GradHive work experience opportunities

Hello Everyone

Details on three exciting part-time projects for postgraduate students in the areas of computer science and engineering are posted below. Deadline for application is next Monday 8th Dec.

 Apply now, don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity for workplace experience!

https://www.facebook.com/gradhive?ref=br_tf

update

Hi all


I realised that I have been away for a bit. I have a good reason for this 1) I am writing my thesis 2) I am writing and my thesis. 3) Yep, you guessed it - thesis writing. While it is a good excuse to turn down events, social activities you don't particularly like or birthday parties, I must say that I cannot wait to finish it. I have just got my corrections back from my two supervisors. At first glance, the corrections looks horrendous. Red everywhere! But when I stopped panicking, I realised most of it is typos. Generally speaking, my supervisors were quite happy with it. I know, I find it hard to believe it as well. Anyway, not long left

I am in the middle of applying for jobs eek! It is scary but also quite fun and exciting at the same time. Its an opportunity to explore what is out there, move to another city, move into a another career path. I am embracing it for a fact.

For now, that's it. See you soon.


P.s. For those who are interested, there is another NMR conference, Bruker on 14th November 2014 in Salford.

Normal TROSY

Normal TROSY


 ●Large proteins –Fast relaxation = Broader line widths –Decrease in spectral resolution

1H – 15N TROSY –Relaxation contributions from:

●Dipole-dipole (DD)

●Chemical shift anisotropy (CSA) –DD and CSA interfere either constructively or destructively –TROSY selects signals where destructive interference has occurred

●Cancelled out –Results in sharper signals and increased resolution

MIB NMR facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/311135659069729/?fref=nf

ICMRBS 2014

At the ICMRBS conference 2014 in the beautiful city of Dallas, USA.
Very excited to hear the latest development in solution-NMR and networking.

Future more comprehensive updates to follow ;-)



http://www.icmrbs2014.org/Program/Program


Best wishes

Biochemical society travel grant

I am delighted to have received a generous travel student grant from the biochemical society to attend the ICMRBS conference in Dallas, Texas USA.

I've just received support from the @biochemsoc General Travel Grants Fund to attend a conference.

Biotechnology YES

YES WE CAN! :-)

Hi folks

The Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (Biotechnology YES) is an innovative competition developed to raise awareness of the commercialisation of bioscience ideas among early career researchers. I hope you have already submitted a team together and preparing to come up with an idea. I had a few friends who did it last year and previous to that. I heard nothing but great things about this competition and furthermore, I think it could be a great way to step outside of your comfort zone and try something entrepreneurial. 

Here is a full timetable of what is to come

Biotechnology YES 2014 Calendar

Application Deadline		13 June
Briefing Session	Nottingham	13 August
Plant, Microbial and Environmental Sciences Workshop	Hosted by Syngenta at Jealott's Hill	8-10 October
Chemistry YES Workshop	Manchester	15-17 October
North West Workshop	Manchester	15-17 October
BioMedical YES Workshop	Hosted by GSK and Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst	22-24 October
Food YES Workshop	Hosted by Leatherhead Food Research	5-7 November
Southern Workshop	Leatherhead	5-7 November
Scottish Workshop	Edinburgh	12-14 November
Final	London	8 December

Enterprise School

Enterprise School, scheduled for Monday, 7th to Thursday, 10th July 2014 at The Low Wood Bay Hotel, Ambleside Road, Ambleside, LA23 1LP Cumbria.

Hi

I have just returned back from a very excellent enterprise business training school. The course has been designed based on teamwork in which each team will identify a commercial opportunity before refining their idea, looking at market research, intellectual property and raising finance as you would if you were starting a business or were working in industry. The sessions will be very interactive, and each group will have access to several different tutors for the entire course.

Employers frequently cite the need for “transferable skills” – those that allow you to become effective in your job and you will certainly be improving those skills during your time here. There will be ample opportunity to present information, pick up new skills, think creatively, absorb information quickly, network with others….. and work under pressure! It is also increasingly important to become an active learner, so a learning log you keep during your stay will help you to reflect on your achievements. This course was GREAT for learning about entrepreneurship!



https://mec.portals.mbs.ac.uk/Aboutus/Whygetinvolvedinenterprise.aspx

Best talk award!

Hi all

To my amazement I won a best talk award at the Manchester Life Sciences PhD conference. The conference contained very high quality research projects and I am very thankful to be picked as a winner. 

Best talk award for the presentation entitled: Characterising the Ras:Sos interactions, involved in cancer using biophysical techniques. 

Here are the list of all the winners on the day:

Talks: 

Overall winner: Rebecca Montacute (Room 1.219)

Room 4.213 : Uybach Vo

Room 2.217 : Sarah Marburger and Tobias Hedison

Room 1.218 : Sam Couth

Room 3.214 : David Ashbrook

Room 3.204 : Rebecca Williams

Room 1.219 : Rebecca Montacute

Room 3.205 : Duncan Slater

 

Posters:

Best Poster: Thomas Bleazard

2^nd Best Poster: Maria Glymenaki

3^rd Best Poster:  Nazahiyah Rodzli

 

Best Flash Talk: Rosie Griffiths

 

Best Photo:  Stephane Berneau

 

Best wishes

OBR-consulting project in Diagnostic sector

Consulting Project Vacancies

Interested in gaining business experience and demonstrating your ability to solve real-life commercial problems to future employers? We’re pleased to offer PhD students/post-docs the chance to apply for a part-time consultancy project to determine recommendations for a world-leading pharmaceutical and diagnostics company in the area of:

"Network Business Models in the Diagnostic Sector"
The project will include direct client contact with current experts in the field and presentations to the senior management of the client.

The project will be conducted during the period: 23 June–15 August 2014

You need to be a post-graduate student (PhD, Masters, etc.), post-doc or recent graduate.

Preference will be given to applicants with experience in, or awareness of, diagnostics and/or collaborative ventures in the biotech sector, or any related areas. Previous consulting experience is not a requirement but desirable. Candidates should ideally be based in, or around, Manchester.

The application deadline is 18 June 2014. Interviews will be held on 16 to 20 June 2014, so please be sure you are available on one of these dates.

Venture Further 2014 Graphene category finalists video

Venture Further 2014 Graphene category finalists

Venture Further 1st place Business and Enterprise Competition

Dear All

I am delighted to share with everyone the great news in securing £5000 investment in my business called GO filters. We had to pitch the business idea in front of a panel of judges and got the prize at an evening awards ceremony in Manchester. 

Venture further 1st place in the Graphene category

GO Filters is a graphene oxide-based membrane that can effectively extract lithium ions, which are used in modern-day batteries, from seawater. Current lithium extraction methods are time consuming and costly. GO Filters is a novel, cost-effective extraction membrane which can be easily installed into existing infrastructures.

https://mec.portals.mbs.ac.uk/Enterpriseactivities/Competitions/VentureFurther/VentureFurthernews/tabid/167/ArticleID/121/ArtMID/532/Venture-Further-2014-competition-winners-announced.aspx

Venture Further Finalist

I am delighted to be accepted as a finalist of the Venture Further competition this year. It is going to be a great learning experience for me. More to come!

For now Happy easter

RSC NMRD discussion group spring meeting

GAP submit 2014 - Connect, grow and challenge

Hi Folks

The GAP submit 2014 in Cambridge has finally arrived. Today, I spent the evening meeting up with interesting people from a variety of scientific backgrounds and coming from all around the world. Some of the people I met today include a list of inspiring entrepreneurs - students setting up their own business in the biotechnology industry. I also people studying for a PhD, students in industry and students in the technology transfer offices. All have very interesting technical background. Tomorrow will be interesting as we hear from the current leaders in biotechnology.

I am looking forward to a challenging few days as we look to solve current issues and provide solutions to help the biotechnology industry grow.

The people's gap

Hi all

Spotted this very nice blog whilst browsing. The blog explains the gaps in research, especially about people. Worth a read!

http://gap.globalbiotechrevolution.com/category/blog/

OBR - Consulting Case Competition

For those who are interesting in hearing out on OBR consulting case competition where 6 teams will be competing against each other to deliver a sound-consulting case for a large pharmaceutical company. 

The competition is a case-scenario and will be of interest to those who would like to pursue a future career in Science consulting. 

Consulting Case Competition event. We're excited about seeing you on Saturday, 29th March 2014 @ 9:00am!

When and where? Saturday 29th March, Manchester Business School

Spaces are limited. Please register here: http://www.oxbridgebiotech.com/events/consulting-case-competition-manchester/

 

Powering the Cancer Machine

Hey

Cancer Resarch UK, Beaston International Cancer Conference 

Powering the Cancer Machine

Sunday 6th July - Wednesday 9th July 2014

Speakers and Session

Keynote address: David Sabatini

For more details please visit the biochemistry society website.

For conference registration

http://www.beaston.gla.ac.uk/conf



Thanks

The final push

Hi All

Its been a long time since I wrote something on this blog but please forgive me as I enter my final phrase of my PhD studentship. I have been very busy recently but I just wanted to pause I write down some of my thoughts about what it has been like for me during the last month.

This is the final push for experimental work before I am charge with sitting down on my bottom all day writing out my thesis for submission in the autumn of 2014. It does sound very appealing given the amount of time I spent in the last month working late nights, weekends and early mornings. Laboratory work is finally coming to an end, or at least the planned experiments I had in mind. I am sure there will be a few more experiments needed when I write up.

I realise how hard it is to keep doing experiments whilst being told to keep writing at the same time, do figures, tables, graphs etc etc... I finally understand why all final year PhD students like to rant so much. It is hard to forget the enormous pressure final year students are entering. This post is not about me ranting at all but rather a chance think about what to do next. True, we are busy but it is also quite an exciting time and a time when you will have to start thinking beyond your research project. It that time to start thinking about careers. Shall I stay in academia or not? What will I do afterwards? Should I start applying soon?

For me, the answer is quite simply - start looking around. There are so many opportunities at universities to go on courses, enter competitions or join a team that does something a little different like policy. You never know, you might be able to enter competitions and quite like implementing science into Business. Yes, we are busy with our research but we should not limit ourselves or complain that we don't have enough time to do other things outside of the lab. That is exactly what I will be doing as I look to bolster my CV for the forthcoming months. In the meantime, I need to finish off some experimental work :-)

Happy Valentines

What is the difference between K-Ras and H-Ras

An interesting review on the differences between H and K-Ras.

http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v40/n10/abs/ng1008-1149.html

Manchester Enterprise School for Scientist

Hi

 

I received a very interesting email for those who are keen in combining science with entrepreneurship. This school potentially could help you become more aware of the business side of Science.

 

The Manchester Enterprise School is a four day residential enterprise school managed by the University of Manchester and will be taking place this year at the Low Wood Bay Hotel, Ambleside, Lake District, from Monday 7th to Thursday 10th July 2014 for 30 postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers.

 

The Enterprise School aims to increase the employability of Ph.D. students and research staff by improving their enterprise skills in a highly interactive, group working environment, tutored by experts and guest entrepreneurs.

 

The Enterprise School is open to all Ph.D. students or research staff from any faculty. The school will be an excellent opportunity to learn about enterprise and innovation and how to apply it to your work, whether you intend a career in academia, industry or start your own business. It will also be a chance to network with your peers and improve your team working skills.

 

Attendees will work in groups on their own ideas and produce a “Dragons Den” style pitch at the end of the course. Along the way, to guide the groups will be sessions covering opportunity recognition, market research, intellectual property, basic finance and team building. The sessions will be interactive and aim to encourage networking and working with others from different faculties and universities. There will also be guest entrepreneurs and other experts in attendance to provide input to each group as well as live access to patent information, market research databases etc via the internet.

 

Feedback from previous events has been excellent, with attendees finding it both useful and the whole experience very enjoyable. Many attendees have kept in touch via social networking on their return to their own departments.

 

Venture Further

Hi all

Last Tuesday I attended the Venture Further scheme held at the Business school in the University of Manchester. Venture Further is intended for entrepreneurs that has a new business start-up company and want significant investment. Venture Further will have courses designed to help you develop a business model for your company.

To win the competition you are required to write a business model and pitch your business idea in front of a panel of judges. There are 4 categories that you can enter: Technology enterprise, Business enterprise, Social enterprise and Graphene Enterprise.  The winner will win £10,000 investment in their business and £2,500 for the runner up in each category.

Take your time to check out the details. It may help advance those ideas you been having in your bedrooms.

Venture Further
https://mec.portals.mbs.ac.uk/Enterpriseactivities/Competitions/VentureFurther.aspx

Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme

Hi

There is an interesting competition for Postgraduates and Postdocs to submit a hypothetical solutions based on biotechnology. The new Biotechnology Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (opens in 2014) will provide anyone taking part commercial awareness, entrepreneurial skills but also a chance to network with key industry leaders.

This is my final year PhD and although I need to concentrate on writing my thesis, I feel that this is a perfect opportunity for me to take part before I leave my university. I am waiting for this competition to open and together with a group, I hope we can come up with a biotechnology idea to enter this competition.

Benefits of taking part

• Prize fund of £5,000
• Enhance your CV
• Develop and improve transferable skills such as communication, negotiation and team-building
• Network with industry professionals
• Increase your commercial awareness and technology transfer knowledge

Final Year PhD Workshop

Good evening

Today I attended a workshop intended for Final year PhD student. My experience of this workshop is quite frankly scary. Scary in the sense that I now have to think about thesis - I have to start drafting documents, planning ahead and putting together something coherent for my supervisors within the next few months.

The workshop today was very useful. We went through the format of a Thesis and what to expect in a VIVA (along with a few urban myths about viva). We then had a very constructure Q & A discussions with a panel of experts who all had PhD and have returned 10-15 years later to tell us where they are and what they are doing now.

The afternoon session consist of how to look for a job, creating effective CV and covering letters.

Tomorrow will be interesting as we get to take part in 3 different assessment centre as part of the training programme. I hope this will prepare me for real life assessment centres to get a job in the future.

FutureLearn course: Inside cancer: how genes influence cancer development

 

Hi everyone

 

First of all, I would like to wish those who have been following my blog a happy new year. May 2014 bring you good fortune, health and laughter.

 

What a way to kick start a new year by promising yourself to learn something new. I happen to have found a cool learning website which has a list of free online courses ran by many of the UK top's universities. A course that has attracted my attention is Inside cancer: how genes influence cancer development.

 

The course starts on 20th January 2014 for 6 weeks, 3 hours per week. It is an ideal introduction for those interested in understanding how genetics influences the development and spread of cancer. I have registered for this course so why not join me and learn something interesting.

 

For further information about the course and to register for free please click on the link below.

 

https://www.futurelearn.com/courses


 

 

There are many other courses you can pick from.

 

 

Best wishes and I write to you soon.