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Quantitative Research in Financial Economics
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2026

QRFE Co-Directors Visit Partner Universities in China

QRFE Co-Directors Kumush Abduraimova and Valerie Laturnus recently visited several of Durham’s partner institutions and leading universities in China, including Fudan University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in Shanghai, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, and Renmin University of China in Beijing.

During the two-month trip, they were warmly welcomed by faculty and students from finance, management, and economics schools and departments, and were invited to present their research at seminars and give guest lectures.

Valerie presented her current research on blockchain economics and decentralised finance (DeFi), while Kumush shared her work on liquidity contagion in cryptocurrency markets. The research visit strengthened Durham University’s partnerships in China and opened up exciting opportunities for future academic exchange and research collaboration.

Group photo

QRFE Co-directors Kumush Abduraimova and Valerie Laturnus receive recognition for the work they presented and pose with colleagues from partner universities in China.

Valerie presenting her work

Dr Valerie Laturnus presenting her work on 'Token-based Platform Governance under Financial Stress'.

Kumush presenting her work

Dr Kumushoy Abduraimova presenting her work on 'Arbitrage and Liquidity Contagion in Cryptocurrency Markets'.

Valerie and Kumush outside a building

Valerie Laturnus and Kumush Abduraimova stand together outside a building in China.

QRFE Co-Directors Join Editorial Board of The Journal of FinTech

QRFE Co-Directors Kumush Abduraimova and Valerie Laturnus have joined the Editorial Board of The Journal of FinTech, a new international journal launched in 2025 that publishes research on FinTech, digital finance, and emerging technologies with broad relevance for finance. Their appointments reflect QRFE’s growing expertise in areas such as artificial intelligence, blockchain economics, and market microstructure, and will strengthen the centre’s links with the global FinTech research community and its ongoing publication activities.

Valerie Contributes Chapter to The Blockchain Scholars Book

QRFE Co-Director Valerie Laturnus has contributed a chapter to The Blockchain Scholars Book, a new volume published by Springer Nature that brings together academic research on blockchain for practitioners, researchers, and policymakers.

Her chapter, 'Conflicts of Interest and Market Failures in Unregulated Capital Markets: Evidence from ICO Analysts', is based on her co-authored research published in Management Science. It examines how conflicts of interest among ICO analysts can distort information in unregulated crypto markets and highlights broader lessons for market transparency, investor protection, and the design of digital asset regulation.