Meet the Hello Bio LabLife Conference 2022 Guest Speakers
We are delighted to confirm the full line-up of guest speakers, panellists and chairs for the inaugural Hello Bio LabLife Conference!
Our exciting new half-day virtual event takes place on 30th June and will feature peer-to-peer talks and panel discussions from life scientists around the world. The conference aims to support early-career life scientists to develop the lab and life skills needed to build a successful life science career.
Tickets are FREE and registration is now open!
We’ve put together an impressive line-up of experienced life scientists from a variety of backgrounds to share their wisdom and experience with our conference audience. We’re so excited to introduce these fantastic event contributors and to tell you a little more about what you can expect from each of them…
Professor Stuart Maudsley graduated with a First Class Honors in Pharmacology from the University of Leeds and was awarded the Pfizer Prize for his undergraduate research project that pioneered novel single cell quantitative pharmacology analyses. Stuart received his PhD from the University of Leeds with the Ackroyd, Brotherton and Brown Scholarship. His post-doctoral mentor was Prof. Robert Lefkowitz (2012 Nobel Laureate) at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University in the USA. Following this training, Stuart returned to the UK to head the Receptor Pharmacology Lab at the University of Edinburgh MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit. Stuart was next recruited to be head of the Receptor Pharmacology Unit at the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging at Johns Hopkins University in the USA. With the birth of his first daughter, Stuart returned to Europe to where he served as both the Adjunct Director of the VIB Center of Molecular Neurosciences at the University of Antwerp as well as Vice-Chair of Department of Biomedical Sciences. Stuart is currently the leader of the Receptor Biology Lab at the University of Antwerp. Stuart is a strong proponent of recent initiatives to modernize the process of scientific research and publication as well as to improve science culture and communication. Stuart is also developing his first independent start-up concept named HeptOME which will aim to develop novel therapeutics to interdict pathological ageing.
- ‘Getting The Most from Your Mentors’ - 13:15 BST / 08:15 ET / 14:15 CET
Mentors come in all shapes and sizes, and the vast majority of mentors really want to help their students but unless their mentee can be candid with the mentor then the quality of training, education and support can be negatively affected. As they say, ‘it’s good to talk’, so a respectful and effective line of communication is vital for a successful and productive relationship. Stuart will offer valuable advice on establishing and maintaining these relationships in our opening keynote talk. Read more from Stuart on the subject of mentoring in this fantastic guest blog, or watch his conversation with Hello Bio’s Sam Roome on the topic of motivation in science research for our ‘Scientist Talks’ series.
Dr Joanne Kamens is a Senior Consultant at The Impact Seat, a consultancy practice which brings science-based DEI knowledge and practice to organizations. Dr Kamens received her PhD in genetics from Harvard Medical School and has had a varied career in academia, pharma, biotech and nonprofit. While Executive Director of Addgene, she experimented with practical ways to create an inclusive workplace. Joanne maintained single digit employee turnover for almost a decade at Addgene and collaborated with dozens of inclusion organizations to make the company a Best Place to Work in Boston for six years running.
- ‘STEM Career Paths for Life Scientists’ - 16:15 BST / 11:15 ET / 17:15 CET
Joanne will deliver the closing keynote talk on STEM career paths for life scientists in which she aims to inspire and provide specific tactics for charting a course for a happy and long-term career in science. She will offer advice on planning and preparation in order to help you to map out your long-term life science career path.
Matthew Caley is a skin researcher and lecturer at Queen Mary University of London, UK. He received his PhD in Biological Sciences from Cardiff University in 2008 studying Chronic Wounds under the supervision of Prof. Phil Stephens. He then moved to Imperial College London joining the laboratory of Dr Justin Sturge and Prof. Jonathan Waxman to study prostate cancer metastasis and the role the extracellular matrix plays in controlling cell behaviour. In 2011, he moved to the Blizard Institute, returning to skin research in the laboratory of Prof. Edel O’Toole. In 2019, Matthew was appointed as a Lecturer in Cell Biology. His lab focuses on the skin basement membrane and investigates its role in healthy and damaged skin, in skin ageing and in skin cancer.
- ‘Failure, Resiliency & Overcoming Imposter Syndrome’ - 14:30 BST / 09:30 ET / 15:30 CET
Matthew will speak on the subject of failure, resilience and imposter syndrome in a fascinating talk in which he’ll share his own experiences and how he overcame them. He will speak about his career journey, the setbacks he faced along the way, and will offer valuable advice and tips on staying strong in the face of academic setbacks.
Olya Vvedenskaya was born in Moscow, Russia. She studied medicine, specialising in medical biophysics in Moscow and worked on her MD thesis devoted to traumatic brain injury and mass spectrometry at the University of Pittsburgh, USA. She further did her PhD in Berlin, Germany working on a multi-omics approach to research of liver cancer and precancerous conditions. She continued her work in translational medicine and mass spectrometry in Dresden, Germany. During her postdoc, Olga established local and global academic mental health initiatives, including co-founding Dragonfly Mental Health.
- ‘Mental Health: Identifying & Overcoming Burnout’ - 15:45 BST / 10:45 ET / 16:45 CET
Olya will present a talk which explores the problem of burnout within academia and will offer valuable advice on identifying the signs when they arise. She will look at the core components of burnout, present evidence-based strategies to treat the symptoms, and discuss how to prevent work-related stress. She will also provide an overview of the burnout cycle and how to break it.
Matthew Lloyd is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the University of Bath. He read Biological Chemistry at the University of Leicester, followed by a DPhil (PhD) degree at the University of Oxford working on antibiotics. After several years of working as a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University, USA and Oxford, Matthew joined the Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology at the University of Bath. His research focuses on enzymes, enzyme kinetics, and enzyme inhibitors using techniques from Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry, Chemical Biology, and Biochemistry. He is an experienced author (having published more than 80 papers) and reviewer. In 2017 he was named one of the Top 10 Reviewers for the journal Chemical Communications.
- ‘Writing, Peer-Reviewing & Publishing Papers’ - 13:45 BST / 08:45 ET / 14:45 CET
Matthew will take part in a panel discussion on writing, peer-reviewing and publishing scientific papers and journals. He will be joined by Dr Bronwen Martin and the discussion will be hosted by Dr James Quinn. The panellists will offer valuable advice and tips on improving your writing skills to help you get to publication stage. The initial discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A. Read this great interview with Matthew from our ‘Interviews with Scientists’ series.
Bronwen Martin is the Scientific Editor & Research Communicator in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical, Biomedical and Veterinary Sciences at the University of Antwerp, Belgium. She obtained a PhD in Reproductive Endocrinology from the University of Edinburgh, UK and conducted Postdoctoral training in Neuro-endocrinology at the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins University, USA. After her training, she became a Principal Investigator & Head of the Metabolism Lab at the National Institute on Aging, USA, where her lab investigated metabolic function during aging. She has published over 120 papers, successfully obtained grant funding and actively serves on various journal editorial boards.
- ‘Writing, Peer-Reviewing & Publishing Papers’ - 13:45 BST / 08:45 ET / 14:45 CET
- ‘Writing Successful Funding Applications’ - 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET / 16:00 CET
Bronwen will take part in both of our panel discussions, covering the topics of writing, peer-reviewing and publishing papers, and writing successful funding applications. She brings a wealth of experience to both discussions, and you can read her article on biomedical research on our blog.
James P. Quinn, PhD is a neurology research fellow in the Alzheimer’s Clinical & Translational Research Unit (ACTRU) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School under the supervision of Dr Becky Carlyle and Dr Steven Arnold. Dr Quinn's research involves studying the neuronal signalling molecules, neuropeptides, in dementia pathogenesis to unravel disease mechanisms, identify new diagnostic biomarkers, and define novel therapeutic targets. His PhD research at the University of Manchester in the UK focused on the role of tau proteolysis in dementia pathogenesis. James is passionate about community engagement and public outreach of scientific research. He also works to improve the landscape for early career researchers with the Alzheimer’s Association.
- ‘Writing, Peer-Reviewing & Publishing Papers’ - 13:45 BST / 08:45 ET / 14:45 CET
James will chair our panel discussion on writing, peer-reviewing and publishing scientific papers and journals with panellists Dr Matthew Lloyd and Dr Bronwen Martin. You can read our ‘Interviews with Scientists’ feature with James from 2018 and also see him in conversation with Hello Bio’s Sam Roome as part of our ‘Scientists Talks’ video series.
Enitome Bafor is a postdoctoral fellow under Dr. Howard Young at the National Cancer Institute, MD, USA. She received her PhD from the University of Strathclyde, UK, and did a short postdoctoral fellowship under Prof. Susan Wray at the University of Liverpool, UK. Before moving to the NCI, she was an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Benin, Nigeria. She currently leads a project investigating reproductive failure in the context of autoimmunity and cancer. Her long-term goals are to develop targeted cell therapies for autoimmune reproductive failure and ovarian cancer. She has published 61 research articles and has contributed to 5 book publications. In addition, she has served as a peer reviewer for the Office of Chief Scientist Intramural Grant Office of Women's Health in the Food and Drug Administration (US-FDA). She is also a reviewer for several research journals and is currently an Associate Editor on the BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine editorial board.
- ‘Writing Successful Funding Applications’ - 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET / 16:00 CET
Enitome will take part in the panel discussion on writing successful funding applications alongside Dr Patrícia Maciel, Dr Bronwen Martin and chair Jazmine Benjamin. Enitome was the overall winner of our 2018 Lab Heroes Awards and we caught up with her recently for our ‘Interviews with Scientists’ feature.
Patrícia Maciel obtained a BSc in Biochemistry (1993) and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences - Genetics (1998) at the University of Porto, having developed her thesis work at Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, France, and at the Centre for Research in Neuroscience, McGill University, Canada. She is currently an Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, Director of the MSc program in Health Sciences and Senior Researcher at the ICVS (Life and Health Sciences Research Institute), where she leads the Translational Neurogenetics research team. Her work, focusing on the discovery of molecular mechanisms and therapeutics for neurological diseases, has led to over 135 publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, with an H-index of 36 (Researcher ID)/46 (Google Scholar). She has supervised 20 PhD students and 20 MSc students to thesis completion. She has coordinated 22 funded projects and participated in 20 other projects as a team member. She is an inventor in two international patents and has multiple collaborations with pharmaceutical companies for drug discovery and development.
- ‘Writing Successful Funding Applications’ - 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET / 16:00 CET
Patrícia will take part in the panel discussion on writing successful funding applications alongside Dr Enitome Bafor, Dr Bronwen Martin and chair Jazmine Benjamin.
Jazmine Benjamin is a PhD candidate researching the effects of circadian misalignment on risk factors for cardiometabolic disease. In addition to her scientific training, Jazmine co-founded the Science Policy and Advocacy Initiative (SPAI) at The University of Alabama at Birmingham. SPAI is the first student-led comprehensive science policy organization in the state. Jazmine also served as the graduate student body president at UAB for two years, where she focused on enriching graduate students' experiences at UAB by focusing on improving their holistic wellness, alleviating barriers to student scholarship, and cultivating a strong and inclusive graduate student community.
- ‘Writing Successful Funding Applications’ - 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET / 16:00 CET
Jazmine will chair the panel discussion on writing successful funding applications with Dr Enitome Bafor, Dr Bronwen Martin and Dr Patrícia Maciel. Read our recent interview with Jazmine for our ‘Interviews with Scientists’ feature.
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If you enjoyed this article, why not check out the other resources available on our blog. We are passionate about supporting life scientists including early career life scientists and PhD students - with really low-priced reagents and biochemicals, early career scientist grants, and resources to help with both personal and professional development. We know how tough it is - so we hope you find these helpful!
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