The YRI on Chemistry of Life brought young researchers from Leicester closer to Lund
Participants at the Chemistry of Life Young Researchers’ Symposium, pictured at LINXS’ balcony.
The Young Researchers’ Symposium on Chemistry of Life took place at LINXS in late May and gathered around 30 participants. Organiser Mae James, PhD student at the School of Chemistry, University of Leicester, shares her reflections from the event.
– As young researchers who haven’t had many opportunities to present our own work yet, this event was a great experience, both to organise and to participate in. Being able to host it in Sweden also made it more exciting. It was great to talk to people outside our institute and find out what kind of research is happening further afield.
She explains that they wanted to focus specifically on Chemistry of Life, as they wanted to highlight how broad this topic can be, while also showing how all the individual topics under this broad umbrella relate to each other.
Mae James is a PhD student at the School of Chemistry, University of Leicester. She was one of the organisers of the event. Here she is pictured speaking at the YRI on Chemistry of Life at LINXS.
– It was very interesting to hear about how chemistry can be used to understand complex biological processes in cells, including topics such as randomness in nano-fibres. Additionally, we learnt about the emerging subtlety of different roles of metals in biology, and cutting-edge ways to measure them in cells.
– We also saw a lot of enthusiasm in the audience for how cryo-electron microscopy can complement X-ray and neutron science in studying biological problems and industrial settings. All of these topics were covered in both the presentations and posters, and were complemented by the introduction of a range of instruments that might help our research by our generous sponsor Quorum.
High engagement and space for questions
Mae James also notes the high engagement from the participants, both during the sessions and in the breaks, as well as in the poster presentation.
– As it was student-led, it allowed the event to be an empowering space to ask questions with no judgement, and for us to be experts on our work.
The visit to MAX IV was a definite highlight, and very beneficial, according to Mae James.
– By the end of the tour, we were all coming up with ideas on how we might be able to use neutrons and X-rays in our future research, she says with a laugh.
Next step for Mae James and her colleagues is to share their knowledge with peers at Leicester, with a view to organise a similar event there.
– The overall experience was so rewarding for us. It is a very good way to establish international links with people working in similar areas with similar interests. Having a way to present your research to other people at similar places in their career progress is also very useful, as it is often a lot easier to talk to other young researchers.
Read more about the YRI on Chemistry of Life