A distinguished University of Cambridge scientist lost her life in Wednesday’s high‑speed train crash in Spain, an accident that claimed at least 69 lives.
Dr Marta Shahbazi, an affiliate associate professor at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and a group leader at the city’s Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), was among the passengers on a train involved in the crash near Urda in Toledo province.
The LMB reported that Dr Shahbazi, a mother of two, had recently been awarded the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology’s scientific excellence prize and was scheduled to receive the honour at its conference in El Rompido, Andalucía.
In a LinkedIn post, the LMB said her passing was a profound shock and a huge loss. She was a talented, passionate scientist whose work illuminated the earliest stages of human embryo development and the errors that lead to failed pregnancies.
Widely regarded as a role model, she wrote eloquently about balancing family and career, often referring to herself as a “mother scientist”.
Dr Roser Vento‑Tormo, a group leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute near Cambridge, described Dr Shahbazi as a beautiful person—a close collaborator, a treasured friend, and an inspiration both as a scientist and as a mother. “As a scientist, we shared many dreams. We co‑supervised two students together, and I cannot express how much joy it was to work alongside her. Some of our collaborative work will appear in upcoming publications, and readers will feel the passion she poured into everything she did. My thoughts are with her family. Anyone who knew Marta could see how deeply her family meant to her.”
The Center for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, hailed Dr Shahbazi as a brilliant young researcher.
The tragedy marks Spain’s second high‑speed rail crash this year. Both accidents occurred on the Madrid‑Seville line serving the Andalucía region in southern Spain.
Spain observed a three‑day national mourning period beginning Thursday. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the incident a tragedy and pledged a full investigation.
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