Staff profile

Mathilde joined Durham University in 2014 as a Postdoctoral Research Assistant. In 2015, Mathilde started to teach while continuing her Postdoctoral Research. In 2018, she became a full-time Teaching Fellow. In 2020, Mathilde became an Assistant Professor (Teaching) and she the Digital Learning Coordinator for the Department of Biosciences. Since 2022, Mathilde is now Associate Professor (Education)

Research Background

Mathilde's background is in Animal Cellular Biology.

During her PhD in France, Mathilde gained expertise in stem cell therapy, nanoparticles, and cancer biology.

While working under Prof Stefan Przyborski as a PDRA and laboratory manager, Mathilde acquired a strong expertise in Tissue Engineering, especially in Skin Tissue Engineering.

Teaching Areas

• Cell Biology
• Stem cells Biology
• Tissue Engineering
• Immunology
• Genetics
• Development
• Cell and Tissue Pathology

Departmental responsibility-Digital Learning coordinator

As the Digital Learning Coordinator for the Department of Biosciences, Mathilde is promoting the use of digital tools for successful, inclusive and accessible teaching strategies within her Department.

In collaboration with the Biosciences L&T team, Mathilde is developing automatic processes for recurrent student queries to improve student support.

Scholarship Interests

Over the last few years, Mathilde has developed a special interest in students' self-regulated learning and inclusive and accessible Teaching, Learning and Assessment. She is exploring new strategies for authentic assessment, such as promoting the importance of formative coursework and the value of peer- and self-feedback. Mathilde is also investigating how digital tools can enhance accessibility and inclusivity and promote student learning. Mathilde is currently developing a student-led feedback e-journal to encourage students to engage and reflect on their feedback at the programme level.

Mathilde is the Academic Lead for the Feedback Special Interest Group. The Feedback SIG (internal Sharepoint site) allow colleagues to network, provide peer support to each other, initiate feedback projects/initiatives and policies and students’ experiences of feedback, and discuss educational research on feedback. The group has its own seminar series (internal Sharepoint site) with national and international speakers.

We welcome anybody from the university who is interested in feedback. Click here to join the Feedback Special Interest Group (Internal Team site).

Internal grants for educational projects

• Collaborative innovation grant (March 2022): Innovative digital assessment practice to promote self-regulated learning. This project aims to explore innovative pedagogical and digital approaches that encourage student self-regulated learning through peer feedback. Funded by DCAD.
• Enhancing accessibility grant (March 2022): Enhancing the Accessibility of Online Induction Materials in the Faculty of Science. This project aims to assess the accessibility of departmental online induction material within departments at Durham University to support the students’ transition to new virtual learning environments (VLE) for an improved higher education learning experience. Funded by Durham University student support.
• Collaborative innovation grant (July 2023): Enhancing student engagement with feedback at the program level using digital tools. This project aims to explore innovative pedagogical and digital approaches that promote student engagement with the feedback received during their entire degree. Funded by DCAD.
• Collaborative innovation grant (December 2023): Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance critical thinking: Are students ready for this? This project aims to explore how an AI-powered language model can facilitate inner feedback by comparison and develop student’s critical thinking skills. Funded by DCAD.

Enhancing Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

In collaboration with Prof Sam Nolan and DCAD, Mathilde is preparing the launch of Durham's new SoTL journal, " Enhancing Teaching and Learning in Higher Education". 

ETLHE offers an opportunity for those involved in University learning and teaching to disseminate their practice. It aims to publish accounts of scholarly practice that report on small-scale practitioner research and case studies of practice that involve reflection, critique, and implications for future practice and are informed by relevant literature, focusing on enhancing student learning. A peer review process is followed for each submission.

We welcome submissions in two formats:

• Papers on evaluated and established changes in teaching (3000 words)
• Update Papers on projects which are currently being developed (2000 words)

For guidance see submission section.

Please register and enter your reviewing interests to volunteer as a reviewer.

• 2022: Senior Fellowship of HEA: Senior Fellowship is awarded to professionals whose comprehensive understanding and effective practice provides a basis from which they lead or influence the learning and teaching practices of others (peers, colleagues, mentees, etc.) who teach and/or support high-quality learning.
• 2022: Education laboratory fellowship: These prestigious awards are open to those developing their own profile in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as Assistant or Associate Professors on the Education Track at Durham University and allow a teaching buy-out of 1 day/week across a term to work in the DCAD space in the Teaching and Learning Centre with access to our facilities to focus on a scholarship project which will have a meaningful impact on students within their own department and will be disseminated more broadly across the institution.
• 2021: Winner of Teaching & Learning Awards: Exceptional Contribution in an exceptional Year
• 2018: Fellowship of HEA: Fellowship of HEA demonstrates effectiveness of practice in teaching and/or support of high-quality learning.