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Brittany Harrison, a Life Sciences undergraduate student, has been running STEM projects in the SLS teaching labs over the summer. Here she tells us more:

'Every Wednesday throughout August, 25 year 9 and 10 students from secondary schools across Nuneaton, Rugby and Bedworth have joined me in the Life Sciences department at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ to complete STEM CREST awards- the only nationally recognised award by the British Science association for STEM enrichment outside of school curriculum. Throughout my summer, I have been an intern for ThinkHigher, a project ran in collaboration with The ¹û¶³´«Ã½, Coventry University, local authorities and local FE colleges. ThinkHigher has provided me with a platform to offer these young people the facilities and learning space to expand on their own scientific interests. We have been carrying out investigations in the undergraduate laboratories related to health and disease, which has involved microbiology techniques that I didn’t get to practice until the second year of my degree, as well as interactive tours around the WMG engineering workshops and the Phytobiology facility.

Science is an eternally incomplete topic, and I feel that this fact is only truly understood when exploring science in a practical and creative way, as opposed to text-book learning in schools. Running the CREST awards has provided these young people with a mature learning experience which much more truly represents the everyday life of a scientist.'

UK scientists will join what could be the largest-scale Arctic research expedition ever planned when the German research ship RV Polarstern is deliberately lodged into sea ice to drift past the North Pole. Research includes Dr Hendrik Schaefer of the ¹û¶³´«Ã½â€™s School of Life Sciences.

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Image courtesy of Alfred Wegener Institute.

Survey results out recently reflect very positively on the School of Life Sciences. These surveys reveal student perception of study here in Life Sciences and also what graduates go on to achieve. We are pleased to see the satisfaction our students show with their education at ¹û¶³´«Ã½. We greatly value their feedback and respect their judgement.

Our 2018 NSS (National Student Survey) results are excellent with a score of 93% for overall student satisfaction. This is a survey of all undergraduate finalists at UK universities and colleges to understand and improve students’ experience of higher education. Staff and students are working very closely on developing new ways to extend and enhance their learning and the NSS is a key element of our collaborative approach to overall enhancement at ¹û¶³´«Ã½. PTES (Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey) results are also excellent with a score of 89% for overall student satisfaction, which is above the Russell Group and Sector average.

DLHE (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education) surveys graduates 6 months after graduation to find out whether they are in work or further study. The recent 2017 results are excellent for Life Sciences with 96% of UG graduates in work or further study (up from 94% in 2015) and 88% in graduate level work or study (up from 79% in 2015). The Government’s 2018 Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) show that ¹û¶³´«Ã½'s Life Sciences graduates are ranked in the top 10 in the UK for high earnings five years after their graduation.

It is great to see the work that goes into planning and delivering these degrees by so many people in the School, has such a positive impact on students.

Future outbreaks of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease can be combatted quickly and efficiently from early on – when authorities have minimal information – thanks to a new real-time strategy, developed by researchers in the School of Life Sciences.

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Congratulations to Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (interdisciplinary research and impact) and former Head of the School of Life Sciences, Professor Laura Green, who has been appointed to the role of Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham. She will take up her new role on 1 October 2018.

This week the School of Life Sciences is welcoming students from across the UK as part of the 2018 Headstart Programme.

Taking place at the Gibbet Hill campus 15-19 July, the Headstart course provides a university taster course for 16-17 year olds with the opportunity to explore the different biological disciplines taught within the School of Life Sciences. The Life Sciences course enables students to gain experience at a prestigious university prior to making UCAS applications, showing them the different courses and career paths available.

Across the week, students will take part in a wide range of hands-on laboratory experiments and lectures including physiology, microbiology, cell biology and molecular biology.

Organised by the EDT (Engineering Development Trust), Headstart has been established for more than 18 years as a charitable trust providing hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) activities and taster courses to encourage young people into technology-based careers.

On Tuesday 17 July graduands from the School of Life Sciences attended the Summer Graduation Ceremony held in Butterworth Hall, ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Arts Centre. The Head of School, Professor Lorenzo Frigerio, academic tutors and other staff also attended the ceremony.

THE (the Times Higher Education) have announced in their Thursday 12 July 2018 edition, that the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ has been ranked 4^th in Europe in their new Times Higher Education (THE) Europe Teaching Rankings 2018 and is the 3^rd placed University in Europe offering Biological Sciences.

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An enzyme structure discovery made by scientists at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ could help to eradicate tuberculosis (TB).

Research by a team led by Dr Elizabeth Fullam, has revealed new findings about an enzyme found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) the bacterium that causes TB. TB causes more deaths than any other infectious disease, including from HIV and malaria.

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The 5th M4 meeting will be held at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ on 13-14 September, 2018.

The Conference will present cutting-edge research on molecular and cellular microbiology. A wide range of topics will be covered, ranging from biofilms, quorum sensing, pathogenicity islands, host-pathogen interactions and antimicrobials.

The goal of this conference is to act as a conduit for fostering collaboration across Midlands and nationally among leading scientists and to promote the exchange of ideas between the next generation of molecular microbiologists. The conference will offer early career researchers an opportunity to present their research and connect with other scientists.

Registration open until 31 August

The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ has been awarded £2 million to tackle the spread of viruses in East Africa.

The award has been made to the NIHR Global Health Research Group on the Application of Genomics and Modelling to the Control of Virus Pathogens (GeMVi) in East Africa at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½. GeMVi brings together expertise in pathogen sequencing and predicative modelling. Life Sciences academics Professor James Nokes and Professor Matt Keeling are co-investigators.

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Dr Smith is currently Chief Scientific Officer at Cobra Biologics Ltd., but he started his scientific career here at ¹û¶³´«Ã½, with a BSc in Biochemistry then a PhD on the mechanism of action at the cellular level of cytotoxic proteins such as ricin.

By becoming an honorary Industrial Professor in our School, Dr. Smith will bring widespread experience in both the workings of a multi-million budget R&D company in a sector at the forefront of biomedical products and also in academic research. His specific expertise in knowledge transfer and experience in developing successful collaborations between regional development agencies, industry and academics will be enormously useful.

Dr Smith will bring many links with industries that we do not yet interact with, both in the UK and internationally. He will contribute ideas and contacts to help our undergraduate students secure industrial placements, a key strategic development area for the School.

Dr Smith will also aid our technology transfer to support start-ups with commercial promise. His past work is highly interdisciplinary in both the academic and industrial sides in chemistry and biology, knowledge of which can massively impact startup success.

We welcome him to the School.

New funding to develop scientific breakthroughs in crop research and innovation

The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ is set to receive £1.2 million in funding to support its pioneering research in improving the resilience, sustainability and productivity of UK crops, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced today.

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Members of the School of Life Sciences and ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Crop Centre are looking forward to being part of the on Saturday 9 June. We'll be demonstrating some of our research and teaching activities related to food production and hoping for visitor participation! Come and see us in the Educational Area.

Memory, learning and cognitive flexibility depend on a protein ‘off-switch’ in the brain, according to a breakthrough discovery made by an international research collaboration co-led by Dr Mark Wall at the ¹û¶³´«Ã½.

This new knowledge could enable us to better understand and combat neurological diseases which inhibit memory, such as Alzheimer’s.

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On Thursday 5 July 2018 the School of Life Sciences will be holding a national Athena SWAN event on the topics of Work Life Balance, Mental Health and Well-Being. The event is free and open to all. Please register to attend.

Event flyer (pdf)

The Guardian University league table has ranked ¹û¶³´«Ã½ 8th in the UK for 2019, maintaining our position from 2018 and ranking the University top in the West Midlands. The new table is published today, Tuesday 29 May, 2018.

The also ranked Biosciences (School of Life Sciences) 4th.

These results provide recognition of ¹û¶³´«Ã½'s excellence in teaching and research.

The School of Life Sciences invites applications for four new academic positions to strengthen key research areas in the School. This is part of our strategic growth on the Gibbet Hill Biology campus, supported by investment in a new Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building that will bring together researchers from Life Sciences and ¹û¶³´«Ã½ Medical School to understand the origins and mechanistic basis of diseases.

Diabetes UK has committed to invest £2.6 million in 19 brand new projects which aim to make life-changing improvements in diabetes care, and reduce people’s risk of Type 2 diabetes.

The funding will be given to projects looking into Type 1, Type 2 and gestational diabetes.

In one of these projects, Dr Freya Harrison, from the School of Life Sciences, will be using medieval remedies to find new sources of antibiotics. She has already discovered a combination that can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the lab.

Press Release

On Thursday 19 April Gill Scott, School of Life Sciences Teaching Laboratory Manager, was awarded the Higher Education Bioscience Technician of the Year Award at the University Bioscience Managers’ Association (UBMA) Annual Conference at Imperial College London. The competitive award, presented by Professor James Stirling, recognises the superb work of technical staff which underpins the bioscience research and teaching at all levels in universities across the UK. The judges were incredibly impressed with the quality and breadth of Gill’s technical work. She received a £400 prize and a free year of Royal Society of Biology membership.

Gill first came to SLS in 1978 and over the years has made a tremendous contribution to the School’s lab-based teaching and outreach activities. In 2018 Gill was instrumental in SLS delivering the International Biology Olympiad practical exams.

Gill retires at the end of April and we wish her all the best for the future.

(Photo courtesy of UBMA)