Overview
Professor Jane Clarke, outgoing President of Wolfson College, has invited four scientists to join her in discussing their experiences as women in STEM. They are at different stages in their respective careers and are all contributing in significant ways to their fields of interest.
Speakers
- Professor Serena Best
Serena Best is a Professor of Materials Science at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of St. John’s College, Cambridge. She co-directs the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials (along with Professor Ruth Cameron). She has published around 400 journal papers, books, book chapters and patents in the fields of biomaterials and skeletal repair. She was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2017 for services to Biomaterials Engineering.
- Dr Susan Fowler
Susan Fowler is a Protein Scientist. She started her scientific career as a graduate research assistant in Professor Jane Clarke’s lab in 1997. She caught the research bug and started her PhD in Chemistry in Cambridge with Jane. She was responsible for pioneering the use of atomic force microscopy to study the giant muscle protein Titin. After her PhD Susan worked as a postdoc in Professor Chris Dobson’s lab before leaving academia to take up a research career in industry.
She worked for MedImmune one of the companies pioneering therapeutic antibody technology. She is now an Associate Principal Scientist for AstraZeneca on the Cambridge biomedical campus.
- Dr Oumie Kuyateh
Oumie Kuyateh is an Excellence Fellow at The Wellcome Sanger Institue and a Junior Resrach Fellow (JRF) at Wolfson College, University of Cambridge. She is interested in understanding the relationship between the gut microbiome and antibiotic usage in Europe. Oumie holds a Biochemistry degree from University College London (UCL) that was jointly funded by the Medical Research Council and the Medical Research Foundation. She went on to do a PhD on the Wellcome Trust Hosts, Pathogens, and Global Health PhD programme at The University of Edinburgh where she used metagenomics to understand host-virus coevolution in insects. During her PhD, she was awarded a Varley-Gradwell Travelling Fellowship in Insect Ecology by the University of Oxford and a University of Edinburgh Student Experience grant to lead a bioinformatics workshop at the University of The Gambia. Outside of research, Oumie is interested in cooking, going on long walks, and reading. She is also quite passionate about increasing the representation of women and people of African descent in STEM.
- Jessica McConnell
Jessica McConnell is a first-year Chemistry PhD student from North Ayrshire, Scotland. She is one of two new Wolfson students to receive a fully-funded studentship for Women in the Sciences through a partnership between Wolfson College, the Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, and the Cambridge Trust. Jointly supervised by Professor Dame Clare Grey and Dr Svetlana Menkin, Jessica’s research looks to make batteries that charge better, last longer, and use more sustainable materials.
Details
The event is open to all and free to attend - book your place.
The panel discussion will be followed by the President's Garden Party.
Access
This event will take place in the Dining Hall on the first floor of our main building. There is step-free access with a lift and an accessible toilet.