Honours for five early career biological scientists
Five talented and motivated early career researchers and teaching fellows from Biological Sciences have been recognised for their achievements in Citizenship, Education, Enterprise, Public Engagement and Research across the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences. In all, 13 individuals received Dean’s Prizes at the final University event hosted by outgoing Dean Professor Steve Hawkins.
“The standard of nominees was remarkably high this year across all the disciplines and I’m delighted to present prizes to the winners at my last official function as Dean,” says Professor Hawkins. “I am sure these early career researchers and teaching fellows will become tomorrow’s leading natural and environmental scientists.”
Joanne Bailey was one of the winners, nominated for her hard work promoting neuroscience at Southampton and her election as Early Career Representative for the British Neuroscience Association. She has also taken part in outreach activities including a sixth form outreach day.
Fellow prizewinner Dr Judith Lock made a major contribution to the University’s Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) Higher Education Review and also co-ordinated the popular MRes in Wildlife Conservation with Marwell Wildlife.
Three students were honoured for their achievements in research. Robert Howlin’s work has led to Southampton becoming one of the first centres to be trial targeted anti-biofilm therapies in humans as part of a drug development programme. Rob Holland was responsible for a paper on the global impacts of energy demand on freshwater resources and has been invited to take part in a policy workshop in Singapore on the subject. Simon Lane received a prize for his high quality research and publication of two papers in Nature Communications.
Chief Scientific Officer at Leica Microsystems Julian Burke addressed the gathering and presented the prizes; he is also a visiting professor at Southampton where he collaborates with Professor Lindy Holden-Dye, A biochemist by training, Julian founded Genpak Ltd, a spin out company from the University of Sussex which was later sold to Genetix.
The Dean’s Prize event is part of the Faculty’s Concordat agreement with Research Councils UK to foster and develop early career researchers and teaching fellows.
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Dr Robert A Holland BSc, MRes, PhD
My current work focuses on the energy sector and the implications of future structural changes to achieve net zero on natural capital.
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Dr Robert P. Howlin BSc, PhD
Dr Robert P. Howlin is Research Fellow in Microbiology within Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton.
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Dr Judith E Lock BSc (Hons), MRes, PhD, PGCHE
Dr Judith Lock is Principal Teaching Fellow in Ecology and Evolution within Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton. She joined the University of Southampton in September 2010, building a national and international reputation for curriculum innovative, including the development and now management of a collaborative provision MRes in Wildlife Conservation, with Marwell Wildlife. This is a unique programme in the UK, with the aim of training the next generation of conservation biologists.
Judith has also implemented innovation within the undergraduate programmes within Biological Sciences, including: enhancing our first year field course to Spain (BIOL1001 Experimental & Field Biology), through the use of iPads and an iBook; developing two more field course modules; developing two behavioural ecology modules.
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Dr Joanne Louise Bailey BSc Hons, PhD
Dr Joanne Bailey is BBSRC Research Fellow within Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton.
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Dr Simon I.R. Lane
Dr Simon I.R. Lane is Research Fellow within Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton.
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Professor Lindy Holden-Dye BSc, MSc, PhD, FRSB, FBPhS
Professor Lindy Holden-Dye holds a personal Chair in Neuroscience within Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton. Her interests focus on fundamental processes of neuronal communication and she has established research expertise in invertebrate preparations. Through this interest she has contributed to research relevant to a number of important areas of neuroscience that inform understanding of mental health. Her expertise in invertebrate neuroscience, and in particular nematode neural systems and the model genetic organism Caenorhabditis elegans positions her well to participate in drug discovery and mode of action programmes for novel antiparasitics. For the last two decades she has collaborated with industry to improve prospects for parasitic nematode control. Her research group identified the molecular target for the resistance breaking anthelmintic emodepside showing it acts through a calcium-activated K+ channel SLO-1 to bring about neuromuscular paralysis in nematode worms. This discovery has paved the way for the pursuit of new approaches to the treatment of human filarial disease. The experimental approaches deployed in her research group encompass genetics through to whole animal physiology and incorporate novel methods for tracking animal behaviour and signal processing.
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