Release of Student Focus e-zine

The Biochemical Society aims to support its members at all stages of their career.  The Student Focus section of our member’s magazine, The Biochemist, is dedicated to supporting our undergraduate and postgraduate members. The articles featured look at the academic issues that affect students in the molecular biosciences, support studies with topic information, and provide information to help students make informed choices on career options, and to support studies.

 

We are proud to announce the release of a special e-zine that collates articles from Student Focus from 2012. Articles include “Pharmacology NOW”, “Life after biochemistry”, “Science writing and journalism” and more. This e-zine will be freely available online for a limited time, after which it will be available only to members via our online member’s area.

Read the new Student Focus e-zine

If you have any ideas or suggestions for possible future topics or content please do get in touch at education@biochemistry.org.

Biochemical Society sponsored Daphne Jackson Fellowship opportunity

Daphne Jackson fellowships are unique and unlike any other academic fellowships

Applications are invited for:

One Daphne Jackson fellowship, fully sponsored by the Biochemical Society at any UK University.  The fellowship is intended for those wishing to return to an area of molecular bioscience, within the remit area of the Biochemical Society, after a career break of two years or more. Fellowships are normally two years, half time and involve a challenging research project and an individually tailored retraining programme.

The Daphne Jackson Trust is the only charitable organisation in the UK solely dedicated to returning scientists to their careers following a prolonged break. The Trust offers flexible, part-time, paid fellowships which are designed to significantly increase employability and remove the disadvantages associated with a career break.

To be eligible for a Daphne Jackson Fellowship you must at least meet the following criteria:

• ·         A career break of at least two years’ duration taken for family, caring or health reasons
• ·         A good first degree in a relevant STEM subject
• ·         At least 3 years in research prior to career break and / or PhD qualification
• ·         Resident in the UK with the right to remain in the UK indefinitely
• ·         Good command of English (spoken and written)
• ·         Computer skills

If you would like to be considered for this sponsored fellowship, please submit your CV along with a personal statement explaining your career break and future career plans to the Daphne Jackson Trust office Djmft@surrey.ac.uk . For full details about the Trust and these opportunities, please see the website www.daphnejackson.org, ring the Trust office on 01483 689166, or email djmft@surrey.ac.uk

Closing date for initial expressions of interest in this opportunity is 7 June 2013.

Celebrating Women in Biochemistry 2013

Throughout 2013 the Biochemical Society has been running a series of initiatives and events celebrating the role of women in the molecular biosciences including:

•           A launch reception at the Royal Institution with Shabana Mahmood MP
•           High-sci school lectures with Frances Ashcroft, Cait MacPhee, Sara Rankin
•           The new Stay connected Bursary scheme
•          Women in Biochemistry Discussion Sessions at Society conferences
•           A research project on women in biochemistry in the UK from 1945-75
•           Supporting Ada Lovelace Day on 15 October 2013

Keep up-to-date with our latest news on Twitter @biochemsoc and #WiB2013

Find out more information at www.biochemistry.org/womeninbiochemistry2013

2013 Eisenthal Prize winner announced

Anna Miles (University College London, UK)

The Biochemical Society today announced the winner of the Eisenthal Prize as Anna Miles at University College London (London, UK). Anna won the prize for her Summer Vacation Studentship application for her project entitled ‘Role of the molecular interactions between Complement C3d and Factor H in regulating the complement cascade of innate immunity’. The eight week placement will be supervised by Professor Stephen Perkins at University College London (London, UK).  The grant scheme not only benefits the student as they get valuable lab experience, but the supervisor also gains an extra pair of hands for the summer and can play a part in introducing a future scientist to research.

Professor Stephen Perkins said “”I benefited myself from summer studentships many years ago when I was an undergraduate thinking about a PhD, and they definitely helped me decide what to do.  I have continued this tradition by offering a position for enthusiastic undergraduates in my lab over the summer so that they can see how the lab works. They can interact with my current PhD students and postdocs and learn what it is like to purify the complement proteins and subject them to careful biophysical measurements. They also get the chance to engage with the frontiers of new science, especially the growth of new complement therapeutics. The support from the Biochemical Society has helped enormously in this regard in recent years”

Anna Miles, undergraduate, University College London, said ‘’I am thoroughly looking forward to this internship. The experience will be invaluable and I am extremely fortunate to be able to work with a team of professional scientists. I am particularly excited to be able to use techniques studied extensively during my undergraduate degree. I also look forward to being introduced to new skills in the laboratory and to experience new procedures. This opportunity will provide an unrivalled insight into working within a research environment and will enable me to gain confidence in my practical abilities.’

The Eisenthal Prize is awarded in memory of Professor Robert Eisenthal, formerly of the Biology and Biochemistry Department at the University of Bath, he was a long standing and active member of the Biochemical Society. The Society instituted The Eisenthal Prize to honour his commitment to science education and wishes this prize to be a lasting mark of respect for a colleague who did so much to make the Studentship scheme so successful.

Summer Vacation Studentships

Grants are available for stipends of £200 per week for 6 – 8 weeks, and up to £1,600 in total, to support an undergraduate student to carry out a summer lab placement. This scheme not only benefits the student as they get valuable research experience, but the supervisor also gains an extra pair of hands in the lab.

Interested students must pair up with a potential supervisor, develop a project together, then apply for funding. Applicants (supervisors) must be members of the Biochemical Society working in a university or research institute, and apply for the grant on behalf of the student.

The deadline for the 2013 applications has now passed. The deadline for 2014 applications is 14 February 2014.

Science Funding

It’s a pensive time for scientists; the government is preparing for its spending review on 26 June when the science budget from April 2015 onwards will be decided. The consultations are out and evidence is being gathered by members of the scientific community in support for science and its role in driving the UK economy forwards.

The last review, back in October 2010, saw the UK’s Research Base Budget facing a shortfall of £1665 million. However, since this, additional funds totalling £1354m have been announced, reducing the shortfall from £1665m to £311m with two years of this spending review period remaining. In addition to addressing the shortfall in the research capital, the Government has also committed £332m to innovation capital.

But how does this compare with the spending of some of our international contemporaries? The UK is below the G8 average in terms of Government spending on research and development; as a fraction of GDP, the UK’s spend is 0.57%, while the G8 average is 0.79%.

Yet the UK remains a world leader in scientific research with arguably the most productive research base of the world’s leading economies. For example, the UK is a world leader in terms of article and citation output per researcher and per unit of research spending. Furthermore UK researchers have so far claimed over 90 Nobel Prizes.

Our scientists are making discoveries and unearthing new technologies which directly contribute towards economic growth. It has been estimated that nearly 30% of the UK’s GDP is produced by sectors intensive in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Bioscience in particular is vital to the UK economy; a recent valuation of the European knowledge-based bio-economy, in which we are recognised as the key player, indicates it is worth around €2 trillion.

Clearly, scientific research in the UK has a huge impact. Hence it is imperative that the science budget reflects this. To this end, the Biochemical Society is supporting the Science is Vital campaign, which seeks to persuade the government to increase the 2015-16 science budget in line with the G8 average. We also support Campaign for Science and Engineering (CaSE) which is also calling for increased Government spending.

Come the end of June, the fate of the science budget for the next few years will have been decided. Until then, the scientific community is collectively holding its breath…

Crossing the great divide? Moving between academia and industry

The Academy of Medical Sciences is hosting an event, developed along with the Biochemical Society, – ‘Crossing the great divide? Moving between academia and industry’, Thursday, 6 June 2013, 11:00 – 18:30 at IBM on London’s Southbank.

This event will help you learn about opportunities in industry. If you are a clinical or non-clinical biomedical researcher at PhD or postdoctoral level, you are encouraged to attend to take advantage of the unique learning and networking opportunities.

Professor Ed Bullmore FMedSci, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge; Vice-President, Experimental Medicine and Head, Clinical Unit Cambridge, GlaxoSmithKline, will give a keynote talk on his work spanning academia and industry and the many options available to early career researchers.

At this event you will have a chance to:

• Learn about opportunities for biomedical researchers in industry
• Discover innovative ways of working with industry
• Discuss practical tips for success
• Understand how to apply for fellowships that link with industry
• Network with senior academics, funders and industry representatives

To book for this FREE event, contact the Academy of Medical Sciences by emailing mentoring@acmedsci.ac.uk or calling 020 3176 2160.

Get involved with Science Policy – BIS requests feedback on research priorities for forthcoming spending decisions

John O’Reilly, the Director General for Knowledge and Innovation at the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) has requested views and comments on the key priorities and challenges for the science and research budget in forthcoming spending decisions for the 2015 to 2016 financial year.

He has specifically asked for views on the following key criteria:

• Ensuring excellence with impact, sustaining our national capability and international competitiveness
• Maximising the contribution to UK economic growth
• Continuing to improve the efficiency of the research base
• Maximising the leverage from private, charitable and international funders

And thoughts on the following:

• The role of the science and research ringfence in supporting national objectives
• The optimum balance between resource and capital
• Factors that influence the confidence and funding inclinations of bodies outside the science and
• research base, not last those in the innovation ecosystem

His letter can be found here. If you’re a member and you’d like to contribute to our response, please send any comments to our Science Policy Officer, Cat Ball catherine.ball@biochemistry.org, by Tuesday 7^th  May.

We will endeavour to champion the opinions of our members and respond to this consultation in collaboration with the Science Policy team at the Society of Biology.

 

Ugandan Science Clubs Get Active

by Jane Thomson, School Projects Manager, Biochemical Society

 

 

 

 

 

The A* Science Club is a scheme for supporting enthusiastic secondary students in Uganda who want to have fun and inspire others through guided science club activities. Our mission is to encourage kids to get into science through providing opportunities for wonder and fun.

Following a fact-finding mission in April 2012 we planned to establish science clubs in 10 schools in the vicinity of Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST). The scheme was launched in September 2012 where the clubs were heralded with great fanfare and ceremony at our first A* Masterclass which had a ‘Genetics’ theme.

At the end of the Masterclass, resources were provided to participating schools to help the clubs complete a series of challenges in order to maintain their A* status. Clubs were requested to complete five challenges over a year and submit short reports via the local committee or facebook group for each of the following five categories:

Masterclass Challenge: Send a team of club members to an A* Science Club Masterclass.

Outreach Challenge: Send a team of club members to a local primary school (or invite them to come to your school) for a fun science activity.

Meet a Scientist Challenge: Invite a working scientist to speak to club members in school or arrange to visit them in their place of work.

Debate Challenge: Participate in a debate about a controversial area of science with another school.

Project Challenge: Undertake a project to solve a problem or to make life easier using your knowledge of science.

It was with some trepidation that I returned to MUST six months later to help deliver the second A* Masterclass on ‘The Brain’ (last week) with Dr Nick Dixon, A* Champion from the Society’s Education Committee and Head of Science at Magdalen College School, Brackley. The Masterclass included:

• Insect Neuroscience: an expert talk from Professor Sadiq Yusuf, Deputy-Vice Chancellor of the Western Campus of the Kampala International University and TReND local partner.
• Hands-on practicals from Amy Buchanan-Hughes, Lina Munro and Johnmary Kasujja of The African Science Truck Experience TASTE
• Student presentations and debate on the use of smart drugs

 

Armed with Nick’s strawberry-lace neurons, ‘Thatcher effect’ optical illusions and fresh goat brains we felt we had kept our side of the bargain. But had the clubs risen to their challenges? I’ll let you decide…

 

Thanks to an inspirational Local Ambassador, enthusiastic support from the Society’s Executive Committee and a grant from the Monsanto Fund, the scheme has captured the imaginations of participants and organizers alike. A* Science Clubs have grown from strength to strength over the year since their inception with over 500 student members and 135 Facebook members. We now have a local committee comprising experts in Science Education, Lecturers in Biochemistry at MUST and representatives from the Ministry of Education and Sports and the Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology. Thanks to continued backing from our Executive Committee, we are confident this model will remain sustainable and hope that others might be inspired to set up similar schemes in other areas.