Early Career Researchers' Sessions

The talks in these sessions aim to provide key information for supporting your research activity: on funding your research and on writing papers for scientific journals.  

Tuesday 18 June 2024

ECR-1 talk: How to get your research funded: Opportunities under the Horizon Europe programme
Speaker: Jonathan Brookes, UKRI, UK

In this talk, Jon Brookes (UKRO), a National Contact Point for UK applicants, based in UKRI’s Brussels’ office will present opportunities for Early Career-stage Researchers (ESRs) under the European funding programme ‘Horizon Europe’.

The talk will provide an overview of Horizon Europe before a focus on two specific areas: The European Research Council (ERC) and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA).

In its role as NCP, UKRO provides free advice on funding from MSCA and the ERC. These schemes are parts of Horizon Europe’s Pillar I – ‘Excellent Science’, which aims to promote scientific excellence and attract highly skilled researchers and innovators to Europe.

ECR-2 talk: When hundreds engage thousands - the wonderful impacts of opening up a national laboratory to the public
Speaker: Phill Day, UKRI/STFC Daresbury Laboratory, UK  

Join Phill Day, Public Engagement Manager at Daresbury Laboratory, as he discusses the importance of public engagement.

Public engagement with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) is important; enabling the public to listen, understand, and discuss the impact of science and technology on society fosters curiosity, inspires future talent and skills, and secures public support. Science and technology can inspire people from all backgrounds, however in reality, we know that the playing field isn’t level with significant barriers to engagement that need to be overcome to enable the sense that ‘STEM is for people like me’; something that STFC is seeking to rebalance with our ‘Wonder Initiative’.

Phill Day will discuss the importance of public engagement and recount how barriers to engagement were tackled to enable thousands of people to engage with hundreds of staff at the vibrant Daresbury Laboratory Open Week in 2023. Phill will discuss the strategies employed, the vital role that staff from all parts of the organisation played at the event, the importance of STFC’s investment in Early Career Engagement, and the long lasting impact that events like this have on those who participate.

Wednesday 19 June 2024

ECR-3 talk: Plasma Medicine: An Exciting New Medical Technology. The good, bad and ugly
Speaker: Rob Short, The University of Sheffield, UK

This talk will cover the emergence of a new medical field of research, the application of cold atmospheric plasma (plasma medicine) to treat disease.  I will chart the development from the early 2000s to the current. Whilst there are potentially a number of exciting areas where plasma medicine has the potential to bring patient benefit, or even revolutionise treatments there is (as is common with emerging technologies) a danger from the hype. Claims are made that are not verified and interesting case studies are reported as clinical trials. This creates an over expectation of what plasma medicine will really deliver and incredulity in the more knowledgeable medical communities. Using the example of non healing chronic wounds I will illustrate by comparing case studies reported to date vs. what would be expected in a properly conducted RCT. 

I am leading an international collaboration to develop a variant of plasma medicine - plasma activated hydrogels - as an intervention for the prevention of infection in chronic or burn wounds. I will cover what we have done to date and use our work as illustration of how plasma medicine might be progressed towards patients.

ECR-4 talk: How to get published
Speaker: Dr. Oleg B. Malyshev, UKRI/STFC Daresbury Laboratory, UK                                                     

This talk, given by Dr. Oleg B. Malyshev, Associate Editor of VACUUM, aims to help the scientists and PhD students preparing a manuscript that will be published in a scientific journal without unexpected delays.

The following points will be discussed:

• the paper submission and publishing process, specifically focusing on what the authors should consider when writing a quality manuscript:
• preparations,
• article construction,
• language,
• technical details;
• where to submit (how to select a journal for publishing),
• how the paper review process is organised,
• how to do a manuscript revisions and what to response to reviewers,
• what ethical issues could appear,
• what else to do after the paper accepted.

At the end of the talk the Q&A session will be followed by an open discussion:

• Why and what publish in peer-review journals,
• Proceeding, preprints and reports vs. a paper in a scientific journal.