MEMBER NEWS
EARLY CAREERS
SCI Postgraduate Scholars Showcase
EARLY CAREERS
SCI Travel Bursary winner’s internship at The Naked Scientists
Jenny Gracie was awarded a SCI Messel Travel Bursary for an internship with the Naked Scientists, based at the University of Cambridge. The Naked Scientists is an award-winning science production group. It creates one of the world’s most popular science shows, achieving over 50 million downloads in the last five years. Here she describes how her internship has helped her to develop her skills and confidence in science communication, which she can now use to help shape her future career. I am currently in the final year of a PhD in
chemistry at the University of Strathclyde. My project seeks to better treat cardiovascular disease, which is still the world’s leading cause of death. I am working towards a drug delivery system, which utilises hollow gold nanoparticles as a ‘vehicle’ for delivering statins to the fatty plaques that block the arteries. Although I’m still interested in my research project, I’ve developed a real enthusiasm for science communication over the last few years and would like to pursue a career in this field. As a STEM ambassador I have attended
fairs, festivals and schools to help spark a curiosity in science among children. During my PhD, the opportunity of an eight-week internship with The Naked Scientists came up, and I simply couldn’t let it pass. Without the funding support from SCI I could not have taken up the internship, and so I am extremely grateful for the Messel Travel Bursary, and I know that this contribution helped make this transformative career experience a reality.
The Naked Scientists broadcast weekly
on BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC 5Live, ABC National Radio in Australia, and also publish a podcast of the show. Podcasts are free, available on-demand and are a widely- accessible source of science information to the general public. The Naked Scientist internship programme develops the skill set of early career communicators and provides first-hand experience in the world of science media communication. Podcast production has grown
exponentially in the last few years, however, chemistry still remains underrepresented, compared with the other traditional physical sciences, like physics and biology. As a chemist who is interested in a career in science communication, this role has allowed me to gain the necessary skills to make my own podcasts in the future. As an intern I was part of the production
team from the first day! It was a catapult into the world of radio broadcast and podcast production, but perfect for understanding how a show is produced from scratch. Our weekly show consists of two parts – one half covering the news and recently published articles, and the second half covering a specific topic within science. Media privileges gave me access to all the journals to be published that week, with them sealed under embargo until publication. We tended to pick articles that have a global impact and capture the interest of the listener. Each team member would be assigned an
article, and we would then have to contact the authors to scope the story and arrange a recorded interview. I improved the skills required to organise and execute a good interview over the course of the eight weeks. I could see a real development in both my style and confidence.
Read the full article at
bit.ly/JennyGracie_Messel. To find out about the variety of travel bursaries SCI offers, visit
soci.org/awards/travel-bursaries.
On 3 July 2019, SCI’s Early Career Committee will host the Postgraduate Scholar’s Showcase at SCI HQ in Belgrave Square. The event – held in the morning of the 138th AGM – is open to past and current SCI Scholars to showcase the achievements of travel bursary recipients during a poster session, and to strengthen the connection between SCI Scholars and the wider SCI community. Two past Scholars will share their
career paths and current work with attendees. These are 2015 Scholar Dr Angelica Orsi, a research scientist at OXIS Energy specialising in Li-S battery materials, and 2014 Scholar Paul Brack, a technical assistant in the Chemistry team at IP firm, Dehns. The winners of the poster session
will be awarded their prize by the chair of SCI’s Board of Trustees, Alan Baylis, during the AGM. ‘We would like to give an opportunity
for the past SCI scholars to share their career path stories and current work. Secondly, the poster session aims to showcase the science funded by the SCI travel bursaries and Daphne Jackson fellows in the context of the broader AGM meeting, proving opportunities for networking,’ said Xin Yi Ong from the organising committee. ‘Past scholars will be invited to
interact with the wider SCI community and get more involved in the governance of SCI.’
Visit
soci.org/events to register for this free event and explore the range of SCI events.
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