Queens Projects - Durham University

Projects offered by Queen's University

Established by royal charter in 1841, Queen's University at Kingston (commonly known as Queen's) is a leading research university, highly-ranked in Canada for student experience. Scenically located in the beautiful Thousand Islands region of Eastern Ontario, Kingston is big enough to provide all the conveniences of modern life, and small enough for students to feel instantly comfortable and at home.

Find out more about Queen's University

The projects below are offered by Queen's University for Durham University students applying to the Matariki Network Summer Research Programme. Funding for Durham students is available via the Turing scheme. The exact amount of funding will depend on the duration spent in Canada and whether students meet the University's Widening Participation status (see: Grant Rates).

To apply, please complete the online application form in the purple section at the bottom of this page.

If you are a Queen's student wanting to undertake a Matariki Summer Research Project at Durham, please click here: Durham Projects or here to return to the Matariki SRP homepage.

Name	Department	Project Title	Project Description	Guidance
Prof Kristine Spekkens	Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy	Galaxies, dark matter & radio astronomy in the SWAN Universe	Identifying the particles making up the dark matter whose presence we infer throughout the Universe is a key objective in physics and astronomy. Different hypotheses for the nature of dark matter lead to different predictions for the number of lumps of dark matter that provide the formation sites for galaxies. The Matariki Network-funded "SWAN Universe" project is a global collaboration of experts in observational and theoretical astrophysics (including Prof. Kyle Oman at Durham University). We are testing the predictions of cutting-edge computer simulations of galaxy formation assuming different dark matter particle candidates against observations from the WALLABY 21-cm radio astronomical survey. WALLABY is now in full swing on the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope, and we have just completed the first simulations for the project; you will join the project at this exciting time. In this project, you will work with galaxies detected by the ASKAP telescope and compare their properties to the ones derived from virtual observations of objects in the SWAN simulations. Comparing against the known dark matter content from the simulations will allow you to check for biases that could hinder our ability to measure galaxy structure and test dark matter hypotheses. You will be hosted in Dr Kristine Spekkens' group in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy at Queen's University.	Students should have some foundational knowledge in physics and astronomy, as well as strong programming skills, to successfully complete this fellowship.
Development of Social & Emotional Communication Lab	Psychology	Understanding neural correlates of emotion recognition skills in teenagers	The DSEC Lab's research focuses on the development of emotional communication skills and social cognition in adolescence. This project investigates how teenagers grow the ability to interpret others' nonverbal cues of emotion ('emotion recognition' skills). These skills mature throughout childhood and adolescence, but we know very little about the underlying mechanisms for the development of these abilities. This project examines 12- to 15-year-olds' capacity to interpret emotional stimuli (e.g., facial expressions, tone of voice) while in an MRI scanner. We investigate potential predictors of their task performance, including biological predictors (e.g., puberty, neural response to emotional information), cognitive predictors (e.g., working memory), and social predictors (e.g., social competence). To enhance the ecological validity of our study, we use both validated stimulus sets and individualized stimuli (i.e., facial and vocal expressions generated by the teenage participant's own parent and friend, whom they bring to the study visits). This project is a longitudinal study that examines relationships between the above variables over time: wave 2 (started in January 2025) will be in progress during summer 2025. Student researchers would be involved in recruitment of participating families, data collection, data processing/analysis, and knowledge mobilization projects in the lab. Data from this project will allow us to determine what factors predict emotion recognition skills over time, and how emotion recognition skills predict psychosocial outcomes in youth. Findings will help us understand how teenagers develop these key social cognitive skills that allow them to successfully navigate their complex social worlds.

Eligibility

Durham students must meet following requirements:

Need to be enrolled at Durham university at the time of the Fellowship, with one full year of study remaining at the time of the prospective internship (summer 2025);
Have a minimum GPA of 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) - at Durham this is an average of 65% across all modules;
Meet the research project requirements as agreed upon with their supervisor;
Write a post-visit report within 30 days of return date highlighting the work that was carried out during this fellowship;
Are expected to present their research at the MNU Student Poster Summit;
Are also encouraged to present their research at their home institution;
Information on publications and patents submitted as outcomes of this fellowship need to be shared with MNU.

1. Application to Durham

The application form (in the purple section below) includes four parts:

Personal details, including email, degree programme etc.
A personal statement composed of two 250-word statements on:

What attracted them to the project?
The skills that they bring to the project?

Academic transcript / statement of marks or similar indicating that you meet the 65% average requirement;
Declaration and signature, including a data sharing statement,

The deadline for applications to Durham is 23:59 on 2 March 2025.

Fair Access

Fair Access: This initiative is open to any Durham student who meets the eligibility criteria above. Expressions of interest are particularly welcomed from students from backgrounds where participation in study or work abroad is traditionally low. This includes students who: have received or are eligible for the Durham Grant Scheme; have participated in the Supported Progression Scheme or Sutton Trust Summer school at Durham University; are from a minority ethnic group; have a home address in an area of low progression to higher education (i.e. your postcode is listed '1' or '2' in the Polar checking tool.

Widening Participation

For the purposes of funding, the University's definition of Widening Participation includes:

Students with a low (parental) household income or low socio-economic status (including those with an annual household income of £25,000 or less)
Students with a medium-low (parental) household income or low socio-economic status (including those with an annual household income of £25,001 to £47,200)
Students receiving Universal Credit or income-related benefits because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them, such as a child or partner
Students who are care-experienced
Students who have caring responsibilities
Neither of the students’ parents can be found or it is not reasonably practicable to get in touch with either of them (estranged students)
Refugees and asylum seekers

2. Selection by Durham

Once the deadline for applications has passed the home university:

Will check the eligibility of each application, including GPA.
May also make additional contextual comments on the applications for considerations by the MNU Fellowship Steering Committee. For example: whether a student meets the university’s own definition of ‘disadvantaged’ (such as: financial, refugee status, caregiving, or estranged); or whether a student has already availed themselves of an international opportunity.
Should an exceptional number of applications be received, the home university may long-list applications.
Submit applications for review by the MNU Steering Committee by an agreed deadline.

3. Selection by the Matariki Network

The adjudication and review process will be conducted by members of a MNU Fellowship Steering Committee. Applications will be assessed on:

completeness,
potential for significant impact on student learning and development.
student’s genuine interest in research and their potential to succeed in the project.

Prior to the offer of a Fellowship place, shortlisted applications will be sent to host academics to ensure that they agree that the applicant has the requisite skills required to undertake the project.

Apply

To apply students must complete the following form. Please note that the deadline is 2nd March (23:59) 2025. To be fair to all applicants, late applications will not be accepted.

Click here to access the form (DU students only)