PANELLIST PROFILES 2018

Alick Deacon Technology Translation Fellow, The University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Nuclear Physics

My journey: I completed my PhD in the Nuclear Physics group at Manchester in 2006 and subsequently held a PDRA position and a fellowship in the same group. When those grants finished I made the move into industry. I worked for three years at Rapiscan Systems, developing security X-ray imaging technology. In 2014 I returned to physics at Manchester as the Technology Translation Fellow. This job draws on

my experience of research in both academic and industrial settings to help form collaborations between the two. I also support the commercialisation of research, resulting in patents and spin-out companies.

Andrew Dunleavy Vice President, Quantitative Analytics, Barclays Subject of PhD: Information theory and super-cooled liquids My journey: I studied undergraduate Physics at Imperial College then trained as a medical physicist in Manchester. I spent three years working in radiation oncology before studying a PhD at the University of Bristol - although I enjoyed it, the idea of chasing post-doc positions didn’t appeal. I decided to move into banking as it involves the mathematical/computational problem solving I enjoyed during my PhD. I successfully completed a six-month internship and was offered a graduate role in Barclays Quantitative Analytics. Now, I’m a VP within the same team, supporting the quantitative indices and strategies business.

Ann Rowan

Vice Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Sheffield Subject of PhD: Earth Sciences My journey: I am a Vice Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Sheffield, a four-year university research fellowship that leads into a permanent lectureship. I have a degree (awarded 2007) and a PhD (2012) in Earth Sciences from the University of Manchester. After my PhD, I was a Research Fellow at Aberystwyth University for two years. I left this fellowship to work at the British Geological Survey for six months but decided that this wasn’t for me. In 2015 I moved to Sheffield, initially for a 1-year fellowship, during which time I was successful in applying for the VC Fellowship to stay longer term.

Anna Seaborne Head of Researcher Environment, University of Huddersfield Subject of PhD: Teaching and learning in classical Japanese martial arts

My journey: Prior to starting my PhD at Manchester I gained a BA from Sheffield, Masters degrees from Loughborough and the Open University, a PGCE, and had more than ten years of experience working in Higher Education in Japan and the UK. I started in my current role part time whilst working on my thesis for resubmission; it was somewhat surreal seeing things from both sides simultaneously! Graduating in December 2018, I now head a small team whose role it is to foster a positive researcher environment for PGRs, ECRs and research staff across the institution.

Catherine Casson Lecturer in Enterprise, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Medieval history My journey: I joined Manchester Business School in August 2014 as a Lecturer in Enterprise. My role involves developing research and teaching links across the Business School, humanities departments and museums. I received my PhD in Medieval History from the University of York in 2009. Before I joined Manchester I held research and teaching fellowships at the Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, the School of History and Cultures, University of Birmingham and Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham. I have been a Postdoctoral Researcher.

Chongwei Chua

Head of Department (Science), Salford City College Subject of PhD: Biochemistry & Molecular Cell Biology My journey: I studied Biotechnology at Imperial and moved to Manchester to do my PhD. My colourful career journey took me through stints in the armed forces, as a tax official, a bank manager, leadership within the community performing arts and community sports sector, and in research in academia and industry, before embarking on a teaching career rather later than most. Now in my ninth year in teaching, I manage a large and successful science department in a large further education college. Any guesses as to my next career move? I have been a Postdoctoral Researcher.

Chris Yang Chu

Corporate Risk Manager, InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Subject of PhD: Project Finance and Risk Management

My journey: I completed my PhD in Project Finance and Risk Management in 2007, supervised by Tony Merna. I then undertook post-Doctoral work on supply chain risk management, funded by EPSRC, at Manchester Business School. In collaboration with eight leading companies I developed a supply chain risk assessment methodology which has been adopted by several bluechip organisations. I have published a number of papers in project finance and risk management and I am joint author with Tony Merna

and Faisal Al-Thani of the book Project Finance in Construction - a Structured Guide to Assessment published by Wiley-Blackwell in 2010. I am now Enterprise Risk Manager at Global Risk Management, IHG, Broadwater Park, Denham.

Danielle White

Self-Employed Workshop Facilitator and Transition Coach Subject of PhD: Education (Career Transition) My journey: I completed my Doctorate at the UoM in 2014 whilst doing some part time lecturing within the Youth Studies Department; this supported my transition to a fixed term tutor post at MMU and I was then promoted to a full time permanent lecturing post with leadership and research responsibilities. Having worked in the charity sector for 15 years the administrative burden and culture was not a good fit for me and I left after several years to travel Latin America, here I shared my findings with Universities in Bolivia and Brazil and just enjoyed exploring / trekking / climbing and camping. I came back and fell into some research consultancy work, quickly set up a business to support this, hired an accountant etc. Under this business I am now running and developing a small portfolio of workshops for PhD candidates and

Early Career Researchers at Universities to support transition either into or out of academia. I also offer one to one transition coaching in the same areas. I currently complement this work with some short research projects and associate lecturing for MMU, a nice way of maintaining a connection with colleagues and the University. My work is hugely rewarding for me, I have an opportunity to make a difference to people at a critical moment in their life and I have the time to create content that is creative and responsive, within sessions I feel challenged and engaged, working hard to support peoples thinking.

Dee-Ann Johnson

Researcher Development Officer, University of Manchester Following a career as a technical author, usability specialist, and communications project manager in Australia Dee-Ann moved to the UK to pursue a career in researcher professional development. She now works at The University of Manchester where she is responsible for delivering learning and development interventions to early career researchers and senior academics across a range of professional skills most notably in the areas of communication, public engagement, leadership, networking, and career development. As an executive coach, Dee-Ann works with staff and students across the University to maximise their potential, sits on the EMCC UK Coaching in HEI Conference 2018 committee, and coordinates the monthly Tweetchat #coachingHE with coaching colleagues from across UK institutions. She is also regularly invited by Vitae and UK funding bodies to facilitate and deliver training and development initiatives. Twitter: @deeannj

Jennifer O'Brien

Lecturer in Human Geography, Director of Social Responsibility for SEED, University of Manchester

Subject of PhD: Geography My journey: I never really had a career plan and fell into academia following a funded masters and PhD at the University of Manchester. For my thesis I lived in chronically poor rural Uganda for two years to learn about maternal child health care delivery. After that experience 'a real job' seemed a little futile. I had a series of temporary teaching posts before applying for a permanent Teaching Focused post in 2010. I have been the Associate Director of Employability for SEED and I am now part of the Senior Leadership Team of

the School as the Director of Social Responsibility.

Hannah FitzGibbon

Scientific Development Director, Complete Medical Communications (a McCann Health company) Subject of PhD: immunology (the role of CD55 in the adaptive immune system) My journey: Like many medical writers, I was never very keen on labwork, and during my PhD I much preferred reading backgrou nd literature and writing reports. I also grew tired of focussing on such a niche area of research and missed opportunities to learn about advances across broader fields of medicine. So when I finished my PhD, I took on a medical writing position, which was a great fit for my interests and strengths, with varied project work and clear career progression. After working my way up to Medical Writing Consultant over the course of 10 years, I was recently appointed to a new post of Scientific Development Director, and my time is now dedicated to supporting the training and development of colleagues across the company.

Heather Shawcross Senior Medical Writer, Fishawack Communications Subject of PhD: The effect of ageing on perivascular adipose tissue: the role of nitric oxide My journey: Not long in to my PhD I realised that lab-work was not my favourite part of being a “scientist”. I much preferred the writing, the analysis and the preparing posters and presentations for congresses. So after a career talk by a former PhD student from my department who had gone into medical writing, I decided to pursue this as a career option. After a couple of writing tests and a couple of interviews, I was offered two Medical Writer roles, and chose to take the offer from Fishawack Communications. Based in Knutsford I work on a variety of accounts, therapy areas and project types. I have been involved in pitches and presentations to clients, and have already travelled to a range of countries. I have never been happier!

Humera Sharif Recent post-doctoral research fellow, University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Organic chemistry and Biocatalysis My journey: I completed my degree in chemistry from the University of Manchester in 2013 and as part of this I conducted a final year research project in biocatalysis which I really enjoyed so I continued with my studies and undertook a collaborative PhD project. I was lucky enough to work with two labs and learn from both groups. Just before I started writing up I was offered a post doctoral position and so I was writing up and working in the lab simultaneously. My post-doc was part of a biochemistry group and was working on a project that was more applied but in quite a different field from my PhD. I found that I could apply knowledge I gained from my PhD with new skills I learnt.

Katharina Ecsy Medical Science Liaison, Sanofi Subject of PhD: Clinical Neuroscience My journey: I completed my PhD in Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Manchester in 2014. My research project involved attempting to reduce the pain perceived by patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia through neuromodulatory techniques. After completing my PhD, I worked as a Clinical Development Officer in the field of Dermatology, for a medium sized, privately owned pharmaceutical company called Dermal Laboratories Ltd. Officially, my role involved writing clinical trial proposals, protocols, project plans and clinical study reports. However, due to the small size of the team my role was extremely varied, allowing me to gain experience in clinical trial management, data management and working together with statisticians, regulatory affairs and the GPs/medical professionals running our clinical trials. In May 2018, I started working as a Medical Science Liaison in the Diabetes and Cardiovascular division of Sanofi, a global Pharmaceutical company.

Leandro Minuchin

Senior Lecturer in Architecture and Global Urbanism, University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Architecture and Politics

My journey: - Undergraduate Political Science, Rosario, Argentina - MA in Latin American Studies, Salamanca, Spain - MSc in Modernity, Space and Place, UCL

Liam O’Connor Trainee Patent Attorney, Marks & Clerk LLP Subject of PhD: Radiation Oncology & Chemistry My journey: I graduated from the University of Oxford in 2012 with a Masters degree in Chemistry. Following my masters project, I felt drawn to research, enjoying the autonomy it offered and the focus on problem-solving. I decided to carry on in academia, and was successfully awarded an MRC Scholarship to undertake a PhD. I completed my PhD in 2016, and managed to get a few publications along the way. During my PhD, I was involved in the filing of a patent application which focussed on my research. My involvement in this process as an inventor sparked my interest in a career as a patent attorney and in the legal profession. Patent attorneys require a technical background, and as such is well suited to PhD candidates. I am currently working as a trainee Patent Attorney with Marks & Clerk LLP, and am working towards full UK and European qualification.

Lisa Auker Medical Writer, Fishawack Communications Ltd Subject of PhD: The role of exercise on cardiovascular disease risk in psoriasis (dermatology) My journey: I graduated from my PhD in 2017 by which point I had been working as a medical writer for just over a year. I started work whilst finishing my thesis, which proved difficult at times! I had known that I wanted to pursue a career in medical communications about half way through my PhD after attending one of Peter Llewellyn’s

‘medcomms’ career events. I work on several types of projects across a range of therapy areas including dermatology, CNS (mainly Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia), oncology and sexual medicine. I have also been fortunate enough to travel, which I particularly enjoy.

Liz Granger Engagement Manager, University of Central Lancashire Subject of PhD: Cell Biology My journey: I completed my PhD in September 2013 I did a short contract as an RA. In January 2014 I became the UCLan and Ri Young Scientist Centre (YSC) Manager. The YSC is a collaboration between the University of Central Lancashire and the Royal Institution and is a dedicated lab space within the University where we deliver interactive STEM workshops for students aged 7-18 years. In my role managing the centre I project managed the YSC development and launch and designed, developed and delivered workshops. I began my current role in August 2016 and manage Public Engagement and Access.

Louise Maddison Medical Writer, Helios Medical Communications Subject of PhD: Systems Biology

My journey: After studying Chemistry at Nottingham University, I took a year out with Raleigh International in Chile and worked in a business role with the Environment Agency’s lab service. I then came to Manchester to train as a Clinical Biochemist. After my initial training I decided to undertake a PhD in Systems Biology at the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology and upon completion received the EPSRC Doctoral Prize. I then started to transition away from academia

and towards industry with a Innovate UK funded post-doc working on public-private-partnership between the NHS, UoM and a US Biotech to develop a new diagnostic platform for sepsis. Whilst at University I did lots of extracurricular activities e.g. Science and Research Editor for The Mancunion, Consultant for Oxbridge Biotech Roundtable and the Researchers into Management Programme. All of these experiences prepared me to make the move from academia to life sciences consultancy and now to my current role as a Medical Writer at Helios Medical Communications.

Mark Quinn Lecturer in Aerospace, University of Manchester Subject of PhD: My research was focused on applying experimental methods to challenging unsteady aerodynamics phenomena. My journey: I completed both my MEng and PhD at The University of Manchester in 2009 and 2013 respectively and subsequently moved into a research and development role at an industrial aerodynamic test facility. After two fantastic years working on developments related to my PhD in an industrial setting I returned to Manchester in a non-academic role facilitating knowledge exchange between academia and industry. I was appointed lecturer in aerospace focused on experimentation in 2015 and still do experimental research with my former colleagues in addition to teaching and project supervision.

Mat Johnson Post doc researcher on 'Just Work in Greater Manchester', and 'The State as a Socially Responsible Customer' Subject of PhD: Local government industrial relations My journey into academia is convoluted and somewhat accidental. Prior to undertaking a PhD at Manchester I worked I worked in a prison setting, as a research assistant at York University, and Bradford council children's services. By chance I came across an advert for a fully-funded PhD studentship looking at pay and conditions in local government under austerity. I finished the PhD in 2015 and moved into a post doc role in a study of precarious work across Europe, which has since been followed by two further post doc positions on internally funded projects. I secured my first (temporary) lecturer post this year and will start on 1st September as a lecturer in HRM and employment studies.

Natalie Day

Area Director - North of England, The Brilliant Club Subject of PhD: Sociology My journey: As I came to the end of my PhD in Sociology at Newcastle University, I was increasingly keen to stop researching social inequality and start working to combat it. I started as a Programme Officer at The Brilliant Club in April 2016 and am now Area Director for the North of England. The Brilliant exists to increase the number of pupils from under-represented backgrounds progressing to highly-selective universities, by mobilising the PhD community to share its academic expertise. My work focuses on building relationships and collaborations with schools, universities, NCOPs, Opportunity Areas and other bodies to support young people to gain the information, skills and confidence to progress to highly-selective universities, if they so choose.

Nick Weise

Lecturer (Teaching-Focussed), The University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Biocatalysis / Enzyme Engineering

My journey: After a B.Sc.(Hons) in molecular biology, I moved department to start a chemistry PhD. During this, I got more involved in other activities (workshops, tutorials, online education, outreach). This led to a series of 6 month contracts (2 years total) as a public engagement programme manager, though I continued to be involved in teaching and postdoctoral research. Recently I was awarded Senior Fellowship of the HEA and promoted to my current academic contract. My mixed experiences have allowed me to pick up school

administrative roles quickly such as E-Learning Lead, Deputy Director of Social Responsibility and Academic Coordinator (Peer Support).

Nick Proctor

Director, Adelphi Group Subject of PhD: Predictive pharmacokinetics My journey: I went for a PhD in Manchester straight from my degree, then straight to a postdoc in Sheffield after that. My research there was spun out to form a company so I worked with them for a few years before changing to a slightly different field as a consultant. Two jobs later, I started and lead one of the Adelphi Group consultancies.

Owen Abbott Lecturer in Sociology, The University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Sociology

My journey: I started the job on a fixed-term one year contract, which has since been extended. I started the job right after my PhD, having secured the position between my PhD submission and my viva. Since then I have integrated into the department and started on a number of research projects with the support of my colleagues. This includes writing a monograph and submitting bids for research proposals.

Parmesh Gajjar Subject of PhD: Mathematics After my completing my undergraduate and masters, I took two years out studying in India before returning to the UK. After being away from home for 6 years, I wished to be closer to home and with a very good University on my doorstep I thus chose to pursue a PhD in Applied Mathematics at Manchester. After completing in 2016, I took a 5 month break before starting a postdoc in the School of Materials, which I am 2/3 of the way through. Whilst I did not have each step of my career planned, I am grateful for the opportunities that have fortunately come my way.

Peter Burch Graduate Project Manager, Arcadis UK Subject of PhD: Early Anglo-Saxon Kingship

My journey: I completed my PhD – a re-examination of the origins of early Anglo-Saxon kingship – in early 2016. This followed a general arts BA and a MA in Medieval History. Since graduating I have been employed full-time as a Project Manager for Arcadis UK, a global design and consultancy firm for built and natural assets. I am currently working on the c. £1bn Manchester Airport

Transformation Programme where I am involved with a range of projects, including the production of a Concept of Operations for the Airport and the adoption of Building Information Modelling as a facilitator of whole-life asset management.

Rachel Cowen Senior Lecturer and co-founder of the Centre for Academic and Researcher Development, The University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Molecular Medicine Rachel Cowen is a Senior Lecturer and co-founder of the Centre for Academic and Researcher Development, University of Manchester where she is the academic lead for Research Staff and New Academic Staff Development. She sits on the University Research Staff Development Working Group and University Athena SWAN committee championing equality of opportunity for all staff groups. Rachel is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, a qualified trainer and executive coach and consults nationally and internationally on researcher and academic staff development programmes with leading institutions and research funders. Prior to her teaching role Rachel had a research career in the field of oncology working for Cancer Research UK, Pfizer and the University of Manchester. Qualifications PhD Medicine MSc Information Technology BSc Hons Biochemistry Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy Coaching and Mentoring Level 7 Award, Institute of Leadership and Management Certificate in Training Practice, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

Ruth Wamsley

Undergraduate: MChem, Chemistry with Industrial Experience at University of Manchester PhD: ‘Studies of heterogeneous transformations of atmospheric aerosols’ at University of Manchester Post Doctoral: Development of Chemical Ionisation Mass Spectrometry for use in laboratory and field experiments My journey: I did my undergraduate degree was Chemistry with a year in Industry. I spent my

industrial year at AstraZeneca in Macclesfield in the Analytical Science teams more specifically in the new technologies team. Their roles were to use new technologies to develop analytical methods. I was quickly informed that without a PhD was critical for progression in industry. On completion of my PhD I started composing grant applications with my supervisor and commenced a short post doctoral position. I thoroughly enjoyed working in academia but when my contract ran out I decided to look to a new challenge. I applied for a Junior Research position at Waters and was successfully. During my time at Waters I have transitioned to the MS development team, Working in this groups means I collaborate with many customers and internal personal from various departments. I am the lead scientist on a current project for delivering a new MS to the market by the end of 2019.

Salil Deena Research Associate, The University of Sheffield Subject of PhD: Computer Science (Artificial Intelligence) My journey: I started my career as a software engineer in Mauritius after completing a bachelor's degree in computer science in Mauritius. After working for about 1.5 years in that role, I moved to the UK to start a master's degree in advanced computer science at the University of Manchester. Since I enjoyed that experience, I decided to apply for some funding from the university for a PhD and managed to get through. I spent four years working on my

PhD, which was a continuation of my MSc project on speech-driven facial animation, whilst also working part-time as a test engineer at a major software company in Manchester. On finishing my PhD, I was offered a job as research engineer at Image Metrics, a 3D facial animation and augmented reality company in Manchester, whose line of work corresponded exactly to my PhD topic. It was a great experience because the research that I was doing was being deployed into real-life products used by hundreds of people worldwide. However, after about two years as an industrial researcher, I made a shift back to academia as a postdoctoral research associate at the Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield and working primarily in the fields of automatic speech recognition and natural language processing. Since 2017, I have been working at the interface between industry and academia as part of a newly created R&D centre at the University of Sheffield. My research experience so far has allowed me to have a clear perspective on the similarities and differences between academic and industrial research and how an interface between the two is vital for technological, economic and societal development. I have been a Postdoctoral Researcher.

Sam Hemsley Learning & Assessment Developer, Student Development & Community Engagement Division, University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Prehistoric Archaeology: Pre-Pottery Neolithic built environments & use of space. My journey: My career choices have not been part of a master plan, have largely followed my interests in developing new skills and experiences, and have also been predicated on how, and with whom, I want to work. I chose my archaeological sciences degree based on a desire to combine the arts, sciences and practical work. After a period in professional archaeology, my MA and PhD research and fieldwork focused on the prehistoric Near East and demanded, alongside my specialist knowledge, a broad understanding and application of a range of disciplines, from climate science to social anthropology. Throughout my postgraduate studies I enjoyed combining research with teaching in the lab, classroom and in the field, along with WP and outreach volunteering. My current role brings many of these strands together in developing and delivering interdisciplinary academic units (for the Manchester Leadership Programme) and large scale learning activities (for the University’s ‘Ethical Grand Challenges’ Signature Programme), all as part of a small and innovative division.

Sarah Mohammad-Qureshi Charter Marks’ Coordinator/Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor, The University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Biochemistry

Following my PhD I was offered a postdoctoral research associate position. Whilst writing up (with little time to consider my career options strategically) it seemed the perfect choice. 18months later I had my first child and the time needed to think about my next career move seemed to vanish; one postdoc contract followed another. I was passionate about my project and was publishing regularly in journals with high-impact factors – I could do the job and I needed the money, so it seemed sensible to stay where I

was. However I found myself becoming increasingly dissatisfied with my day-today work as I didn’t feel that I was learning anything new but I stayed as I thought I would have wasted my PhD if I stepped outside of academia. I took on voluntary roles across the university alongside my lab work to provide some stimulation; I was Editor of the Research Staff newsletter ‘Incite’, I had representative roles on Faculty and University committees, I sat on the Faculty’s Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team and I helped design and deliver training to PGR students. I decided I wanted to dedicate more time to helping early-career researchers and the first non-academic job I secured was as Faculty Researcher Development Officer. Although it was another fixed-term contract, it enabled me to progress career development support available to early career researchers, particularly those with caring responsibilities. This expanded my network and motivated my move into Equality, Diversity and Inclusion as the Charter Marks Co-ordinator for both the Race Charter and Athena SWAN.

Sarah Woolner Wellcome Trust Sir Henry Dale Fellow, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Cell and Developmental Biology My journey: I did my undergrad degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh and then a PhD at University College London, graduating in 2005. I then took up a postdoc in the USA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I returned to the UK in 2008 for a second postdoc in the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Manchester. After many failed attempts to obtain a postdoc fellowship in the US, I was finally successful and was awarded a Beit Memorial Fellowship to undertake this work. Throughout my career, I have been interested in the early development of the embryo, studying the cytoskeleton during tissue morphogenesis. I have switched model systems (from flies to frogs) and focus (from actin cytoskeleton to mitotic spindles) but have generally just picked projects that I find interesting. In 2012, I was awarded a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship to start my own lab in the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Matrix Research. During this fellowship, I have had two babies and have worked part-time since the birth of my first child. In the Woolner lab, we investigate how the mechanical environment of a tissue influences cell behavior, using a mixture of biological and mathematical approaches.

Shaden Jaradat

Research Strategy Coordinator, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester Subject of PhD: Physics My journey: I obtained my PhD in Physics from the University of Manchester in 2006, after which I spent five years as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the same School. In 2012, I crossed over to the admin side of the University and started working in the International Development Division. Initially I managed the University’s activities in the Middle East and North Africa. I then moved on to looking after the University’s relations/partnerships with major sponsors and facilitating outward visits by the Senior Leadership Team. I have recently taken up the role of Research Strategy Coordinator in the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Victoria Glass Management Consultant, PwC Subject of PhD: Intellectual History My journey: I completed my undergraduate work in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and then moved to History for my Masters and PhD at the University of Manchester. While studying for my PhD I worked as a Pastoral Tutor in a Hall of Residence and taught seminars in both History and Philosophy for arts students. After my PhD I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as a Management Consultant on their graduate programme. I have been with PwC for almost 3 years and have specialised in Portfolio and Programme Management.

Vidyadhar Peesapati Knowledge Transfer Research Fellow, The Electrical Energy and Power Systems Group Subject of PhD: High Voltage Engineering I first joined the University of Manchester in 2005, to pursue my Masters in Electrical Power Systems. I later stayed on to pursue a PhD, due to my growing interest in the field of electrical energy and high voltage. Upon finishing my PhD, I took my present role at the university, as I watched the demand for skilled engineers increase in the energy sector, and University of Manchester was in the forefront of energy research. The university allows me to use the facilities and my knowledge to aid energy companies. The University of Manchester has the largest capability in high voltage test equipment in the UK, coupled with a high research profile. Therefore, I have an array of resources I can use in order to solve energy and power issues. The diversity of projects attracted me to this role. I presently work as a link between industry and the university, where I use my knowledge in power systems and high voltage, in providing short term consultancy and research solutions to UK and international power companies. The role involves working with industries in different fields, including power, energy, aerospace and marine transport. My job at the university is to try and find novel solutions to problems faced by the power industry. This means I work mostly with industrial partners, both within the UK and abroad. Some challenges faced by industry need different fields of expertise, in which case I tend to work with colleagues from different research groups and areas, to try to find multi-disciplinary solutions. Most of the work I do is either presented at international conferences or technical meetings, in order to showcase the facilities and knowledge base we have within the University of Manchester. I also teach undergraduate and postgraduate students in order to raise awareness and interest in my area of expertise.

Yimei Zhu Lecturer in Digital Media in School of Media, Communication & Sociology, University of Leicester Subject of PhD: Sociology My journey: Jan 2011- July 2015 PhD in Sociology Jan 2012- May 2016 Teaching assistant

in Sociology and Social Statistics, University of Manchester

Nov 2011 – May 2016 Research assistant in Sociology, University of Manchester, worked on various projects

January - May 2016 Postdoc research associate in School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester

June - August 2016 Postdoc research associate in Media and Communication, University of Leicester

Oct 2016 – present Lecturer in Digital Media in School of Media, Communication & Sociology, University of Leicester

I also worked as a freelance consultant and researcher for Durham University and Aston University for project related to Chinese social media in 2012 and 2013.

Zoher Kapacee Head of Operations, Greater Manchester Connected Health Cities Subject of PhD: Regenerative Medicine/Tissue Engineering My journey: Following a PhD in understanding collagen synthesis during embryonic development, I worked as a PDRA, investigating induced pluripotency by reprogramming terminally differentiated cells. I moved on from the lab as a Research Business Manager to pursue a long-standing interest in translating science into business. At the same time, I completed a MBA programme at the Alliance Manchester Business School and got an opportunity to oversee operations at the Greater Manchester Connected Health City initiative, which is a new project that unites local health data and advanced technology to improve health services for patients in Northern England.