The Unit held another of its Training & Careers Development Events on Friday 27th January. Unit members and departmental colleagues were treated to a range of entertaining and informative presentations from expert speakers, each of which was followed by a lively Q & A session.

Alison Brindle, Divisional Communications Manager, and Chris McIntyre, Media Relations Manager, of the University of Oxford’s Medical Sciences Division, gave a joint presentation and some timely guidance on how a variety of resources can be used to raise the wider profile of research outcomes. This was followed with a talk by Professor Masud Hussain from the University of Oxford, in which he candidly revealed his ‘top tips’ for writing successful grant applications. Dr Gary Gilmour, Research Advisor in Translational and Integrative Neuroscience at Eli Lilly & Company Ltd., then gave a discerning account of the similarities and differences between research careers in academia and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as some valuable insights on how to successfully transition across the two sectors. Dr Ian Birch-Machin, Department Leader at AdaptImmune Ltd., then narrated his career trajectory, from graduate student to senior management roles in commercial research, and gave some welcome careers advice for those aspiring to work in the biotechnology industry. Unit Administrator Dr Vivienne Collins completed the Event with a talk raising awareness of Unconscious Bias in the workplace.

Unit Deputy Director Peter Magill commented “Wider training and career development continue to be a priority for the Unit. Thanks to our expert speakers, and the enlightening presentations they delivered, we are well positioned to meet the challenges ahead.”