Cambridge researcher killed in Madrid train crash
Dr. Marta Shahbazi, who was traveling to accept a biology prize, was among 69 people killed in a collision south of the capital.
By Aiko Brooks ·
Dr. Marta Shahbazi, a cell biologist at the University of Cambridge, was one of 69 people killed in a train collision near Urda, south of Madrid, on Wednesday.
She was traveling to El Rompido in Andalusia to collect a prize from the Spanish Society for Developmental Biology for her work on early human development. The state-operated Renfe high-speed train she rode struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train.
Shahbazi served as an affiliate associate professor and led a research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. She also held a position as a principal investigator at the university’s Stem Cell Institute.
The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology described her death as a "profound shock and a huge loss." The institute noted that her research clarified the earliest stages of human embryo development and the errors that cause failed pregnancies.
Prof. Bertie Gottgens, the director of the Stem Cell Institute, said the community was "shocked and deeply saddened." He highlighted her "pioneering research on early human development" and her collaborative spirit across both institutes.
Shahbazi completed her PhD at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre. She joined Cambridge as a post-doctoral fellow before moving to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in 2020. Her aunt, who works at the CiMUS in Santiago de Compostela, first confirmed her death on social media.
The crash is Spain’s worst rail disaster since 2013 and one of the worst in modern European history. More than 540 people were on board the two trains when the collision occurred. Spain declared three days of national mourning.
