Making an Impact 2021 Special #2: The ins and outs of research blogging

In this podcast we had a really interesting conversation about how research blogging can be a powerful communication tool.

Guests

Sarah Arrowsmith has been a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Liverpool since 2010.  Before Covid Sarah could be found in the laboratory carrying out wet-lab experiments focused on understanding uterine contractions to find novel treatments for preterm birth or slow to progress labours.  Since the closure of laboratories due to COVID however, Sarah has been working from home on a very different project investigating the impact of COVID-19 on different research groups within the university, with a focus on equality, diversity, and inclusivity.

Sarah is a keen baker and cake decorator. She enjoys spending weekends with her 3-year-old daughter in the kitchen who, along with her husband, enjoys eating all the sweet treats. During lockdown, Sarah took up running (to help burn off those cake calories!) and completed a 10K last October.  Covid-permitting she hopes to run another this year and gain a new personal best.

Alys Kay has worked with Postgraduate Researchers in UK Universities for 11 years, as a facilitator and coach, specializing in personal and professional development. Alys is also a creative practitioner of socially engaged art, and has worked on many community projects facilitating storytelling and photography. During the pandemic Alys was part of a project that supported first, second and third generation African Caribbean individuals to write and share their stories about the legacy of the Windrush Migration. Alys believes in the power of stories, as a tool of self-discovery, a way to make sense of the world and to engage the hearts and minds of others. She is currently developing a number of written pitches for personal essays/podcasts of her own which she is planning to turn into a side hustle in the near future.

Alys enjoys seeking out experiences that push her out of her comfort zone, and has taken up online laughter yoga during the pandemic. She is also a podcast addict, and documentary –aholic, avid reader of creative non-fiction and has been indulging this as much as possible, whilst cuddling a cat or two. Alys spends lots of time on weekends rough and tumbling with her kids, getting trampoline lessons off her youngest and facilitating (and scoffing!) the baking of chocolate stuff.

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Further reading

Access the reading list for this podcast.

Music and FX

This podcast uses sounds from freesound: https://freesound.org/s/417560/ and music from Purple Planet: https://www.purple-planet.com