From the navigation of wood ants to cancer therapeutics, a diverse array of research was shared at the first Life Sciences Postdoc Research Symposium.

The event, held on 4^th July, aimed to raise awareness of the varied research happening across the School and provide postdoctoral researchers with valuable networking opportunities and experience presenting their work.

Dr Rosanna Barnard, a Research Fellow in Infectious Disease Modelling in the School of Life Sciences, presented her research into the spatial spread of Ebola and was a lead organiser of the event.

She said: “It was great to learn about the various kinds of work being done by postdoctoral researchers within the School of Life Sciences, and I was inspired to meet and hear from colleagues across the School.”

The talks explored topics such as genome replication, biomarkers, misfolded proteins in cell biology, genome engineering, wood ant navigation and more, representing the wide-ranging research interests in the School.

Dr Erika Mancini, Director of Postdoctoral Development, said: “I am so pleased that postdocs in the School took the initiative to organise this event, which I am sure was beneficial to everyone involved. It was a fantastic celebration of the research happening in the School and a way to stimulate those ever so important interdisciplinary links between researchers across different departments. We are working towards this becoming a regular event. Well done to the organisers!”  

The School of Life Sciences has a diverse community of postdoctoral research fellows and is the largest cohort across the University.

The Life Sciences Postdoc Research Symposium was organised by Rosanna Barnard, Eduard Campillo-Funollet, Monika Chugh and Desiree Villahermosa Caballero.