their tough decisions and personal challenges.

As UK CEO of Fremantle TV, Amelia Brown (History of Art 2002) is responsible for some of the most popular entertainment shows on British TV including Britain’s Got Talent, QI and The Apprentice.

As Director and Advisor in Human Rights at Ghana’s Parliament, Isaac Annan (PhD Law 2015) plays a vital role in holding the government accountable for the human rights treaties the country has ratified.