Charlene Greenwood

Biography

Professor Charlene Greenwood gained her BSc in Forensic Science and Criminology from Keele University before completing an MSc in Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology and a PhD at Cranfield University, where she received the University’s Best PhD Thesis Award for her research on bone mineral characterisation.

Following completion of her PhD in 2015, Charlene held a Research Fellow position at Cranfield University, where she contributed to EPSRC-funded research investigating bone quality and fracture risk using advanced X-ray scattering and imaging techniques.

Since joining Keele as a Lecturer in 2018, Charlene has undertaken a range of academic and leadership roles within the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences and was appointed Professor of Biogenic Materials Science in 2025.

She has also held several international leadership roles within the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD), USA, including Director-at-Large and Chair of the Technical Committee, for which she was re-elected for the 2026–2028 term. In addition, she founded and leads the ICDD Early Career Researchers Network (ICDD Early Career Researcher (ECR) Networking Group | Groups | LinkedIn), supporting an international community of early career researchers in analytical and diffraction sciences.

Research and scholarship

Charlene’s research focuses on the physicochemical and structural characterisation of biogenic materials, with particular emphasis on understanding the tissue microenvironment in health, ageing, and disease. Her work integrates analytical chemistry, materials science, spectroscopy, imaging, and X-ray scattering techniques to investigate structural and compositional changes in biological tissues across multiple scales.

Her work spans translational applications across biomedical, forensic, archaeological, and biomaterials sciences, with current projects focused on cancer diagnostics and musculoskeletal disease. This includes investigating the role of tissue architecture, extracellular matrix organisation, and microcalcifications in breast and prostate cancer, alongside studies exploring bone quality and fracture risk in osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

Through interdisciplinary collaborations with academic, clinical, and industrial partners, Charlene aims to identify novel structural and chemical biomarkers that can support earlier disease detection, improve diagnostic accuracy, and advance understanding of disease initiation and progression.