Five early-career researchers from Imperial recently presented their research at the annual STEM for Britain parliamentary poster competition.

Ben Lewis, who works in the Vilar and Kuimova research groups in the Department of Chemistry, and the Vannier group at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, won the Gold Award in the Chemistry category for his research: ‘G-Quadruplexes: Unravelling the next knot in the DNA story’.

In this blog post he reflects on what it was like to present his work to MPs and Lords at the Palace of Westminster.

By Ben Lewis

As PhD students, we often get opportunities to present our work to other researchers – whether within Imperial or beyond. It is very unusual, though, for us to have the chance to present to MPs and Lords. That’s one of the unique features of the STEM for Britain poster competition, held annually for early-career researchers by the Parliamentary and Scientific committee.

In normal years, the event takes place at the Palace of Westminster itself and brings together a range of scientists from academia and industry with parliamentarians. Sadly, this year an in-person event was not an option – but it was particularly amazing that the competition could still happen in spite of the ongoing pandemic. We still got to engage with one another – just through Zoom and the screens of our laptops.

An impressive diversity of research

This competition also brings together all fields of science, with categories for Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Engineering and Mathematics – a great opportunity to hear about a range of work, which isn’t always the case in many of our field-segregated conferences and seminars. Reading posters on topics from tackling traumatic injury, to simulating seismic effects on Mars shows the breadth of impressive work going on at institutions all around the UK.

Within the Chemistry category that I entered, I was honoured to be selected as one of ten finalists to present my work at the event itself – and delighted to have been awarded the Gold Medal for Chemistry. Even in just this one category, the diversity of research was fascinating – everything from producing nanomaterials to treating brain cancers was on display.

Bringing complex research to life

We all faced a similar challenge – taking our very detailed and involved research and presenting it as a poster and a three-minute presentation that would speak to the broad audience this event has – including a number of parliamentarians who are interested to hear about the world of research, but have no science background themselves. It was particularly great to see Andy Slaughter – the local MP for the White City campus, where I am based – in attendance for the award ceremony, in addition to a range of other MPs and Lords. Knowing there are so many parliamentarians wanting to hear more about the latest scientific research is very heartening. Giving our usual academic presentations just wouldn’t be right for an audience like this.

In my case, that meant taking all the unusual concepts which make up my very interdisciplinary PhD – including G-Quadruplex DNA structures and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy, not concepts that most people, even scientists, have ever heard of – and bringing them to life very quickly. Really what my research is about is finding the unusual DNA structures we’re interested in inside living cells – a challenge which is very tough, but by using a specialist method we have been able to achieve this and are now trying to unravel the important effects they have on a wide range of biological processes.

Thanks to the Graduate School!

Thankfully, being in my final year, I’ve had the chance to attempt this before. Especially helpful were events run by Imperial’s Graduate School, challenging students to present their work in a brief and easily understood way. These courses and competitions are a really great opportunity to find the core of what makes your research exciting and how to put it across in an engaging manner. The only way to get better is to have a go. At Imperial and beyond there are plenty of opportunities out there, so putting yourself forward is something I’d recommend to any PhD student.

Why communication is key

It is taking part in events like STEM for Britain which make it obvious that if we can’t tell a wider audience about all the research we do in a way they understand and find interesting, our work will never achieve its potential. That means being able to tell the wider public, and especially being able to tell policy makers, why they should care. At the very least, these are people who help decide what funding future scientific research receives, but more importantly they are the people who can help to take what we have discovered and do something about it on a wider stage. This ability to make a much bigger difference is part of the reason why, when I soon finish my PhD, I’ve become interested in being more involved at this interface between science and the world of policy.

Being part of a competition like this is very rewarding. There is prize money (which is always appreciated!) but there’s also the platform to get others excited about the research you devote your time to; the chance to see what lots of other researchers are discovering; and an opportunity to improve a skill set which I believe is hugely important to us all as researchers. It is an incredible honour to have had our research recognised at such a prestigious event, and it only gives me more motivation to get back to the lab to see what we can accomplish next.

Find out more

For further information, you can view Ben’s poster and watch his 3-minute presentation, and check out the work of the other prize-winners here.

Read Presenting to parliamentarians at the STEM for Britain poster competition in full

In this blog post, undergraduate Physics student, Anthea MacIntosh-LaRocque, reflects on her involvement in a StudentShapers project that focused on redesigning the two main foyer areas of the Blackett Building. The team included Student Liaison Officer, Dr Yasmin Andrew and postgraduate student Max Hart. Each member was keen to transform these spaces – not only in order to improve students’ opinions about their educational environment, but also to encourage a better sense of belonging and community.

Mixed feelings

Walking around Blackett Laboratory during my first year always left me with a mixed bag of feelings. On the one hand, I was walking through halls bursting with innovative research and discovery. On the other hand, the building was outdated and disconnected from the very people who make the Department tick.

Take the cluster of black-and-white photographs hung in front of the main lecture theatre. In each frame sits a past Nobel Prize winner from the Department, and some of the photographs also show our Heads of Department over the years. These images are unquestionably important, but they are almost exclusively men and consequently not representative of the rich diversity of the Department I see around me today (or, furthermore, of the increased diversity we hope to have in the Department moving forwards).

On top of this, as students we never worked in the building. Instead, we’d scurry over to the library in search of some desk space and comfortable chairs that Blackett just wasn’t able to offer.

So, you can imagine how excited I was when I was approached by Dr Yasmin Andrew last March to work in a student-led team redesigning the two main foyer areas of Blackett over the summer, as part of a StudentShapers project. Obviously, as with all things over the past year, plans had to be changed in line with lockdowns, and the project was taken online before it had even begun. My first meeting with the other members of the team – Yasmin, Max and Josie – was over a Teams call in early June.

The process

The only “boundary conditions” we were given for the project was the location. We weren’t even told a budget, simply that we needed to come up with a student-centred design that would cater to the twenty-first century Imperial student.

Building up a portfolio of perspectives on the space was essential in getting the project off the ground. We drafted up a survey to send to our fellow Physics undergrads and postgrads, asking a mixture of questions. It included survey “staples” asking what students did and didn’t like about the space, alongside more profound questions probing how the new space might incite belonging and community.

Using the survey as our basis, Max and I created two different designs using an online design software programme called FloorPlanner (think The Sims, but without all the people). These designs formed a foundation for subsequent one-to-one staff interviews and student focus groups. The ideas that came out of these discussions served as the creative fuel for the rest of the project. Eventually, we refined our designs and agreed on a colour scheme. The 1960s saw the completion of the construction of the Blackett laboratory building (1961) and a rapid expansion of the Department under under Professor Blackett’s leadership. We decided a 1960s theme to the refurbishment would respect and honour the historical time the department has to this era. You would be surprised how engrossed a team of physicists can become in details as minute as the colour of a table!

We presented our designs to departmental staff to get some more feedback, and then finally sent them along to the Building Operations team in early September. You can view some of the design renders that Max and I came up with over the summer below – click to make them larger:

Seeing it through to the end

During this academic year I’ve been lucky enough to keep working on the project: liaising with furniture designers, providing further student input, and communicating the work that was done to the wider Department, including my peers.

Ultimately, I feel very privileged to have been able to make an impact on a space that my peers and I will soon be interacting in on a day-to-day basis — public-health measures permitting, of course. It’s not certain whether the building works and furniture will be in place by the time we are back on campus. However, rest assured, behind-the-scenes implementation is already underway. I’m also very encouraged by the fact that the StudentShapers leadership has proactively encouraged student input, right down to the very last plug socket and blackboard.

Not all sunshine and daisies

It’s undeniable that working remotely has both its perks and its downsides. The flexibility it provides allows me to manage my working hours in a way that complements both my studies and the project’s pace. Having said that, we all found it difficult not being able to visit Blackett during the designing phase. While we had all spent plenty of time there, and had access to floor plans, visualising the spaces still proved challenging. Questions like, “Is that wall painted?”, and “Do we have a bench there at the moment?”, were recurring guests in our meetings.

Reflecting on the experience

Overall, participating in this project has been one of the highlights of my time at Imperial so far. Working on a project so different from anything I would have encountered during my degree has given me a prime opportunity to learn new skills, to think on my feet and expand the breadth of my university experience. Learning how to interact with staff, deal with data in the social sciences, and develop a project using constructive criticism are just some of the skills I’ve developed during this project.

Topping that is the feeling of satisfaction that comes with making a long-lasting impact on the physics community I am a part of. I think the décor we chose really speaks to this sense of community. We aimed to honour Blackett’s rich history, whilst staying relevant to the Department of Physics we know today. Once we can return to campus, I’m looking forward to watching how the spaces we are working on become the Department’s social hubs, and improved areas for collaborative learning. On a personal level, I can’t wait to be back on campus and make use of these spaces for much needed down-time between lectures and labs!

It’s what you make of it

In my opinion the StudentShapers scheme, which runs a plethora of student-centred projects ranging from curriculum reviews to interior redesigns, is something all students should consider getting involved in. Not only does it provide you with the opportunity to take part in something not conventionally related to your degree, it also instils in you a sense of agency over your experience at Imperial. Moreover, the project has been a reminder to me that ultimately my time at Imperial is what I make of it. It’s so important to seek out exciting opportunities like this, to get stuck in, and to soak up everything the university has to offer.

By Anthea MacIntosh-LaRocque

Find out more about StudentShapers

The StudentShapers programme is open to all Imperial students across all Departments.  Find out more about how to get involved.

Read Redesigning Blackett: A student’s experience in full

Postgraduate student, Kitty Froggatt, is currently studying an MSc in Environmental Technology at Imperial’s Centre for Environmental Policy.

In addition to her studies, she is also the group leader for Operation Wallacea expeditions at Imperial.

In this blog post she reflects on her own experience as an Operation Wallacea volunteer, and how it has impacted both her choice of further study and future career aspirations.

Value, versatility, and wonder

Throughout my life, I have consistently been made aware of the undeniable value, versatility, and wonder of the natural world. This all started from my experience growing up on a farm in Staffordshire, where values of environmental stewardship, and the vast natural capacity of even the smallest areas of land has been endlessly affirmed.

My academic studies – not only at school, but also as an undergraduate at the University of Bristol, where I studied a BSc in Biology – further heightened my enthusiasm for the natural world and provided me with valuable skills, fieldwork experience, and opportunities to review many aspects of the diverse and perplexingly complex world in which we live.

Graduating – and feeling lost

In my final year as an undergraduate I looked to the future, not only because I was considering my own career aspirations, but also because of the uncertainty of what is to come for ecosystems, organisms, and natural resources. Upon graduating from university, I found myself lost, lacking inspiration and direction for the next stage of my life. It was for this reason that I decided to volunteer for an overseas conservation and research programme with Operation Wallacea.

Operation Wallacea offers fantastic opportunities to partake in overseas biodiversity research projects. They operate in fifteen countries worldwide, including Indonesia, the Peruvian Amazon, South Africa, Madagascar, and more! Research Assistant positions, as well as opportunities for undergraduate and master’s level thesis research projects, are still available in both marine and terrestrial environments, and I really encourage fellow students to use their summer holidays to seek out and take advantage of volunteer opportunities like this if they can!

My expedition to Hoga Island

My volunteer expedition experience ran for two weeks, from 28 July – 10 August 2019, and was located on Hoga Island, part of the Wakatobi Marine National Park, South-East Sulawesi.

On my expedition I undertook a specialised course on Indo-Pacific reef survey techniques. We were given a detailed insight into the vast biodiversity, threats, and ecosystem function of this astonishing area. Along with this, the course provided the opportunity to practice organism identification and data collection strategies in the field, as well as achieving a PADI open water qualification.

The opportunity to experience a fragile marine ecosystem first-hand, and gain specialist knowledge of marine organisms present in this unique environment, inspired me to continue my travels in Indonesia, where I was then able to complete my PADI advanced diving qualification. The experience also motivated me to apply for a master’s degree specialising in sustainable development or environmental management. I hoped that this would further my interdisciplinary outlook on tackling environmental and sustainability issues and strengthen my knowledge of how policies and resources can be developed and implemented to limit further degradation and extinction.

The chance to speak at the Royal Geographical Society

Before completing the expedition, I was awarded the Alfred Russel Wallace Grant for Outstanding Field Ecologists and kindly sponsored by Premier Oil to take part in the project. As part of the award, I was invited to speak about my experiences at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) in November 2019. Walking along Exhibition Road towards the RGS, which is located next to Imperial’s South Kensington campus, I fell in love with Imperial. I made the ambitious decision then and there that Imperial was where I would like to complete my MSc… and here I am!

An incomparable opportunity

My experience volunteering with Operation Wallacea provided me with an invaluable insight into how to uphold and implement social and environmental responsibilities, while efficiently conducting important conservation research. The project has helped guide my future career outlook and aided me in securing my place on the Environmental Technology MSc at Imperial. I could not recommend the experience and Operation Wallacea more highly!

Find out more

• MSc Environmental Technology
• Operation Wallacea

Volunteer opportunities and support at Imperial

• Volunteering societies
• Careers Service: Volunteering
• Student and staff volunteering

Read The value of volunteering in full