Cambridge Researcher Marta Shahbazi Dies in Spanish Train Collision
Dr Marta Shahbazi, a developmental biologist who worked at the University of Cambridge and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, died in a high-speed train collision near Urda, in Toledo province in central Spain. The crash on Wednesday 28 October killed at least 69 people, according to The Guardian.
Shahbazi was an affiliate associate professor at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and a group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. She was travelling in the front carriage of the high-speed service involved, according to The Telegraph.
The Urda collision was the second high-speed rail crash in Spain in 2026. Both took place on the line between Madrid and Seville. The Spanish government declared three days of national mourning, beginning on Thursday. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez pledged an investigation into the crash.
Shahbazi had recently won the scientific excellence prize of the Spanish Society of Developmental Biology, and she was travelling to receive it. The award was due to be presented at the society's conference in El Rompido, in Andalucía, in southern Spain.
Her research group focused on the stage of mammalian development when an embryo implants into the mother's uterus, a period when the basic body plan is formed. Earlier work by the group examined how the three-dimensional organisation of a tissue affects the fate of its stem cells. Shahbazi was also a mother of two. The Times reported that her relatives said she "lived for science and her kids".
The MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology said it was deeply concerned after reports that Shahbazi was on one of the trains involved in the collision. The laboratory confirmed her death and said it was offering support to members of its community.
