Tributes have been paid to Dr Marta Shahbazi, a University of Cambridge scientist who died in Wednesday’s train collision near Urda, in Toledo province. At least 69 people were killed in the crash, according to the information available.
Shahbazi was an affiliate associate professor at Cambridge’s Stem Cell Institute and a group leader at the city’s Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology. She was travelling to a conference in El Rompido, Andalucía, where she was due to receive the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology’s scientific excellence prize.
The LMB described her death as “a profound shock and a huge loss”. It said Shahbazi was an inspiring and passionate scientist whose research examined the earliest stages of human embryo development and the errors that can lead to failed pregnancies.
The laboratory also said Shahbazi, who was a mother of two, had served as a role model through her writing about balancing family life and a scientific career. She described herself as a “mother scientist”.
Dr Roser Vento-Tormo, a group leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, described Shahbazi as a close collaborator, treasured friend and inspiration as both a scientist and a mother. The pair had co-supervised two students, and some of their joint work is expected to be published in the coming months.
The Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases in Santiago de Compostela also paid tribute to Shahbazi, calling her a “brilliant young researcher”.
The crash was Spain’s second high-speed rail disaster this year. Both incidents occurred on the line connecting Madrid with Seville in Andalucía. Three days of national mourning began on Thursday, while Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described the collision as a tragedy and promised an investigation.
Sources: The Guardian Science.