I’m sure you are all on the edge of your seats to find out who’s taking part in the next I’m a Scientist event, so here they are!
We are having five ‘zones’ in March (in each zone there are five scientists, talking to 20 classes of students, with one prize up for grabs in each zone). Two of these zones have a theme (the Genes Zone and the Brain Zone) and the other are general, with a broad mix of scientists. The general zones are named after elements.
The themed zones are a new thing we are trying out for this event, and teachers seem to really like the idea, so I think they’ll turn out well.
The event runs 15th – 26th March, and you can watch everything that happens on the website. Only the students taking part can ask questions, chat to the scientists and vote, but everyone is welcome to read all about it and see what’s going on.
Brain Zone
Scientists
| Nick | Bradshaw | University of Edinburgh | I study a set of proteins which are believed to be involved in schizophrenia |
| Joseph | Devlin | University College London | My work focuses on what happens in the human brain that allows us to use language when other animals cannot. |
| Carolyn | McGettigan | UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience | I use neuroimaging to investigate how the brain processes speech and voices. |
| Anne | Seawright | University of Bristol | Looking at measuring emotions in dogs. |
| Mariana | Vargas | Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics | Learning and memory. Neurons and Synapses. |
Schools
| Swanlea School | Stoke Newington |
| Unity College | Lancashire |
| Harrogate Ladies’ College | Harrogate |
| Castleford High School Technology And Sports College | Castleford |
| London Academy | Edgware |
| St Cyres School | Vale of Glamorgan |
| Burnage Medi Arts College | Manchester |
| Wye Valley | Bucks |
| Garibaldi College | Mansfield |
| Bacon’s College | Rotherhithe |
| Beechfield Secure Unit | Copthorne |
| Heanor Gate Science College | Derbyshire |
| St Columba’s High School | Renfrewshire |
| The Park Community School | Barnstaple |
| Queen Elizabeths Grammar School | Faversham |
Genes Zone
Scientists
| Olivia | Hibbitt | Oxford University | Gene therapy for high cholesterol |
| Lorna | Houlihan | The University of Edinburgh | Searching for genes involved in intelligence and age-related change in intelligence. |
| Chris | Needham | School of Computing, University of Leeds (I’m an RCUK Research Fellow) | I am interested in computational biology and bioinformatics, such as modelling gene regulatory networks from high throughput gene expression data, and using machine learning to predict protein function. |
| Kay | Penicud | London Research Institute (Cancer Research UK) | I research how our cells repair their DNA when it becomes damaged, and how unrepaired DNA can lead to cancer. |
| Kerstin | Zechner | Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford | I’m looking at how a stretch of DNA coding for a gene is copied into another molecule known as RNA and how this copying process is kept under control in worms. |
Schools
| Broadoak Maths And Computing College | Weston-super-Mare |
| Abbeyfield School | Chippenham |
| British School Muscat | Sultanate Of Oman |
| Balby Carr | Doncaster |
| Tiffin School | Kingston upon Thames |
| Broadgreen International School | Liverpool |
| City Of Portsmouth Girls’ School | Portsmouth |
| Middlesbrough College | Middlesbrough |
| Ripon Grammar School | Ripon |
| The Woodlands School & Sports College | Coventry |
| The George Ward School | Melksham |
| Sacred Heart | London |
| Abingdon School | Abingdon |
| Bury St Edmunds County Upper | Suffolk |
| St Leonard’s | St Andrews |
Hydrogen Zone
Scientists
| Louise | Buckley | Scottish Agricultural College | Hungry chickens find it more difficult to learn complex choice tasks |
| Pamela | Docherty | University of Edinburgh | I work in the area of integrable systems in mathematical physics, which roughly means trying to predict how certain real-world objects move in time, for example, planets. |
| Freya | Harrison | University of Oxford, Dept of Zoology | I use experiments and simulations to understand why and how cooperative behaviour has evolved |
| Katy | Milne | Imperial College | I develop inspections for jet engines to ensure that they are safe |
| Helen | Vaughan | University of Durham | I use really powerful lasers to blow up molecules in order to develop new materials for use in highly efficient plastic lighting applications and flexible television screens! |
Schools
| Queen Ethelburga’s College | York |
| The George Ward School | Melksham |
| Twynham School | Dorset |
| George Heriot’s School | Edinburgh |
| Pembrokeshire College | Pembrokeshire |
| St Joan Of Arc Catholic School | Rickmansworth |
| Mid Cheshire College | Cheshire |
| Rochester Grammar School | Rochester |
| Cheadle And Marple Sixth Form College | Stockport |
| Samuel King’s School | Cumbria |
| Kinlochbervie High | Sutherland |
| Brockenhurst College | Hampshire |
Helium Zone
Scientists
| Martin | Coath | Centre for Robotic and Neural Studies | Designing sensory systems for machines that work just like biological systems. |
| Emily | Cook | Barts Hospital | X-ray vision: probing your body and luggage |
| Chris | Cooper | Dept of Biological Sciences | I make (or rather try to make) artificial blood to replace blood transfusions. |
| Tamsin | Gray | British Antarctic Survey | I am trying to work out how fast Antarctica is warming up and when the hole in the ozone layer is going to get better. |
| Natalie | Stanford | University of Manchester | I build electronic versions of cells so we can subject them to extreme disturbances in order to increase our understanding of their function. |
Schools
| Francis Holland School | London |
| Pate’s Grammar School | Cheltenham |
| City Of Westminster FE College (Maida Vale Campus) | London |
| Ashington High School | Northumberland |
| Keswick School | Cumbria |
| The Compton | London |
| Birkdale High School | Dewsbury |
| King Henry Viii School | Coventry |
| Highbury Fields School | London |
| Addey & Stanhope | Lewisham |
| Elton High School | Bury |
| Kingsmead Commuity School | Somerset |
| Shimna Integrated College | Co. Down |
| Bishop Thomas Grant School | Streatham |
| William Farr C Of E Comprehensive School | Licolnshire |
Lithium Zone
Scientists
| Kiran | Meekings | Decision Resources | A trained molecular virologist by nature, I now work in pharmaceutical research building drug forecasts for cancer drugs in all stages of clincial development for many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms. |
| Sarah | Mount | University of Wolverhampton | I try to find new ways for scientists and artists to use small computers embedded in the environment |
| Duncan | Murdock | University of Bristol | I am using pioneering x-ray techniques to work out how skeletons evolved in animals. |
| Sharon | Sneddon | University of Manchester | I am trying to find ways of creating ethically acceptable human embryonic stem cells. |
| Paul | Stevenson | University of Surrey | I try to understand what makes protons and neutrons stick together and so form all the elements. |
Schools
| Kingsbury High School | Brent |
| Ryton Comprehensive School | Tyne & Wear |
| Hardenhuish | Chippenham |
| Clydebank High School | West Dunbartonshire |
| Broxburn Academy | West Lothian |
| Presdales School | Herts |
| South Thames College (Merton Campus) | Surrey |
| Saltash.Net Community School | Cornwall |
| John F Kennedy Catholic School | Herts |
| The Long Eaton School | Nottinghamshire |
| Broadgreen International School | Merseyside |
| Longridge Towers School | Berwick upon Tweed |
| St John’s, Marlborough | Wiltshire |
| Forest Education Centre | Hythe |
Woohoo! I’m looking forward to it 🙂