Dr Margarita Zachariou

Margarita has a BSc in applied Mathematics and a PhD in Mathematical Neuroscience. She is the winner of the 2024 British Council Study UK Alumni Awards for Science and Sustainability in Cyprus. 

The time Margarita spent at Aberystwyth University as an Erasmus Exchange Student during her undergraduate degree in 2002, inspired her to continue studying in the UK.  Following this she went on to obtain a PhD in Mathematical Neuroscience at the university of Nottingham.  

Margarita now works at the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics applying mathematics and informatics in health and biology with a focus on the brain. 

Passionate to continue to develop the values instilled in the UK of harnessing science for social change, Margarita continues to strive towards making science accessible and a beneficial to society.  

Appointed as one of the management committees for the COST action Mathematics in Industry, Margarita co-led various knowledge transfer activities including the first two European Study groups with Industry (ESGIs) in Cyprus (2016, 2018), supported locally by many stakeholders including the British High Commission. Bringing together STEM academics and industry to work jointly together to find solutions to industry and societal challenges.  

The challenges included the barriers women face in academia in Cyprus, where Margarita passionately promotes diversity, equality and inclusion in academia.  Moving from identifying barriers to actively seeking ways to tackle them.  

As a UK alumnus Margarita joined the British Council (BC)'s course "Stronger Together: Leadership for Gender Equality". This course provided the inspiration and motivation to kickstart the Women in Mathematical Sciences in Cyprus (WMSC) a network with a vision for a more inclusive scientific community. After obtaining a BC social action grant, the WMSC hosted for the first time in Cyprus an exhibition of "Women of Mathematics from all over the world; A gallery of Portraits". This reached approximately 5500 in 4 months at 7 different academic organisations, featuring the stories of 11 local women academics.