Royal Society announces Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowships for 2009
12th November 2009
The Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of science, has announced the appointment of 10 new Dorothy Hodgkin Fellows (DHFs) for 2009. The scientists took up their new posts at institutions across the UK in October. Dr Verônica Grieneisen is the recipient of one of these fellowships, and she will be working at the John Innes Centre (JIC) and the University Of East Anglia (UEA).
Verônica has a multidisciplinary background, with a Masters in Physics and a PhD in Biology, and this is reflected in the research she will undertake though her fellowship, investigating the mechanisms of plant cell polarity. This will involve mathematical analysis and computer simulations of biological systems, and collaborations with experimental labs, using biochemical, genetic and biophysical approaches to the subject.
Cell polarity regulation is intrinsically related to intracellular biochemical patterning, as well as to the cell shape changes. Moreover, all of this complex single-cell regulation occurs within a multicellular context, the interdependencies of which are fundamental for correctly regulating individual cell polarity.
The research will use as a paradigm system the jigsaw-puzzle like cells of the leaf epidermis (Pavement cells). Enrico Coen’s lab at JIC has the technical expertise in leaf development and geometric analysis of cell and organ shapes, and takes a systems biology approach to plant development. Together, they will build a modelling-experiment cycle, in which novel experiments will be designed together with the computer simulations. This will allow develop new models and theoretical frameworks, guided by experimental observations and insights. The JIC is an Institute of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
“I am thus thrilled to be immersed in the intellectually stimulating and diverse environment that the UEA combined with the JIC promotes, with so many great labs investigating different experimental and theoretical questions related to my research interests. This, accompanied by the enthusiasm of the many experimentalists for systems biology, gives me, as a computational biologist, incredible opportunities for collaboration,” said Verônica.
“The existent and vigorous synergy between UEA and JIC, that through collaborations such as that of Enrico Coen (JIC) and Andrew Bangham (UEA) constitute more than just a proof-of-principle of the potential that interactions between these unique institutions can yield. For the particular questions that I will work on through my Dorothy Hodgkin Project, such inter-institutional collaboration between UEA and JIC will be crucial.”
The Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship scheme supports excellent scientists and engineers at an early stage of their career and is designed to help researchers progress to permanent academic positions across the UK.
The new DHFs are working on projects which include new techniques for the diagnosis of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and the study of natural light-harvesting systems, such as the photosynthetic pigments in plants, to improve solar cells.
The full list of appointments is as follows:
Dr Janet Anders - Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London
“Dynamics of information in quantum many-body systems”
Dr Jenny Clark - Department of Physics - The Cavendish, University of Cambridge
“Understanding charge generation in conjugated polymers for better solar cells”
Dr Tom Dunkley Jones - Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London
“An Earth System Model Approach to the Eocene-Oligocene Climate Transition”
Dr Andreea Font - Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge
“Constraining the Assembly History of Local Group Galaxies”
Dr Verena Gortz - Department of Chemistry, University of York
“Liquid-crystalline Polymer Microspheres”
Dr Jennifer Bizley - Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford
“Sound features in the mammalian brain”
Dr Veronica Grieneisen - School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia
“Polarity and Cell Shape Dynamics”
Dr Elva Robinson - Biology Department, University of York
“Ant Collective Organisation in Robust Networks (ACORN)”
Dr Sarah Newey - Department of Pharmacology, University of Oxford
“Cell-cell signalling during brain development”
Dr Heather Sibley (nee Whalley) -Division of Psychiatry, University of Edinburgh
“Brain function in high risk bipolar disorder and schizophrenia”
For further information on any of the projects listed above or to arrange interviews with the scientists appointed please contact the Royal Society press office.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Royal Society is an independent academy promoting the natural and applied sciences. Founded in 1660, the Society has three roles, as the UK academy of science, as a learned Society, and as a funding agency. It responds to individual demand with selection by merit, not by field. As we prepare for our 350th anniversary in 2010, we are working to achieve five strategic priorities, to:
- Invest in future scientific leaders and in innovation
- Influence policymaking with the best scientific advice
- Invigorate science and mathematics education
- Increase access to the best science internationally
- Inspire an interest in the joy, wonder and excitement of scientific discovery
2. Between November 2009 and November 2010, the Royal Society will be celebrating its 350th anniversary, promoting a spirit of enquiry, excitement and engagement with science. The Society will be working with organisations, across the country to raise the profile of science and bring scientific activities to a new audience. This will include:
- A unique nine-day science festival in the summer of 2010, held at the Southbank Centre in London. There will be collaborations with artists and performers, debates, broadcasting and the participation of audiences. In particular, it will include an enhanced version of the Society’s annual summer science exhibition, which gives visitors the opportunity to meet the scientists and engineers at the forefront of the UK’s research activities and to explore their work through interactive exhibits.
- The Local Heroes programme - the Society will be working with fifty smaller museums and galleries around the UK to celebrate their local scientific heroes, whether they are pioneers of the industrial age, geniuses that changed the way we see the world today or contemporary scientists finding solutions to today’s problems.
- Public lectures, debates and discussion meetings at the Society’s premises in Carlton House Terrace.
- Publication of special editions of the Society’s scientific journals and a popular book covering the unique history of science and scientific issues of the last 350 years.
More information about the anniversary year can be found at www.seefurther.org.
For further information contact:
Nicola Kane
Press and Public Relations
The Royal Society, London
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Copyright John Innes Centre
2010
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