This October, we're returning to the UK for the Manchester Science Festival! Join us for an evening of stories from women in science.
Hosted by Erin Barker and Toria Stafford.
Maria Arruda is a PhD pharmacologist with a passion for diplomacy and communication. Five years ago, she accepted a voluntary exile from her beautiful Rio de Janeiro, moving to "Good Old Blighty", leaving behind her lab on redox and heme signalling to create and manage a successful Transatlantic Programme in Drug Discovery at the University of Nottingham. Alongside her academic and institutional endeavours, this Campaign for Real Ale member tries her best to entertain her stiff-upper-lip British husband and her 17-year-old daughter, and to convince them that you can't beat a BBC4 documentary about railways.
Tori Blakeman is an Impact and Engagement Officer at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research & Innovation, in Cheshire. With an academic background in neuroscience and science communication, she works closely with scientists and entrepreneurs to communicate science and innovation stories through events and traditional and digital media. She is an active member of ScienceGrrl, and an advocate for innovating in science communication to give science an equitable and dynamic voice that empowers audiences. As the first in her family to have attended university and keen dancer, she champions that science can be for everyone no matter who you are, where you’re from and what your interests.
Nicola Edwards is in the final year of my PhD at Manchester Metropolitan University, studying the effects of lupus, an autoimmune disease, on the cardiovascular system. She is also an advocate for improved inclusivity and access to the sciences, working as a STEM Ambassador and a mentor with the Social Mobility Foundation. In her free time, she enjoys reading, eating and vintage fashion.
Charlotte Istance-Tamblin, Charley to her friends, is a 2nd year undergrad student at The University of Manchester working towards an MChem. She hopes to develop a deeper understanding of radiochemistry before moving into teaching at the academic level. Outside of university she enjoys roller derby and travelling with her wife where ever they are able to.
Heather Williams is a principal medical physicist at The Christie hospital in Manchester, UK, where she oversees imaging and therapy in the Nuclear Medicine Department and specialises in Positron Emission Tomography. Heather is an advocate for science communication to non-expert audiences and is passionate about supporting Women in STEM. The latter lead her to set up ScienceGrrl back in 2012, a grassroots national network with 10 local chapters throughout the UK that help match scientists with speaking opportunities close to them. Williams is a current member of the IOP's Women in Physics group committee and represents the Institute of Physics within the European Platform for Women Scientists (EPWS). In 2017 she was awarded the IOP Phillips Award for distinguished service to the IOP through the Women in Physics Group. When she’s not working, Heather enjoys running, cycling, hiking and spending time with her sons.