Information on the chairs and speakers that took part in the 2025 Bioscience Careers Day can be found below.

BCD 2025 Chairs

Dr Matt Bawn

Senior Lecturer, Newcastle University 

Dr Matt Bawn is a Senior Lecturer in Microbial Genomics at Newcastle University, specialising in genomics and computation. He leads research on pathogen evolution, antimicrobial resistance and single-cell sequencing. With multi-disciplinary experience spanning bioinformatics, microbiology, physics and engineering, he integrates computational approaches into research and education. As a Digital Skills Lead, he is actively developing AI approaches for education and has designed training programmes to introduce biologists to digital and computational skills, ensuring they are equipped for data-driven research and industry applications. 

Lucy Eckersley

Senior Events Officer, Royal Society of Biology

Lucy Eckersley is a Senior Events Officer at the RSB, and also a science presenter, performing live and on TV and radio around the world. After completing a masters degree in Wild Animal Biology, Lucy has used her passion for wildlife to inspire the public, travelled to remote regions for wildlife photography, and worked alongside academics in biodiversity hotspots. At the RSB Lucy manages a wealth of bioscience events, from large conferences to monthly webinars.

Tia Salter

Senior Professional Development Officer, Royal Society of Biology

Tia is Senior Professional Development Officer at the RSB. She has a BSc and PhD in biochemistry, and her main research interests are bacterial cell biology and antibiotic resistance. Completing a PhD project during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was an isolating experience, and Tia sought out public engagement and undergraduate teaching opportunities alongside her research. Tia ultimately realised she preferred working with people to bacteria, and joined the RSB a week after defending her PhD thesis.

BCD 2025 Speakers

Jasper David Chaplin

Multi-Faculty Technician, Royal Veterinary College

Jasper is a Teaching and Histology Technician at the Royal Veterinary College. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Zoology and a Master’s degree in Biological Sciences by Research, both from Royal Holloway, University of London, where he specialised in comparative ecophysiology and the social dynamics of bird flocks. His role includes bioveterinary teaching and research support, histology, equipment training, and safety supervision. He works closely with the Widening Participation team, hosting lab classes for secondary school students, and is on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee in the LGBT+ and disability action groups.

Joe Dixon

Principal Medical Writer, Costello Medical

Joe Dixon is a Principal Medical Writer at Costello Medical, where he has worked since 2018. Prior to working at Costello, Joe completed a BA and MSc in Natural Sciences (focused in Chemistry) at Cambridge University, followed by a PhD in Medicinal Chemistry through an Industrial PhD programme between GSK and the University of Strathclyde. Joe much preferred writing his thesis to the performing the labwork that went into it, which led him to pursue Medical Communications. At Costello Medical, Joe’s particular interests include optimising data visualisation and finding ways to integrate AI into the day to day workflows of himself and his colleagues.

Aimee Eckert

Research Advisor, British Heart Foundation

Aimee loves working in the medical research charity sector, and is shortly starting a role with British Heart Foundation as a Research Advisor. this team provides scientific support throughout the research grant application and decision process. Previously, she was a Senior Research Communications Officer at Breast Cancer Now for over fice years. She has a PhD in cancer biology and the cell cycle from the University of Sussex. During her PhD, she learnt about science communication, events and performance by setting up a Brighton branch of the 'PubhD' scheme, volunteering at science festivals, and taking part in the Wellcome Trust-funded Science Showoff Talent Factory programme.

Margret Kadembo

Marketing Assistant, Novartis UK

Margret is currently a Marketing Assistant at Novartis UK. She graduated in 2023 with a master's ny research from the University of Bristol with a project studying the effects of new ketamine derivative on the NMDA receptor. Additionally, she was selected by the British Neuroscience Association (BNA) Scholar, which led to her presentation of a pre-registration poster of her research project at the BNA festival of neuroscience 2021. Margret also completed her undergraduate degree in neuroscience from the University of Bristol in 2020. Furthermore, during the pandemic she worked as a processing operative for COVID-19 rapid testing on campus.

Alice Morrell

Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Oxford

Alice is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Oxrord where she uses artificial intelligence to decode how African elephants communicate through vibrations in the ground (seismis communication). She holds a PhD in Movement Ecology from the Royal Veterinary College where she used GPS collars and other gadgets to track zebra movements in Botswana. Her research has contributed to understanding how these incredibly well adapted creatures find food and water over vast distances. Alice also has a Masters in Engineering and Informatics, where she learnt to code and build machine learning models. Previously, Alice has conducted research on the social lives of Dwarf Mongoose in South Africa, as well as assisting the discovery of a new parasite species that can infect both humans and animals in Senegal. She has also given talks on her research at international academic conferences and has been invited as a guest speakers for the Women in Ecology series in Indiana, US, as well as the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour in Konstanz, Germany.

Suzannah Pearce

Deputy Technical Lead, Defra

Suzie currently works in the plant health team at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) as the Deputy Technical Lead, spanning policy, project delivery and risk analysis in her current role for the protection of plant biosecurity. In the past, Suzie was based for 6 months in the Canadian Government, under the EPPO Jens-Georg Unger Plant Health Fellowship, where she was assessing the risk of blueberry pests and diseases to the UK. She specialised in plant health during her academic degrees (a BSc in Biology and a MSc in Plant Genetics and Crop Improvement) and as an employed researcher.

James Sweet Jones

Business Analyst and Associate, Revena

James is a business analyst at a science and technology consultancy, advising and evaluating small businesses about IP status and strategies for development. His PhD involved the use of large language models to screen patient-derived antibodies for developability, to score how well they can be turned into new therapeutics. In 2023, he was awarded for the best presentation at the London Interdisciplinary Doctoral Training Program (LIDo) retreat for his work. This project put him at the intersection of machine learning and biology, where he continues to apply these methods into his current work for identifying and realising opportunities in biotech.

Quang Tran

Science Communicator, Alzheimers 

Quang is a Science Communications Officer at Alzheimer's Research UK, where he brings the latest dementia research to the public through engaging stories and expert insights. He creates content for social media and website articles, helping raise awareness and inspire support for the charity's mission. Quang also works with journalists to share research breakthroughs, securing national coverage in outlets like BBC News, Daily Mail and The Telegraph. With a background in science communication, Quang was part of the Science Showoff Talent Factory, a two-year mentoring programme for emerging science communicators. Through this, he honed his skills in making complex topics accessible through writing or performing stand-up comedy on subjects like parasites and transgenic mice. 

Faye Watson

Public and Community Engagement Consultant

Faye is a Public and Community Engagement Consultant leading the consultancy 'collaborACTION'. Before becoming a consultant, she was the Public Engagement with Research Manager in the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. She was also awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship in 2023 and travelled to Botswana and South Africa researching community engagement with marginalised communities affected by HIV and Hepatitis C. She subsequently joined the Board of Trustees for Waverley Care, Scotland's largest sexual health charity. Faye is also the Chair of the Scottish Public Engagement Network (ScotPEN) and the co-chair of Scotlands Interdisciplinary Research in Sexual Health Network (IReSH). 

Further details TBC