Cambridge scientist dies in Spanish train crash

An award-winning University of Cambridge researcher died in the Spanish train disaster while on her way to collect a prize for scientific excellence.

Dr Marta Shahbazi was travelling to an awards ceremony on Wednesday when the train she was on crashed into another near Urda, south of Madrid, killing 69 people.

The mother of two was an affiliate associate professor leading a group of researchers at MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge and had earned several awards for work on human embryos and cell biology.

In a statement, the LMB paid tribute to the "inspiring, talented and passionate scientist" and described her death as a "profound shock and a huge loss".

The expert in cell biology ran the Shahbazi Laboratory at the LMB, based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.

She had been announced as the winner of a Spanish Society for Developmental Biology award for her contributions to the study of early human development and was due to collect the award at a conference in El Rompido in Andalusia.

The LMB said: "As a wife and mother of two young children, Marta wrote eloquently about balancing her family and career, serving as a much-admired role model for a 'mother scientist', a term she used to describe herself.

"Marta was an inspiring, talented and passionate scientist whose research shed light on the earliest steps in the development of human embryos and how errors occur that lead to failed pregnancies," the LMB said.

The institute said her death was "a profound shock and a huge loss for LMB".

Her work had been recognised with "many awards and prizes", the laboratory added.

Shahbazi is listed on the University of Cambridge website as a principal investigator at its Stem Cell Institute (CSCI).

Institute director Prof Bertie Gottgens said its community was "shocked and deeply saddened" by her death.

"Marta led her primary research group at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) alongside her roles as an affiliate principal investigator and affiliate assistant professor at the CSCI," he said.

"Across both institutes, she was highly respected for her pioneering research on early human development and valued for her collaborative spirit.

"Her creativity, passion, and generosity will be greatly missed."

The news of her death was first confirmed in a social media post by the CiMUS, based in Santiago de Compostela where Shahbazi's aunt works.

Shahbazi undertook her PhD at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, before joining the University of Cambridge as a post-doctoral fellow and then the LMB in 2020.

The crash in Spain happened when a state-operated Renfe high-speed train smashed into the back of a stationary train operated by the Iryo company.

It is one of the worst rail disasters in Europe's modern history, and Spain's worst crash since 2013.

Three days of national mourning were declared in the country.

More than 540 people were on board both trains.

The Foreign Office has been contacted by the BBC.