Latest event news: Who's taking part in March?

I’m sure you are all on the edge of your seats to find out who’s taking part in the next I’m a Scientist event, so here they are!

We are having five ‘zones’ in March (in each zone there are five scientists, talking to 20 classes of students, with one prize up for grabs in each zone). Two of these zones have a theme (the Genes Zone and the Brain Zone) and the other are general, with a broad mix of scientists. The general zones are named after elements.

The themed zones are a new thing we are trying out for this event, and teachers seem to really like the idea, so I think they’ll turn out well.

The event runs 15th – 26th March, and you can watch everything that happens on the website.  Only the students taking part can ask questions, chat to the scientists and vote, but everyone is welcome to read all about it and see what’s going on.

Brain Zone

Scientists

Nick Bradshaw University of Edinburgh I study a set of proteins which are believed to be involved in schizophrenia
Joseph Devlin University College London My work focuses on what happens in the human brain that allows us to use language when other animals cannot.
Carolyn McGettigan UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience I use neuroimaging to investigate how the brain processes speech and voices.
Anne Seawright University of Bristol Looking at measuring emotions in dogs.
Mariana Vargas Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics Learning and memory. Neurons and Synapses.

Schools

Swanlea School Stoke Newington
Unity College Lancashire
Harrogate Ladies’ College Harrogate
Castleford High School Technology And Sports College Castleford
London Academy Edgware
St Cyres School Vale of Glamorgan
Burnage Medi Arts College Manchester
Wye Valley Bucks
Garibaldi College Mansfield
Bacon’s College Rotherhithe
Beechfield Secure Unit Copthorne
Heanor Gate Science College Derbyshire
St Columba’s High School Renfrewshire
The Park Community School Barnstaple
Queen Elizabeths Grammar School Faversham

Genes Zone

Scientists

Olivia Hibbitt Oxford University Gene therapy for high cholesterol
Lorna Houlihan The University of Edinburgh Searching for genes involved in intelligence and age-related change in intelligence.
Chris Needham School of Computing, University of Leeds (I’m an RCUK Research Fellow) I am interested in computational biology and bioinformatics, such as modelling gene regulatory networks from high throughput gene expression data, and using machine learning to predict protein function.
Kay Penicud London Research Institute (Cancer Research UK) I research how our cells repair their DNA when it becomes damaged, and how unrepaired DNA can lead to cancer.
Kerstin Zechner Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford I’m looking at how a stretch of DNA coding for a gene is copied into another molecule known as RNA and how this copying process is kept under control in worms.

Schools

Broadoak Maths And Computing College Weston-super-Mare
Abbeyfield School Chippenham
British School Muscat Sultanate Of Oman
Balby Carr Doncaster
Tiffin School Kingston upon Thames
Broadgreen International School Liverpool
City Of Portsmouth Girls’ School Portsmouth
Middlesbrough College Middlesbrough
Ripon Grammar School Ripon
The Woodlands School & Sports College Coventry
The George Ward School Melksham
Sacred Heart London
Abingdon School Abingdon
Bury St Edmunds County Upper Suffolk
St Leonard’s St Andrews

Hydrogen Zone

Scientists

Louise Buckley Scottish Agricultural College Hungry chickens find it more difficult to learn complex choice tasks
Pamela Docherty University of Edinburgh I work in the area of integrable systems in mathematical physics, which roughly means trying to predict how certain real-world objects move in time, for example, planets.
Freya Harrison University of Oxford, Dept of Zoology I use experiments and simulations to understand why and how cooperative behaviour has evolved
Katy Milne Imperial College I develop inspections for jet engines to ensure that they are safe
Helen Vaughan University of Durham I use really powerful lasers to blow up molecules in order to develop new materials for use in highly efficient plastic lighting applications and flexible television screens!

Schools

Queen Ethelburga’s College York
The George Ward School Melksham
Twynham School Dorset
George Heriot’s School Edinburgh
Pembrokeshire College Pembrokeshire
St Joan Of Arc Catholic School Rickmansworth
Mid Cheshire College Cheshire
Rochester Grammar School Rochester
Cheadle And Marple Sixth Form College Stockport
Samuel King’s School Cumbria
Kinlochbervie High Sutherland
Brockenhurst College Hampshire

Helium Zone

Scientists

Martin Coath Centre for Robotic and Neural Studies Designing sensory systems for machines that work just like biological systems.
Emily Cook Barts Hospital X-ray vision: probing your body and luggage
Chris Cooper Dept of Biological Sciences I make (or rather try to make) artificial blood to replace blood transfusions.
Tamsin Gray British Antarctic Survey I am trying to work out how fast Antarctica is warming up and when the hole in the ozone layer is going to get better.
Natalie Stanford University of Manchester I build electronic versions of cells so we can subject them to extreme disturbances in order to increase our understanding of their function.

Schools

Francis Holland School London
Pate’s Grammar School Cheltenham
City Of Westminster FE College (Maida Vale Campus) London
Ashington High School Northumberland
Keswick School Cumbria
The Compton London
Birkdale High School Dewsbury
King Henry Viii School Coventry
Highbury Fields School London
Addey & Stanhope Lewisham
Elton High School Bury
Kingsmead Commuity School Somerset
Shimna Integrated College Co. Down
Bishop Thomas Grant School Streatham
William Farr C Of E Comprehensive School Licolnshire

Lithium Zone

Scientists

Kiran Meekings Decision Resources A trained molecular virologist by nature, I now work in pharmaceutical research building drug forecasts for cancer drugs in all stages of clincial development for many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms.
Sarah Mount University of Wolverhampton I try to find new ways for scientists and artists to use small computers embedded in the environment
Duncan Murdock University of Bristol I am using pioneering x-ray techniques to work out how skeletons evolved in animals.
Sharon Sneddon University of Manchester I am trying to find ways of creating ethically acceptable human embryonic stem cells.
Paul Stevenson University of Surrey I try to understand what makes protons and neutrons stick together and so form all the elements.

Schools

Kingsbury High School Brent
Ryton Comprehensive School Tyne & Wear
Hardenhuish Chippenham
Clydebank High School West Dunbartonshire
Broxburn Academy West Lothian
Presdales School Herts
South Thames College (Merton Campus) Surrey
Saltash.Net Community School Cornwall
John F Kennedy Catholic School Herts
The Long Eaton School Nottinghamshire
Broadgreen International School Merseyside
Longridge Towers School Berwick upon Tweed
St John’s, Marlborough Wiltshire
Forest Education Centre Hythe
Posted on February 25, 2010 by in IAS Event. Comments Off on Latest event news: Who's taking part in March?