The collision occurred on 28 October south of Madrid when a state-operated Renfe train struck the rear of a stationary Iryo train carrying 146 passengers and an infant. More than 540 people were aboard the two services, making it Spain's worst rail crash since 2013. Tributes have poured in for Dr Shahbazi, who headed a research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and previously earned her PhD at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre.
Key points
Spain has entered three days of national mourning following its deadliest train disaster…: Spain has entered three days of national mourning following its deadliest train disaster since 2013.
The scientific community has lost a prominent researcher who led a specialized laboratory…: The scientific community has lost a prominent researcher who led a specialized laboratory at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
The collision south of Madrid ranks among the deadliest rail catastrophes recorded in mod…: The collision south of Madrid ranks among the deadliest rail catastrophes recorded in modern European history.
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A University of Cambridge scientist died in the Spanish train disaster which killed at least 69 people, a research institute has confirmed.
Dr Marta Shahbazi was travelling on one of the trains involved in the collision near Urda, south of Madrid, according to the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in the city, where she led a group of researchers.
The University of Cambridge lists Dr Shahbazi as an affiliate associate professor.
The Spanish CiMUS institute paid tribute to the "brilliant young researcher" in a social media post.
The expert in cell biology, who runs the Shahbazi Laboratory at the LMB, based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, was announced as the winner of a Spanish Society for Developmental Biology award for her contributions to the study of early human development.
She was due to be presented with the award during the society's conference in El Rompido, Andalusia, south-west Spain.
The LMB previously confirmed Dr Shahbazi was on one of the trains but said her whereabouts were "unknown", external.
In a social media post, external CiMUS, based in Santiago…
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