Matt Dunn wins I’m A Scientist Get Me Out Of Here!

I’m A Scientist Get Me Out Of Here is a competition in the vein of I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, where several people compete for a prize and each week, one of them is evicted until only one remains. Luckily ISTM's Matt Dunn didn’t need to go to the jungle as I’m A Scientist takes place entirely online at http://imascientist.org.uk/ .  Beating off  fierce competion, Matt went on to win the competition.  So, we asked Matt to tell us a little bit more about his experience...

The competition ran from 13th to 24th June, where scientists with successful applications were split into different ‘Zones’ depending on their field, I was put into the ‘Cells Zone’ with four other cell biologists. For the next two weeks, we took part in numerous 30 minute live-chat sessions with classes of students from twenty different secondary schools, ranging from Year 7 to Year 9, all across the country. In these live chats the students could ask us anything they liked, from the work we did, to describing an average day, to what our favourite foods were! Despite the casual nature of the chats, the students can really test your knowledge of your subject, making it a great challenge.

Outside of the live chats, students can ask you questions directly on a profile, and they vote for their favourite scientist. Scientists with the least votes were evicted every day for the last five days until only one was left. I was lucky enough to be the last scientist standing, winning £500 to spend on outreach activities!

I plan to use the money to raise awareness of the great regenerative medicine work we all do here at ISTM, as part of the HEART Outreach group. We usually attend a few fairs and events a year as exhibitors, to spread the good word, but with the prize money we will be able to travel further and better show off the quality of the work we do here with improved cutting-edge technology.

I’m A Scientist runs multiple times a year, so I’d recommend it for anyone interested in outreach and science communication, as what is the point of doing the work we do if we can’t explain it to school children?

Matt

ISTM Translate blog post COMPETITION!

To all ISTM young researchers and students...

We are keen to encourage more of our young researchers and students to engage with our ISTM Translate blog and are keen for you to play a bigger role in writing and editing articles for it. The blog has global reach with well over 5000 views to date and regular visitors from across 10 different countries. As well as having the opportunity to promote the Institute on an international level and to communicate stories and information that are of interest to you to a wider audience, you also have the chance to hone your lay-writing skills.

As you may have already heard, Keele University is now a member of The Conversation. The Conversation is an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community and delivered direct to the public. Their team of professional editors work with researchers to unlock their knowledge for use by the wider public.

So with a view to improving your lay-writing skills and helping ISTM to play a greater role in the public dissemination of research, we have decided to hold a competition to which you are all invited to participate.

Please see the information below from Dr Dimitra Blana, who will be helping to facilitate this writing competition...

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You are invited to submit a post to the ISTM Translate blog describing a research topic of your choice to the general public.

Why, you ask? Because it will help you improve your public engagement skills, which is increasingly important for scientists. If that's not enough, there is also a prize, so read on!

Your blog post should be a lay-term summary of either a research paper you recently published, or the scientific area you are investigating. It should be no more than 1000 words and include some compelling images.

Submit your blog post and images to me over email (d.blana@keele.ac.uk) by 30th June to be entered into a competition to win a cash prize.  First prize is £100 and the Runner Up prize is £50! The winners will be announced during a lunch party in the Guy Hilton Research Centre on Thursday 21st July.

A few points to consider when preparing your post:

• Make sure the language is appropriate for the general public. To ensure that everyone can understand your writing, it will be judged by people outside your research area. I am thinking of enlisting my 14 year old Greek cousin.
• Journal paper writing rules do not apply: be natural and informal. Of course make sure that the science is sound!
• 1000 words is the upper limit, but try to keep it short and engaging. Can you keep my 14 year old Greek cousin's interest for 1000 words? Or will she switch to cat videos half way through?
• Use images you have permission to use. And remember that journal paper result figures are not usually considered compelling by the general public.

Best wishes
Dimitra

Successful Guy Hilton Research Centre Open Afternoon

Dr Paul Roach (Left) and Dr Ed Chadwick (Right) introduce themselves.

Last week, ISTM held a successful open afternoon for people interested in studying a post-graduate degree in Medical Engineering. The Open afternoon attracted a good intake of participants from a range of different backgrounds. The participants were able to learn about the School of Medicine's MSc courses in Biomedical Engineering and Cell and Tissue Engineering, and learnt about the cutting edge research being carried out by the Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine. They also had the chance to see state of the art laboratories and talk to current and former students and researchers.

Dr Ed Chadwick, who organised the event along with Dr Paul Roach, said "We were delighted to see such strong interest in our research and the courses we offer from the Keele undergraduate community and those from the wider region that were able to join us.  People often have a fairly vague idea of what medical engineering comprises, and it was really nice to see that they were genuinely interested and indeed excited by what we do. The people who work in the area are typically from really diverse academic backgrounds, and this was reflected in the people attending. The day was definitely a success with really strong interest, and we look forward to doing it again!"

Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship for ISTM's Chris Adams

Dr Christopher Adams, an EPSRC funded Engineering: Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine research fellow in Professor Divya Chari's laboratory, ISTM, has been awarded a Daniel Turnberg Travel Fellowship to receive training in nanofabrication of multifunctional magnetic particles in Israel (with chemist Professor Jean Paul Lellouche, Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, Bar-Ilan University, Tel-Aviv).

This prestigious award is funded by the Wellcome Trust as part of an Academy of Medical Sciences scheme to promote strategic research links and scientific collaborations between the UK and the Middle East.

Dr Adams will build upon a recent collaboration between the Chari-Lellouche groups, which aims to develop nanotechnology based tools for safe genetic engineering and non-invasive imaging of neural transplant cells.

Second ESRC 'Liability versus Innovation' seminar

Professors Alicia El Haj (ISTM) and Tsachi Keren-Paz (Law) hosted the second seminar in the ESRC series 'Liability versus innovation: unpacking key connections'.

The seminar brought together the Vice-Chancellor, clinicians, plaintiff personal injury lawyers, a Medical Defence Union representative, health economists, ethicists (Profesor Wendy Rogers, Macquarie University, Sydney) and academic lawyers from the United States (Professor Alex Stein, Benjamin N. Cardozo, School of Law, NY, Australia (Associate Professor Tina Cockburn, QUT Law School, Brisbane) and the UK.

Discussions revolved around the questions whether the threat of tort liability stifles innovation, the extent to which the different liability rules in the USA, UK and Australia stifle to a different extent innovation, and the methodological question how to define and measure innovation and how to measure the effect of legal rules on levels of innovation.

Post Graduate Degree in Medical Engineering - Guy Hilton Reserach Centre Open Afternoon

Are you are interested in a post-graduate degree in Medical Engineering?

If so, please join us to find out what we have to offer. You will learn about our MSc courses in Biomedical Engineering and Cell and Tissue Engineering, and hear about the cutting edge research being carried out by the Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine. You will have the chance to see state of the art laboratories and talk to current and former students and researchers.

The Open Afternoon will take place at the Guy Hilton Research Centre from 13:30 - 16:30 on May 4th 2016. To confirm your attendance, please register by leaving your details below (by the 1st of May). Transport will be provided from Keele University campus.

To register for this event, please follow the link below: http://goo.gl/forms/LkwMu37xGw

Tongji University delegation visits ISTM

The Director of ISTM & members of ISTM pose with the Tongji delegation

ISTM was delighted to welcome a delegation from Tongji University, Shanghai, China last week on the 5th April.

Dean of Medicine, Professor Xu Guotong; Professor Peng Luying; Professor Liang Xingqun; and the Director of the International Office, Associate Professor Zheng Hao met with members of ISTM as well as colleagues from across the University to discuss future research collaboration in the areas of Medicine.

The delegation, part of a larger delegation that also included experts in  Environmental Sustainability, also visited the School of Medicine and the Royal Stoke University Hospital.  The delegation was hosted by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Trevor McMillan and the visit to Keele University culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two universities.

Tongji University is part of the prestigious 985 group of universities selected by the Chinese government for special support and has one of the country's highest ranked medical schools. In 2015 Tongji and Keele successfully applied for joint ERASMUS+ funding for staff mobility and incoming PGR mobility.