SoapboxScience

Dr Jessica Bryant is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Institute of Zoology. She works with Hainan Gibbons in order to try to develop novel monitoring technologies for the surviving gibbon population, and explores appropriate methods to reconnect the fragmented Bawangling forest landscape and allow wider gibbon movement and dispersal. You can catch Jessica on her soapbox on the 27th of May in London, where she’ll give a talk called: “The singing king of the swingers: conserving the world’s rarest ape”

SS: How did you get to your current position?

JB: I grew up in the outer fringe of Sydney, Australia, surrounded by bushland, and so I’ve been fascinated by the natural world from a young age.  When I started to notice changes in my local area, I also developed a strong sense of needing to protect and conserve the amazing animals and plants around me.  It was only when I got to tag along with a ‘real’ scientist in my second last year of high school that I realised I could do this for a job! So I did a degree in biology majoring in ecology, with an Honours research project year looking at the impact of dog walking in urban bushland areas on native fauna. After graduating, I worked in various positions in the state government’s environment department on different conservation research projects, which gave me really valuable real-world experience in conservation practice. Then, in 2010 I moved to the UK to start my PhD investigating the Hainan gibbon in China with the aim of better understanding the species to inform conservation decision making. I have continued to work on the species in a post-doctoral capacity for the last couple of years, working with a small team of colleagues and the local nature reserve to research and enhance conservation of this species.

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

JB: Well, my interest in science was originally inspired by my love of nature, but at the age of 17 this was nurtured when I was fortunate enough to be selected to participate in the CSIRO Student Research Scheme – a scheme run by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (the top government agency for scientific research in Australia) that paired senior school students with active scientific researchers across a range of disciplines to carry out ‘real’ research. I was partnered with (then) Dr David Eldridge (now Professor) from the University of New South Wales, who studies arid zone ecology. We went to Yathong Nature Reserve in central NSW and spent a week trapping invertebrates, reptiles and small mammals to investigate the biodiversity in this semi-arid region.  I learnt from ‘Dr David’ how to catch these animals, as well as how to identify and preserve some, and how to analyse the data we collected. It was a fantastic week of adventure, discovery and learning and David’s enthusiasm for ecology was infectious! It made it clear to me that something that I was interested in could actually be a full time job! From then I was hooked! With my passion for nature and interest in biology channelled, and with David’s ongoing mentoring help beyond the scheme, I set out to do everything I could to forge a career in science and conservation.

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

JB: Definitely the Hainan gibbons I have been studying for the past 7 years. They are remarkable creatures and it’s such a privilege to have been able to spend time with them in the wild, even more so considering their extreme rarity.  Their song has to be one of the most hauntingly beautiful forest sounds, and even now I get goose bumps when I hear it when I’m out in the forest in Hainan.

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

JB: I’m really keen to spread the word to people from all walks of life that women CAN (and should!) do conservation science in challenging field conditions (such as remote, rural China) even in often male-dominated situations, e.g. working with an all-male team of forest wardens!  I want to increase awareness of the plight of the Hainan gibbon, some of the fascinating features of this amazing primate, and the work our team has done and continues to do to help to conserve this species for future generations.  I see Soapbox Science as a wonderful platform to communicate all this to a vast number of people with a great variety of backgrounds and levels of science awareness/education.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day

JB: Energy!

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

JB: I really enjoy communicating the work that I do in many forms, including peer-reviewed journal papers, public engagement activities (like Soapbox Science!), and talking directly with the local reserve officials who will use my findings to enact conservation actions for the Hainan gibbon. However, I do worry that even now a lot of funding in science and academia is still awarded largely based on only an assessment of whether you have published your paper in the right high-impact journals, or whether your research questions are ‘sexy’ enough, rather than taking all forms of the way that science is shared/communicated and used, and the holistic impact it can have on the ground, into account.

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a woman studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?

JB: Do it! It is hard work and can be challenging, but all good things are and it’s also really rewarding! We definitely need more women in science, so go for it!

Susan Michie is Professor of Health Psychology and Director of the Centre for Behaviour Change at UCL. Her research focuses on developing the science of behaviour change interventions and applying behavioural science to interventions. You can catch Susan on her soapbox on the 27th of May in London, where she’ll give a talk called: “What does it take to change your behaviour?”

SS: How did you get to your current position?

SM: By wandering all over the place – starting with a degree in experimental psychology, then training to be a clinical psychologist, then doing a PhD in developmental psychology, then working as a clinical psychologist … and then in organisational change whilst doing research into psychological aspects of genetic testing … until I joined UCL doing mainly research and focusing on behaviour change.  Alongside building my research group. I launched the Centre for Behaviour Change to bring different disciplines together in building an understanding of behaviour change and applying it to address real-world problems.

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

SM: My mother was a biologist, my father was a computer scientist, my step-mother was a psychologist.  I grew up in a culture of curiosity, problem-solving and the discussion of ideas and by people who loved their scientific careers.  Sunday mornings were spent in my mothers’ lab helping her to make records of what her mice had been up to the day before.  I didn’t plan a career in science; my career has developed as I have gone along, each phase somehow leading to the next.  But I have always been drawn to thinking critically about things and wanting to answer questions by collecting and analysing data.

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

SM: I love the whole process – having an idea, figuring out how to put that idea into practice, testing ideas, developing methods for doing this where they don’t exist, planning how to design studies so they can answer questions as clearly as possible, collecting and analysing data as intelligently and rigorously as possible, translating findings into words that are true to the data but engage readers in telling the story.

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

SM: Someone suggested it, I looked it up on the website and thought it looked useful, different and fun – three concepts important to me. I enjoy doing things I haven’t done before, rising to challenges and talking to new audiences.  Thinking about how to engage members of the public in a public place and making my science sound interesting to passers-by is intriguing – and stimulating a new kind of creativity in the planning.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day

SM: Fun.

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

SM: Openness, transparency, accountability (these are all aspects of one thing: being a really good scientist)

SS: What would be your top recommendation to someone studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?

SM: Give yourself the time to read around your subject and to think deeply and carefully about what to do, how to do it and who to do it with.

Carolyn Moores is Professor of Structural Biology at Birkbeck University of London. She investigates the cytoskeletons of cells using electron microscopy. You can catch Carolyn on her soapbox on the 27th of May in London, where she’ll give a talk called: “Size matters: studying the nanomachinery in our cells that keeps us alive”

SS: How did you get to your current position?

CM: I studied undergraduate Biochemistry and Structural Biology as a PhD student. After postdoctoral research in sunny San Diego, I returned to the UK to start my own research team at Birkbeck College, London, where I’ve been ever since.

Our work focuses on the cytoskeleton. In the same way as our bodies have a skeleton that provides support and strength, the cells in our bodies have a skeleton – called the cytoskeleton – which also gives them support and strength. The cytoskeleton makes many important contributions to our health, and its malfunction is associated with numerous diseases including neurodegeneration and cancer. My team studies the three-dimensional structure of the cytoskeleton, because knowing what the cytoskeleton looks like can help us understand how it works. We use a very powerful microscope called an electron microscope to image the cytoskeleton, and computationally combine these pictures to calculate its three-dimensional shape. Birkbeck College is known internationally as a centre of excellence for electron microscopy and I have a great group of highly experienced colleagues who help support our research.

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

CM: I’ve wanted to be a scientist since I was at school. One of my teachers invited parents to come and talk about their jobs, and one came to talk about being a pathologist. That visit opened my eyes to the possibility of having a job that involves spending time finding biological things out, and really inspired me to think of myself as a scientist.

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

CM: My favourite aspect of being a scientist is discovering something new that nobody has seen before. Those rare “A-ha!” moments are worth all the toil and failure. The electron microscopes that we use to study the cytoskeleton are incredibly powerful and it is always a thrill to be able to actually look at the samples we are trying to understand – they are very photogenic!

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

CM:When the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year for 2016 was announced as “post-truth”, I knew I had to set aside my natural introversion and speak up for science. I’m not alone.

Actively engaging with the public about my work is an essential part of my job as a research scientist. This is partly to convey the excitement I feel about my work, but also because active engagement can contribute to building a relationship of trust and partnership between the public and “experts”. This is important because it helps new technologies to be implemented quickly for the benefit of society, and enables dialogue where new research brings up medical, social and ideological issues. It also helps to normalise evidence-based approaches to many aspects of daily life. Such engagement is especially vital in a post-truth society. Scientists need to proactively find opportunities to make ourselves accessible and available for discussion. Soapbox Science provides a unique opportunity to do just that.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day

CM: Fun (bonus word: adrenaline)

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

CM: Although progress has been made, there is still work to be done to promote diversity in our scientific community. The best and most creative science is done when diverse teams work together. Soapbox Science helps promote women in science and I’m happy to have the chance to take part.

SS: What would be your top recommendation to someone studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?

CM: Find something to work on that you love and an environment that will help you thrive. Passion and ambition are very important but great, supportive colleagues (senior and junior) are vital.

Dr Tracy Kivell is a palaeoanthropologist from the University of Kent. Her research focuses on extant and fossil apes, to further our understanding of the origin of human hand use throughout our evolutionary history. Here she talks about her background and what inspired her to get into science. You can catch Tracy on her soapbox on the 27th of May in London, where she’ll give a talk called: “Well, that’s handy! Evolution of our hands and our dexterity”

SS: How did you get to your current position?

TK: I am now a palaeoanthropologist and as a kid always liked rocks, fossils and anything old, but I actually started off doing a degree in Fine Arts. I quickly realised, however, that I didn’t enjoy having other people tell me how to draw or paint. I then moved to classical archaeology, but found that wasn’t quite old enough. I took an Introduction to Anthropology course and distinctly remember seeing casts of fossil human skulls for the first time that I found fascinating. But I wasn’t quite ready to fully commit to a degree or university in general, so dropped out and took a couple years off to work and travel.  I returned to academia to do a BSc degree in Biological Anthropology at the University of Toronto … and continued with an MA and PhD as well.  I got my first postdoctoral position at Duke University (accepting the position after grossly underestimating how much of my PhD dissertation I still had to finish!), teaching human anatomy for two years. I applied for a lot of grants and permanent academic positions that I didn’t get. I turned down a tenure-track offer at a university in my home country (Canada) to do more research as a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. I spent nearly four years there, in awe of the world-leading scientists within the institute and taking advantage of the amazing research opportunities, as well as enjoying the experience of living in a new country and culture.  When my partner took a permanent position in the UK, I tried to create a position for myself by applying for ERC Starting Grant. After submitting the grant, I got fixed-term appointment at the University of Kent, and then found out that my ERC grant was successful. I turned my fixed-term appointment into a permanent one and have been at Kent ever since. So a rather circuitous route, with a good dose of luck thrown in, but I’m very happy I turned down that tempting tenure-track position in the end.

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

TK: My parents, who have always been supportive of everything I do.  And my grade 9 English teacher, Ms. Platt, who, in addition to being an excellent English teacher, told us stories about the Franklin Expedition that explored the Arctic in the mid-1800s. She told us about the graves that had been found and everything that could be learned from the skeletons and what happened to the expedition. I found it captivating.

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

TK: The fossils. Holding a newly-discovered fossil in my hand or looking inside a fossil (via microCT imaging) and knowing that I am one of the first very lucky humans to see it in 2 or 3 million years. And then trying to figure out what that fossil can tell us about behaviour and our own evolutionary history.

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

TK: Promoting women in science and promoting public engagement in science. We need more of both in the world today.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day

TK: Nervous!

 SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

TK: Gender bias, in everything from young girls being told (implicitly or explicitly) they are not clever enough to be scientists, to successful women academics facing poorer teaching reviews, poorer citation indices, lower pay… often topped off with sexual harassment ….simply because they are women.

 SS: What would be your top recommendation to a woman studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?

TK: Love what you do, work hard, be confident in your abilities (and feeling like an “imposter” makes you a better scientist), ask questions, find a good mentor and learn from them, protect your research time and work efficiently, do as many postdocs as you can and use them to learn new skills, don’t be afraid to take an unusual job, don’t be afraid to turn down a job, collaborate, have fun!

Dr Orode Aniejurengho received her doctorate degree from the University of Brighton in 2016. Her research focused on developing new biomaterial-virus combinations for treating catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Orode’s research interest is in biomaterials for application in the fields of tissue regeneration, drug discovery and antimicrobial therapy. In her current position, Orode investigates the structure of tiny synthetic  biomaterials to produce more clinically-reflective models for testing new drugs or for growing new cells for transplantation. Catch Orode on her soapbox on the 29th of July in Brighton, where she’ll be talking about ““Using helpful viruses as medicine to fight bacterial infections”

SS: Orode, what is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

OA: What I find most fascinating is the versatility of biomaterial molecules. Currently, I focus on the design of these biomaterials to improve the culture of human cells in the drug discovery sector (an essential part of testing new medicines). The research is multidisciplinary as it cuts across biomaterials, 3D bio-printing and tissue engineering. Interestingly the biomaterials also have antimicrobial potential which I studied in depth during my PhD in combination with lytic bacteriophages, these are viruses that are able to kill bacteria. On July 29^th, I will focus on a unique biomaterial, known as a dendron, together with bacteriophages, as an alternative medicine that could help fight antibiotic-resistant bacteria. It will showcase an example of combining Chemistry and Microbiology in research.

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science? 

OA: My mother was my first inspiration, being a nurse she always encouraged me in the sciences, we would often browse through some of her textbooks together. Following this my inspiration was further solidified by my microbiology lecturer during my undergraduate degree, she taught the subject with so much enthusiasm I was hooked! From there, my research journey has cut across Microbiology, Chemistry and Biomaterials.

SS: How did you get to your current position?

OA: Having graduated from my PhD in 2016, this is my first post-doctoral role and networking plus my interest in entrepreneurship within science played a big role. I previously applied for a program that trained scientists to become biotech entrepreneurs. However, I gave this up when during one of the application phases, I spoke with my former PhD professor, who happened to have a post-doc opportunity and suggested I consider it. I was quite excited, having weighed the pros and cons of both offers, I decided on my current position as a post-doctoral Research Scientist at Tissue Click Ltd. It is a start-up company founded by my former professor, and I have received ample opportunity to gain both technical and entrepreneurial expertise which I think might be rare in a traditional post-doctoral role.

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place – and why Brighton? 

OA: Being a STEM Ambassador with some experience coordinating science clubs for kids, as soon as I saw the advert for Soapbox Science it resonated with my interest in communicating science to a variety of audiences. It is exciting to see people connect with concepts they previously thought would be difficult to understand. I attended the University of Brighton from my undergraduate to PhD level, therefore, I was happy to get my first Soapbox Science experience in a place that has been a second home to me over the years.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day – Excitement? Fear? Thrill? Anticipation?

OA: ‘Exciti-pation’ a combination of both excitement and anticipation.

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be? 

OA: Discover a way to increase opportunities of more permanent contracts for early-career researchers, with a vision to minimise the insecurity associated with continual fixed-term contracts.

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a female PhD student considering pursuing a career in academia?

OA: Network and think outside the box, often jobs are hidden in places we might not think about. However, when we network with experienced academics and non-academics we increase our ability to find these hidden career opportunities.

SS: What words of encouragement would you give to children who might be interested in a career in science?

OA: A career in science gives you the opportunity to potentially do what you love. Your career can be as diverse and creative as you want it to be and scientists always have a unique opportunity to positively impact the lives of those around us.

Jenny Jaffe is a Wildlife Veterinarian working at the Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). She investigates which diseases can affect reintroductions of endangered British species of animals, from wart-biter crickets and dormice to smooth snakes and red kites. Catch Jenny on her soapbox on the 27th of May in London, where she’ll be talking about “Diseased dormice? How wildlife vets help reintroduce rare species!”

SS: How did you get to your current position?

JJ: I’m working as a research focused wildlife veterinarian at the Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Initially I just wanted to work with primates, and all through vet school that was my plan. I Have managed to ‘live the dream’ by working with monkeys in Ecuador, orangutans in Borneo, and chimps in Sierra Leone.  However, the rescue centre in Ecuador did have all kinds of wildlife and my MSc at the Royal Veterinary College/ZSL on wildlife health helped broaden my perspective. So when I decided to return to the UK after almost three years in Sierra Leone, I was fine with working on native British species. The fact that I had done my MSc at ZSL a few years before meant my current boss already knew me and was confident I could do the job.

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

JJ: Basically, I’m just very curious, and can imagine being happy in other non-science jobs that would satisfy that curiosity. What did help is that my father was an astronomer and my older sister an anthropologist. Though very different fields from veterinary science, their passion for research and academia did inspire me.

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

JJ: I really enjoy the occasional field trips and clinical work, handling species as diverse as crickets, smooth snakes and pool frog tadpoles. During post-mortem examinations on birds like red kites I will sometimes stumble on an unusual finding; for instance a tail docking ring for lambs in the gizzard of the bird. Apparently they like hovering over fields with lambing sheep to eat the sheep placenta and the odd lamb’s tail! However, surprisingly fascinating is also the ‘arms race’ between hosts and pathogens that I research. For instance Wolbachia bacteria can cause their insect hosts to produce only female offspring. As the bacteria are transmitted through the host’s eggs that means the bacteria will spread through a population very quickly.

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

JJ: I like the challenge of making my work accessible to people who know nothing about it! I really enjoyed talking to children and adults in a similar setting during a ‘Sunset Safari’ event at London Zoo, where there were ‘Science Stations’ where we ZSL researchers could explain our research to visitors.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day

JJ: Fun!

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

JJ: More focus on getting results to policy makers and the general public, and not just in peer-reviewed journals.

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a woman studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?

JJ: Realistically – it’s not just what you know, but who you know… Make sure you get to know people in the field you are interested in so they are at least aware of your existence and might alert you to new opportunities coming up. Knowing people in advance can also help you avoid the worst PhD supervisors or bosses which might cause you to give up on your PhD or academia altogether. I’ve seen that happen to quite a few friends!

Emma McKinley is a Ser Cymru Research Fellow based at Cardiff University – she moved to Cardiff in June 2016, having been at the University of Chichester for 5 years.  Her work is part of a large research project called RESILCOAST, which is funded by the NRN-LCEE, and involves working with other researchers from Bangor and Swansea Universities, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Natural Resources Wales and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.  The project team investigates many aspects of salt marsh ecology and management to understand how they can be managed more effectively, in the long term, to ensure they can cope with increased pressures from changing climates and human activity.  For example, salt marshes might be affected by coastal erosion or sea level rise. Our homes, infrastructure and well-being rely on salt marshes being healthy, in the face of rapid changes to society and climate.  Through RESILCOAST, the team researches coastal protection and other benefits to people, focusing on salt marshes. They study how responsive and adaptive marshes are to change and examine how this is supported by coastal management and policy. Emma’s Soapbox Science talk will showcase some of this work, and will include a hands-on demonstration of how salt marshes protect our valuable coastal areas that everyone can get involved in. Catch Emma on her soapbox on the 10th of June in Cardiff, where she’ll be talking about saltmarshes

SS: Emma, how did you get to your current position?

EMK: I started off as a marine biologist, having been fascinated by the sea from a really young age (despite spending my early years in a desert!). I spent a short amount of time working as a researcher on a conservation project in Thailand; my experience there started me thinking that if I really wanted to make a difference to our incredible marine environments, it wasn’t just about understanding the habitats and species, it was also important to understand how people see, use, and feel about the sea.  What influences their behaviour to the sea? Why is it ‘out of sight, out of mind’? Is this even true? And if it is, how do we help people, of all ages and backgrounds, to see the beauty, and value, of our global seas and coasts? Since my PhD at Bournemouth University, I’ve worked on projects that cross disciplines, and really think about the relationships between society and our seas and coasts.  I’ve been at Cardiff since June 2016, and I’m working on a project that lets me be both a natural scientist, as well as a social scientist – perfect for me!

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

EMK: I don’t really remember anything different! Seeing dolphins at a very early age…and I was hooked, wanting to be a marine scientist, without really knowing what that meant! My mum has always been interested in nature and the environment, and that has definitely influenced me.

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

EMK: Understanding how people interact with their natural environments, and seeing how this can be used to help to manage and protect the natural world.  It’s fascinating to see how differently people connect with the world around them, and how this might impact their views on what or how something should be protected or managed.

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science in the first place?

EMK: It’s an opportunity to show off the exciting and unusual aspects of the projects we work on, in a fun way, perhaps reaching out to audiences that might not come across it otherwise.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day

EMK: FUN!

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

EMK: We need to be better at talking to each other, and to people who don’t work within science. That’s why events like this are so important. Yes, science can be complicated, but that doesn’t mean everyone can’t understand it – it’s all about how we talk about it, and how we engage people, of all ages, in science. When you think about how important science is to life today, you start to see how amazing it really is!

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a woman studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?

EMK: You absolutely can do it! Work hard, dream and think big.  It can be challenging sometimes, and life will continue to throw you curve balls, but, keep going – it is rewarding and exciting work, and totally worth it!

By Sasha Weiditch, who is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, Mississauga where she studies the most plentiful entity on the planet – the bacteriophage! Her research delves into the inner workings of bacteriophage and how they might be used to kill bacteria that are harmful to human health. She is active on social media and runs an Instagram account that features female scientists and their work. You can connect with her @phdenomenalphdemale and on her soapbox at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto at 1 pm on May 13, 2017.

Two of the main challenges for Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) are

1. Keeping women in STEM; and
2. Getting girls into STEM.

There has been tonnes of discussion about why girls are less likely to enter STEM fields and women are more likely to leave STEM fields – most cite the reason as lack of mentors or support and/or encouragement while some others refer to the seemingly popular explanation of ‘family and motherhood’. The verdict is still out, but many of us want to work on the problem nonetheless.

How do we “balance the equation”?

Why not use something that has become a huge element in our everyday lives – yes, social media. I hypothesize that if we, as millennial scientists, can show science in a fun, appealing and accessible way on social media than science, scientists and women in STEM can gain many well deserved ‘likes’.

The cool duality of being a ‘science blogger’ is that in a matter of minutes you can reach masses of people, many of which you would not normally have the chance to interact with. See, that’s the thing about being a scientist, it requires a lot of dedication and focus to a particular topic, which translates to the majority of your time being spent in the lab and discussing experiments with your academic peers. However, the ultimate goal is that our science can be used to affect the lives of so many more people than just our department at the university, so why not talk about it to a broad audience, and why not use social media?

Traditionally, STEM has not been associated with teenage girls – one of the most prevalent users of social media. Having the opportunity interact with girls through my involvement in a mentorship program for high school aged girls and teaching science labs at the university to undergraduates, I was surprised at how many are well versed in the world of social media (better than me I might add…).

Some few years ago when I was a teenage girl Facebook had only started becoming a thing and Instagram didn’t even exist. Now, social being is a very big thing. When meeting a new friend, no longer do these girls trade numbers or ride their bikes over to their friend’s house, they just grab their phone say “omg – what’s your Instagram?”. In a matter of minutes, you can know the last concert they went to, whether to eat the pizza at the school cafeteria and if ripped skinny jeans are still cool (note – they are). This rapid influx of information that is so readily accessible can be very powerful, and if used correctly, a great way to send a message.

So why not use this social media pandemic to send a positive message? What if in the midst of pictures of latte art (#coffee – 60,101, 499 posts), too-cool-for-school street style bloggers (#streetstyle -22,467,290 posts) and perfectly posed selfies (#selfie – 285, 503, 611 posts) there were some really cool science (#science – 4,064,469) posts that made even just one girl stop and wonder a little bit longer. Girls need to see that science is cool and exciting and that scientists are girls just them.

And that is why I post pictures of the above. I am not immune to the pull of a delicious cup of latte-art or a good selfie just because I am a scientist. In order to promote science, we need to destroy barriers and make science and those who do the science relatable. We need to encourage girls to be excited about the potential science holds and we cannot let girls be deterred because there is no one for them to aspire to become.

Still don’t believe me? Have a teenage cousin, sister, daughter or niece? Ask her how many followers she has – probably a lot more than me. But that’s OK, I don’t expect #NMR to be as on trend as the unicorn macaron. Although a unicorn macaron is a little rarer than a woman in science, we just have to show it.

How do we keep women in STEM?

But what about girls like me? Girls who are women, who are curious and scared and anxious and excited about their futures post grad school. How do we get these women to stay in STEM? I wish I knew. All I can share with you is what has helped me to persevere through the failed experiments, inconclusive data and a seemingly endless list of questions that is inevitable as a PhD student, which is the thought that I am not alone.

Although it may sound silly, I am very fortunate to have an excellent support system through my family, my lab mates and more recently, through my fellow ‘women in STEM’ bloggers online. I have found a community where I can talk without judgement about the ups and downs of grad school life, being a woman in science and most importantly, the thing that unites us, the science. It is through this community that I truly believe in a future of science where men and women are equally inspired to succeed and develop and innovate. However, this can only occur if we can talk about the good and bad, out loud and not allow ourselves or others to use gender as a crutch to place the blame for failed science. This is where I believe social media can help to communicate this message.

So this is why I am so excited to be a part of Soapbox Science. To get out there and talk about science. The truth is, science is really exciting, and you do not, by any means, have to be an Einstein to understand it, you just have to be curious. I guess, in a way, Soapbox Science is kind of like a ‘retro social media’; a platform to share, educate and promote science and the women who do some amazing science. And if you ask me, that is totally #awesome.

Ann Ager gained a PhD in vascular biology from the University of Cambridge and moved to Professor Judah Folkman’s laboratory, Harvard Medical School, USA, to study microvascular endothelium. She then moved to Professor Bill Ford’s laboratory in Manchester, UK, to study lymphocyte trafficking into lymph glands. She gained a non-clinical MRC Senior Fellowship before moving to the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London, UK.  She now leads a team of scientists at Cardiff University studying how cells of the immune system move around the body in order to protect against infection, fight cancer and repair damaged tissues. Come meet Ann on the 10th of June at our Cardiff event!

SS: Ann, how did you get to your current position?

AA: I started my research career in Cambridge many years ago studying how to keep blood vessels healthy. This involved understanding the different types of cells that blood vessels are made of and how they ‘talk ‘to each other.  My first degree was in Biochemistry, which involves taking cells apart to understand them. The discovery during my PhD that you could study whole cells by growing them in tissue culture flasks was a revelation (the discipline of Cell Biology had not yet been established) and I discovered that I had green fingers for this!

During my PhD, a post-doctoral fellow I shared a bench with was studying a brand new area of research; how blood vessels talk to immune cells to tell them to go to infected tissues.  This excited me more than my PhD project so, from then on, I decided that this was what I was going to work on.  I have been fortunate enough to have achieved my aim.

My research career has taken me to Harvard Medical School, Manchester University, the National Institute for Medical Research (now the Crick Institute) and now Cardiff University. This work and my career would not be possible without external funding and I have been, and continue to be, supported by the UK Research Councils, Medical Charities and Pharmaceutical Industries.  I have also had the pleasure of supervising and mentoring many talented PhD and undergraduate science students as well as post-doctoral fellows who have gone on to interesting and varied careers in science inside and outside of academia. I have also benefited from having great colleagues who have enriched my life and made by career in biomedical research exciting and enjoyable.

SS: What, or who, inspired you to get a career in science?

AA: Not sure I have a simple answer to this.  I was not particularly interested in science in lower school and my focus was on foreign languages. When it came to selecting subjects for GSCE, the school Head advised me to take Chemistry, Physics and Biology (my family was planning to relocate to a different area and it was suggested that I could be a couple of years behind in some languages at a new school). With hindsight, I was at a Girls school and I think they wanted to increase the numbers of girls studying science, but maybe that is me being cynical. Since that decision, I stayed with the 3 sciences at ‘A’ level and chose Biochemistry for my first degree because I was strong in Chemistry.  I realised early on that I like laboratory work as well as the intellectual stimulation and the international nature of biomedical research.

SS: What is the most fascinating aspect of your research/work?

AA: You never know what you are going to discover in your experiments.

SS: What attracted you to Soapbox Science Cardiff 2017 in the first place?

AA: The opportunity to communicate with stakeholders and inform them of the achievements they have enabled. I am still disappointed by the lack of equal representation of women in leading positions in biomedical research, despite their dominance at junior levels. Career progression comes in all shapes and sizes and there is no one size fits all formula so it is important to relate one’s own experiences.

SS: Sum up in one word your expectations for the day

AA: Fun, hopefully!

SS: If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be?

AA: Ditch the’ publish or perish’ attitude.

SS: What would be your top recommendation to a woman studying for a PhD and considering pursuing a career in academia?

AA: If you find a topic interesting, then IT IS interesting and worth studying. Follow your instincts and stick to your guns.  Don’t disadvantage yourself by not applying because you think you are not good enough.  Let the reviewers decide!  Find yourself a good mentor or mentor(s) who can advise and support you at all stages of your career, but particularly when you are starting out.