09 Nov 2009
A young scientist in the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research at The University of Manchester has won a prestigious Society of Biology Science Communication Award.
Ceri Harrop’s energetic efforts to bring science to the public include writing and presenting a short television series, presenting a radio show and working as an ambassador for her subject in the national EPSRC-funded New Outlooks In Science & Engineering (NOISE) campaign, as well as founding and chairing the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research (WTCCMR) public engagement committee.
All this while developing a 3D in vitro model of the human airways to study how asthma and other respiratory diseases can lead to changes in the structure and function of the airways, in a study funded by the Dr Hadwen Trust, a charity that aims to reduce the number of animals used in research.
The Society of Biology’s Science Communication Awards, sponsored by Pfizer, recognise research-active bioscientists from UK universities or institutes who make an outstanding and consistent contribution to communicating science to the public. The winners will be presented with their awards at a ceremony in London on 16th November 2009.
Ceri, who won the award’s New Researcher category, is forthright when explaining her passion for taking science to the public.
“The taxpayers, or charity donors, fund our research. It is public money and they have a right to know what we are doing with it. Plus I don’t think we give people enough credit – they are interested in health, the environment and other science issues and we, as scientists, should make research accessible to the public.
“Secondly it’s both highly rewarding and enlightening to take your research to a different audience. It gets you away from the lab bench, and helps you see your work from a different perspective. Filming the educational TV series was a blast and I was amazed by how much hard work it took to make a 40-minute episode.”
Ceri, based at Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences, has recently written and presented a short series of programmes for the Teachers TV series How Science Works, commissioned to complement the new interactive learning direction to the school curriculum. She and documentary makers Glasshead Productions applied her asthma research to sports professionals suffering from the condition, to investigate how lungs work, what they look like, what happens when we breathe and what can go wrong in conditions such as asthma.
She has also worked with a radio producer and presented a radio show, broadcast on Calon FM during 2007 National Science and Engineering Week, in which she interviewed a variety of students aged ten to 18 about what they loved and hated about science.
Ceri, 26, recalls: “I fell into science communication really. My research was at a stage where it was going really slowly and I wanted something else worthwhile to be involved in
“I started by working as a demonstrator at the The Manchester Museum Life Lab and found that I wanted to translate my own research into projects that would interest the public, which is why I started the WTCMRC public engagement committee. The committee is there to facilitate other researchers from the WTCCMR getting involved in engaging with the public, and to provide support and guidance to make it that little bit less daunting!
“You don’t have to stand in front of a group of 15-year-olds – that can be quite terrifying – but you could learn how to write a lay summary of your research for the public.
“I am thoroughly enjoying it. I believe that if someone gives you an opportunity, you should at least try and I feel lucky that it’s working out so well. It was fantastic to be to be nominated and I was amazed and delighted to actually win the award. It’s a great honour.”
Ceri now plans to continue to combine research with science communications work: “I feel really torn and I don’t want to choose between the two. I don’t think I need to anyway – people want to listen to scientists and working in research is empowering in that regard. At school I always wanted to know the what, when and why of things, how things happened, and I chose biology because I wanted to help people. I’m still like that and for me both roles fit that aim.”
The Faculty’s Vice President and Dean Professor Martin Humphries, who nominated Ceri, said: “In Manchester, we are dedicated to employing staff and producing graduates who are not only outstanding professionals but also informed, ethically aware, socially responsible citizens. The WTCCMR has responded to this challenge by elevating public engagement (PE) activity to a high priority, and over the last few years we have assembled a large network of lab staff and academics who now see PE as a core aspect of their job. Ceri has played the principal leading role in driving these developments. It is remarkable just how many events she has been involved with, both within the WTCCMR and outside of work, and how much impact she has had. Ceri is a very worthy winner of the Society of Biology Science Communication Award.”
Notes for editors
For more information, images or an interview with Ceri Harrop contact Media Relations Officer Mikaela Sitford on 0161 275 2111 or Mikaela.Sitford@manchester.ac.uk.
Ceri Harrop is a research assistant at The University of Manchester. She gained a BSc (Hons) 2.1 Biomedical Science with Industrial Experience at The University of Manchester in 2005. Her third year was spent working for Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Germany. She is also Chairperson of Public Engagement Committee, established to co-ordinate public engagement activities for The Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research; Lead Demonstrator at The Manchester Museum, involved in development of science communication events and profile scientist for “New Outlooks in Science and Engineering” to promote science as a career.
The University of Manchester’s Faculty of Life Sciences, with 1,700 undergraduate students, more than 1,000 people involved in research, £135 million in active research grants and £170 million investment in state-of-the-art facilities, is one of the largest and most successful unified research and teaching organisations of its kind in Europe. See http://www.ls.manchester.ac.uk.
NOISE (New Outlooks In Science & Engineering) is a UK-wide campaign funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Initiated in 2000, it aims to raise awareness of science and engineering among the general public. www.epsrc.ac.uk. For more information on NOISE visit www.noisemakers.org.uk
The Society of Biology is a single unified voice for biology: advising Government and influencing policy; advancing education and professional development; supporting our members, and engaging and encouraging public interest in the life sciences. The Society of Biology is a charity, created by the unification of the Biosciences Federation and the Institute of Biology, and is building on the heritage and reputation of these two organisations to champion the study and development of biology, and provide expert guidance and opinion. The Society represents a diverse membership of over 80,000 - including students, practising scientists and interested non-professionals - as individuals, or through learned societies and other organisations. www.societyofbiology.org
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