Ruth Nottingham Email & Phone Number

This role supports the professional development of postgraduate researchers at the University of Nottingham through delivering specifically designed workshops to support their training needs.

Nottingham

The University of Nottingham’s Doctoral Training Portfolio includes the BBSRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), a strategic partnership between the University of Nottingham and Rothamsted Research and the NERC DTP in which the University of Nottingham is a collaborating partner. Together these programs have more than 200 PhD students registered at the University of Nottingham.My role involves:Operational management of the DTP, developing the DTP as a scheme by implementing strategies to increases effective delivery of PhD training and provide a high quality PhD student experience.Delivering a effective marketing and communications strategy to maintain recruitment of high quality students. It also requires presentations and workshops to the main internal and external stakeholders.

This role oversees the implementation of the Impact Acceleration Accounts (IAA) and Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) for EPSRC and BBSRC at the University of Nottingham which together total an investment of over £4 million.My role involves:General project management, management of funding calls, managing the budgets of sub projects within the IAA and GCRF, financial reporting and collating evidence of impact.

During this period I was a PhD student researching Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. This bacterium can prey on other bacteria, this means it can be seen as a potential antimicrobial agent. This is an important area to investigate in an age when antibiotic resistance is on the rise. The focus of my research was primarily on how signal sensing by this bacteria influenced its predatory nature. Understanding this would allow more effective use of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus as an antimicrobial.This PhD opportunity developed many skills. These skills branch across multiple sections of career development, such as advancing specialist skills particular to scientific research, to promoting more generally applicable skills such as public speaking and problem solving.

London, United Kingdom

This was a 3 month placement that resulted in a written briefing for MPs on a scientific issue. This role required good researching skills, good interpersonal skills as interviewing was required and also a concise writing style.