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Cardiff Biosciences Postdoc Academy

RESOURCE: The “Postdoctoral Academy Programme” 2017

10 February 2017

The “Postdoctoral Academy Programme” 2017

The following seminars form the 2017 Postdoctoral Academy Programme and are being delivered in partnership with the departmental Bioconnect Seminars (note some details were updated on 24-2-2017).

All sessions are currently scheduled to be held in c0.13, but check notices for final details around the department nearer the time of each event.

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15/02/2017 – How to engage with politicians: Bioscience research meets government policy?
Baroness Jenny Randerson, member of the House of Lords and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Wales Office

Wednesday 15th February in c0.13, Sir Martin Evans Building at 13.10 pm.

Jenny_Randerson
Baroness Jenny Randerson

Baroness Randerson is a Welsh Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords. She is a former Cardiff councillor and was a Welsh Assembly Member from 1999 to 2011, when she was created a life peer. Between 2012 and 2015 she served as a junior minister in the Wales Office, with specific responsibility for education. Holding a BSc in Physiology and Biochemistry. [1]

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01/03/2017 – Alternative Career Options for Post doc researchers
Josie Grindulis (Career adviser for research staff, Human Resources, Cardiff University)

This session delivered by Josie Grindulis, Careers Adviser, will offer the opportunity to consider the range of career options open to researchers, including outside of academia and will cover:

  • The value of research skills in alternative careers. 
  • Applying for jobs outside academia.
  • Positioning yourself for an alternative career.

About Josie:

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Josie Grindulis

Josie has worked in university careers and employability for 20 years latterly as Career Development Manager- Research Staff with Cardiff University. She holds the AGCAS Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education Careers Guidance, MSc in Evidence Based Research Methods, and is an Associate Fellow of the HEA.

Josie is involved with national agenda on career development for researchers as Chair of the AGCAS Research Staff Task Group, a role which includes national training workshop design and delivery and input into working parties with RCUK funded projects and VITAE activities. She is joint editor of an Agcas publication “Getting the first lecturing Job” and has represented Cardiff on Royal Society consultations. [2]

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29/03/2017 – Engagement & the Social Media
Dr Fiona Wyllie (Innnovation and Engagement Officer), and Dr Rhys Jones (researcher, BAFTA-nominated Television and Radio presenter)
Wyllie_Fiona_staff_profile
Dr Fiona Wyllie

Fiona is molecular biologist by training and is the School of Biosciences Innovation and Engagement Officer – a role which amongst many other things involves organising: schools visits; participation in events held at Techniquest;  the ‘STEM live!’ sixth form schools event; an annual “Learn about Life” event for National Science and Engineering Week; various hands-on workshops and research lab experiences for participants of the University-wide “Step up to Health” scheme; University Open Day events; along with other science engagement schemes. Part of her work is identifying, evolving, designing and commissioning new science engagement activities to appeal across all age groups to be delivered by a wide range of her colleagues, as well as herself.

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Dr Rhys Jones
Dr Rhys Jones

Rhys researches, and involved in teaching modules, in Genetics, Evolution and Diversity, Nutrition, Transport and Signalling, Animal Diversity, Welsh Ecological Field Course, Dental – Blood and the immune system, and Assessing the Environment. During his research, Rhys worked closely with the Maasai communities of the Loita, Kenya and has extensive experience of the ecology of East Africa.

Rhys is a BAFTA nominated Television and Radio presenter. His BBC television career includes two series of ‘Rhys to the Rescue’,  as well as guest appearances within other natural history programs. Rhys’s Network Primetime BBC One series ‘Rhys Jones’s Wildlife Patrol’ attracted an audience of 10 million viewers (~2.5 million per programme) across the UK, and ran for three series. He presented the Royal Welsh Show on BBC Wales between 2007-15. Rhys has also recorded documentaries for National Geographic. [3]

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03/05/2017 – From academia to running your own business: “How to spin out a company”
Dr Genna Bowen (Lecturer, Cardiff School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences. Innovator, Founder of Cotton Mouton Diagnostics)
jenna-grey-2
Dr Genna Bowen

Since completing her PhD at the Cardiff School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences (2011), she has worked on several multi-disciplinary and cross-sector projects  addressing ‘personalised’ and ‘precision’ medicine challenges. Her work has focused on developing sensing platforms that can more accurately and rapidly diagnosis disease as well as stratify patient populations.

Genna’s work crosses several disciplines and collaborating with engineers, physicists, clinical academics and industrial partners from around the UK and within the EU with the goal of delivering impactful, translational research. Through the backing of the Innovate UK Medical Technologies Launchpad Wales ‘Cotton Mouton Diagnostics Ltd (CMD)’ was spun out of technologies developed within Cardiff and Exeter Universities, and formed in December 2014. [4, 5]

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31/05/2017 – From academia into management: a success story
Dr Philip Barnes (Investment Executive, Finance Wales)
Dr Phil Barnes
Dr Phil Barnes

As an Investment Executive in Finance Wales’ Technology Venture Investments team, Phil focuses on investing in IP-rich, technology-backed businesses. Phil works across multiple technology sectors with particular expertise in biotechnology and medtech.

Phil has a PhD in neuroscience from Cardiff University where he conducted research on Alzheimer’s disease and the molecular basis of new memory formation. [6]

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28/06/2017 –  Becoming a successful academic via the fellowship route
Dr Emyr Lloyd-Evans (RCUK Fellow then Senior Lecturer, School of Biosciences). 
Dr Emyr Lloyd-Evans
Dr Emyr Lloyd-Evans

Emyr’s first degree was an undergraduate masters in In 2010, Emyr was appointed as an RCUK Fellow here in Cardiff, to continue research into lysosomal function. His laboratory is interested in the function of novel uncharacterised lysosomal transmembrane proteins, their roles in normal cellular function and the events that unfold when these proteins become dysfunctional in lysosomal diseases. The group is particularly interested in applying their research on lysosomal proteins to other human diseases, particularly infectious and neurodegenerative diseases. [7]

Biochemistry (M.Biochem; Univ. of Bath). During this degree he spent 11 month across two placements in the lab of Prof. Tony Futerman at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel), where that he gained an interest in lysosomal storage diseases – researching ‘the role of altered endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ homeostasis in Gaucher disease’. He then moved to Oxford to work with Prof. Fran Platt at the Glycobiology Institute, completing his DPhil in 2005. Later he moved with Fran to the Department of Pharmacology (Oxford) where, in collaboration with Prof. Antony Galione, they developed techniques to study lysosomal Ca2+ homeostasis in the lysosomal diseases. [8]

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Postdoctoral Training Academy certificate

Please note that attendance to the Bioconnect sessions and at least one grant pitch session is mandatory to be eligible to receive the Postdoctoral Training Academy certificate.


Queries about the certificate should be sent to either the RSG committee chair (Kenneth Ewan – EwanKB@cardiff.ac.uk ), or Daniela Riccardi – riccardi@cardiff.ac.uk  – Deputy Head of School and academy organiser.

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Ideas for future Postdoctoral Training Academy sessions, or speakers, are more than welcome – please connect with a member of the RSG committee, and don’t worry we can do the rest all we need is the input.

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Regular ongoing events

First Monday of the month.  The C.V. clinic in the Hadyn Ellis Building Café Bar

Meet Dr Matt Smalley for advise on how to polish your curriculum vitae before you apply for a job in academia.

One month before a BBSRC/MRC grant submission deadlines. Grant writing workshops and pitch (run by BBSRC panel members, Prof. Ros John and Prof. Helen White-Cooper)

These sessions allow those intending to submit to the BBSRC/MRC to discuss their proposals and get feedback from a wider audience, including academic colleagues and experienced BBSRC/MRC panel members.


Sources used in creating the speaker biographies :-

All URLs pulled down Feb’2016.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Randerson,_Baroness_Randerson

[2] https://www.vitae.ac.uk/events/event-presenters/mrs-josie-grindulis

[3] https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/81208-jones-rhys

[4] https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/90836-bowen-jenna

[5] http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/innovation/meet-our-innovators/jenna-bowen

[6] http://www.financewales.co.uk/people/technology-ventures-team/philip-barnes.aspx

[7] https://lloyd-evanslab.net

[8] https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/81221-lloyd-evans-emyr


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