We are excited to present the 4th FMS post doc symposium to be held on 9th June 2023 in the Davis Shaw lecture theatre. We are thrilled to have Dr Eric Hill as our Keynote speaker, presenting his talk ‘Determining the role of metabolic dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease patient iPSC derived neuronal networks’
Join us for a great day of science celebrating the fantastic contribution our post docs make to the faculty!
Registration is now OPEN for ALL staff and graduate students to attend the 4th post doc symposium on 9th June 2023 in the David Shaw lecture theatre followed by a drinks reception to support the world-class research being carried out by post docs in the faculty! Come and enjoy a day of exciting talks and posters, and take the opportunity to network with colleagues in person.
Calling all research associates in FMS to submit abstracts for consideration for oral and poster presentations and submit a paper to the best manuscript competition for a chance to present your paper at the symposium!
Registration and abstract submission can be found using this link. Registration and abstract submission form
Looking forward to seeing you there!
FMS post doc committee 2023
With the symposium only a few days away we are please to publish the programme and book of abstracts containing all of the information you need for the event next Tuesday 13th September! We have fantastic line up of talks and posters planned showcasing the world leading research being conducted by the post docs in our faculty!
We also have an excellent talk planned by our keynote speaker Professor Selina Wray from UCL and a presentation of the winning paper in the best published manuscript competition by Dr. Edward Fielder!
Many thanks to our generous industry sponsors who will be available to talk to throughout the day for their generous support.
Lunch and a drinks reception at the end of the day will help us round off what is promising to be an exciting event! On behalf of the post doc committee we look forward to welcoming you on the day!
After a 2 year hiatus, the FMS post-doc committee are excited to announce the 3rd symposium will be held this year on 13th September in the David Shaw lecture theatre! Once again we are calling all post-docs in the faculty of medical sciences to submit abstracts so we can plan an exciting day of science that represents the research being undertaken across the faculty. The spotlight will be on our fantastic post-docs, highlighting their world-class research and celebrating the outstanding contribution they make to the faculty of medical sciences! Prizes will be awarded for best talk and best poster, and once again we are running a competition to find the best paper published by a post-doc. Abstract deadline 30th June!
We are delighted to announce our keynote speaker for this symposium – Prof. Selina Wray from UCL. Selina is Professor of Molecular Neuroscience, she was awarded the 2018 ARUK David Hague Early Career Investigator of the Year award and the 2014 Red Magazine Woman of the Year award in the Pioneer category.
Registration for the conference is FREE and we encourage everyone to attend, from MRes students to PIs, to celebrate the fantastic work from all Institutes! Links for registration, and submission for oral/poster presentation and best paper competition are below!
Post-doc symposium 2022 registration and poster submission
Submit oral abstracts and best paper submission here
We can’t wait to see you all in person again!
Calling all Research Associates of the Faculty of Medical Sciences,
With the re-structuring of the faculty, and the creation of the Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Biosciences Institute, and Population and Health Sciences Institute we are looking for new recruits from all three institutes to join and play an active role in the FMS post-doc committee. Established in 2017, we are here to organise events, provide support and information, and represent post-doctoral researchers’ views to the faculty.
So, if you would like to help shape this evolving committee and help to support the post-docs in FMS (which will also look good on your CV!!) you are welcome to attend our next meeting on 11th February 2020 9:30am in the Medical school Atrium.
Here is the abstract book for the 2nd FMS postdoc symposium taking place tomorrow in the David Shaw lecture theatre, Medical School. It is shaping up to be a fantastic event showcasing the exciting and diverse range of research taking place in the faculty of medical sciences! We also have an excellent Keynote lecture which will be given by Prof. Ana María Cuervo and of course the winner of the best paper prize Dr. Martina Miotto! See you there!
The abstract booklet and schedule for the FMS post-doc symposium are now available online! Plan your route around the poster session, or learn more about our keynote speaker Prof. Steve Wilson and best paper prize winner Dr. Vivek Nityananda on your phone/tablet!
abstract_book_fms_postdoc_symposium
When making decisions about the future if your academic career you may feel that you are at the beginning a complex set of crossroads which can be quite confusing and at times frustrating. As there is no defined route when it comes to career progression it can be difficult to decide which direction is the right one to take, and when is the right time to make the correct next step to advance your career. Obtaining independent funding such as a fellowship is one option that can demonstrate your potential to be a future leader in your chosen research field. However, for early career researchers these opportunities can be highly competitive as successful candidates are required to demonstrate their ability to produce meaningful research, manage multiple projects (and potentially students) and communicate their work to a wider audience. Not everyone has the same experience when applying for a fellowship, but we asked Dr Kirsty E. McAleese (Institute of Neuroscience, and a recently appointed Alzheimer’s Society research fellow) to describe her motivation, experience, and give her top tips when applying for a research fellowship.
Why a fellowship?
I had a clear career aim of staying in research and continuing and expanding my work in a niche area of dementia research. A fellowship is the first step to independent research and developing and leading my own research group.
How did you decide which schemes to apply for?
I chose to apply for a dementia charity funded fellowships as these are very keen on retaining young researchers already in the field and tend to be slightly less competitive than other general funding bodies such as the Wellcome Trust and the MRC. Networking with funding bodies/charities can be very important in this aspect; I was previously funded by and won an award with the Alzheimer’s Society so I was on their radar and they knew my name, so use anything like this to your advantage.
Where to start…
My mentor told me that I must tick three boxes: 1) my development as a scientist, 2) the idea, and 3) the institute you choose to work at. Being enthusiastic and passionate about your research is one aspect; but a fellowship is also about your development into an independent researcher and learning new skills. I have worked in neuropathology for many years and part of my fellowship is branching into in vitro models. Making sure you have the right team supporting you and the facilities to successfully complete your project is key. I did not move to a different University to achieve this; sometimes it is required but not always necessary as long as you can justify why you want to stay at a particular institute and have an external collaboration in place, you can still demonstrate your aim to develop as a scientist.
How long the application took…
Writing the application took a solid three months but I had recently published a paper in the field and, therefore, already had a good understanding of the relative literature. I would suggest at least 6-7 months from start to finish: it seems like a long time but it will go very quickly, and you need to have it read over numerous times before submission (I submitted draft 8!). Also, don’t forget the application must go through the University’s grant application and peer review system, which requires a few months notice at least, and final submission confirmation is done by the University, so always submit to the funder a few days early.
What were the most difficult parts?
I found the time scale of an application challenging. You have to plan ahead 18 months for any eventuality, i.e., success, organising bridge funding if staying at the same institution, or unemployment! The application itself takes around 6 months and then an additional 6-7 months for review, and hopefully an interview (where you will sometimes only get 2 weeks notice!), before you know if you have been successful. Then there is the processing of the paper work and generating a start date, which took 4 months.
Top tips
1) Do your research on the funding bodies as they are all slightly different. Most have application help or webinars available.
2) Ask as many people as possible from different disciplines to read it! It is likely a non-expert will review your application so it must be very clear and not too complex.
3) Remember to tailor the application to ‘I’ and not ‘we’. It felt very uncomfortable doing so but it is the only time you will do this. Remember a fellowship is about you and you only. Sell yourself!
4) Always have contingency plans embedded into your project design in case experiments fail (especially if techniques are novel): what would you do to still guarantee success of the project? This was a question brought up in a mock interview and it was asked at my real interview!
For guidance and advice on fellowship applications to external funders, and who to contact if you are thinking of applying see the following links: –
https://newcastle.sharepoint.com/hub/medical/Pages/fellowships.aspx
The MRC has developed an interactive career framework that provides information on research career pathways and funding streams available for early career researchers who want to establish an independent research career.
https://www.mrc.ac.uk/skills-careers/interactive-career-framework/
The programme for the inaugural FMS post-doc symposium has been announced! Join us on the 15th June to hear about the world class research being conducted across the Faculty of Medical Sciences.