This week staff and postgraduate students from across the Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences (IVES) gathered for the annual Institute Away Day to hear about Institute research and plans for the upcoming year.
Held at the Waterhouse Building, the day began with an introduction from Professor Matthew Baylis, IVES Executive Dean, who gave an overview of the University’s Strategy 2031. This was followed by presentations from Julian Hiscox, Francine Watkins, Peter McCormick, Rita Goncalves and Adele Maggs.
After the morning presentations concluded, attendees gathered to view poster presentations by our early career researchers. The next session focused on equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing, celebrating the Institute’s recent Athena Swan silver award and the Faculty’s EDIW Researcher Toolkit.
Parallel sessions followed lunch, which included talks for professional services staff on systems thinking and continuous improvement. The research highlights session featured quick-fire talks from our newer members of academic staff, with topics ranging from antimicrobial stewardship and biological invasions to the development of snakebite venom. Karen Ryan gave an overview of laboratory sustainability and the Institute's success in achieving LEAF awards.
Pictured above: Trefor Simmons, the winner of the 3-minute thesis competition (3MT)
Postgraduate research students also participated in a 3-minute thesis competition (3MT). Congratulations to Trefor Simmons, who was named the winner for his presentation on Arsenophonus infection in honey bees. This was followed by talks from postdoctoral researchers on HSV-1 encephalitis and how livestock transport may contribute towards antimicrobial resistance.
The day concluded with a review of the institute’s successes over the last year. We’re looking forward to our next gathering which will be celebrating our staff at our annual Institute Awards on Wednesday 18 December on our main campus and Leahurst.