Inspirational evolutionary biologist shows that a break doesn't need to be a full stop to a research career
Posted on 14 October 2010
Indeed it took Nancy six years to recover sufficiently to consider trying to return to science. Her desire to continue her career never diminished, but she needed some help to get back to work, which she found from the Daphne Jackson Trust and the UKRC. Nancy’s story was one of those featured at the UKRC annual conference, Women mean Business, held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London on Tuesday 12 October.
Nancy’s story is inspirational and a testament to the support that is offered for returners to science, engineering and technology (SET) careers from organizations such as the Daphne Jackson Trust and the UKRC. Nancy applied for a travel grant from the UKRC to allow her to attend an international evolutionary biology conference and it was then that she realised that she was not as far behind in her field as she had thought. This gave her the confidence to apply for a Daphne Jackson Fellowship at the University of York, which she started in 2008. Nancy has made a phenomenal return to her research career and has had three papers published in international journals with further publications on the way.
The University of York has been also had a key role in Nancy’s return. The Department of Biology has always embraced flexible working and has taken further steps in order to facilitate Nancy’s disabilities. The Access to Work programme has paid for a laboratory technician to assist Nancy as well as specialized office equipment. The Department has worked with Nancy, providing mentoring, supervision and a pump priming grant for personal development.
Nancy is interested in all aspects of evolutionary biology. Her interests cover numerous disciplines: molecular systematics, phylogeography, ecology, behaviour, monitoring and conservation. Bats are generally endangered and thus protected; they are therefore at the centre of interesting migratory, environmental, international treaties and legislation; which demands a multi-disciplinary approach to study and manage them.She has studied the rare and endangered group of tube-nosed fruit bats endemic to New Guinea, Indonesia, Solomon’s and Australia.
Nancy is involved in numerous collaborative projects with researchers from several universities. Bats carry many zoonoses that are pathogenic with potentially devastating effects on wildlife, public health and industry. She is interested in systematics, behaviour and population genetics of bats of South East Asia, Melanesia, Australasia and Africa and is moving into research covering emerging infectious diseases in bats.
The Daphne Jackson Trust offers flexible, part time, paid Fellowships in UK universities and research laboratories and in industry. Fellows undertake a challenging research project and a tailored retraining programme with the aim of increasing their employability and removing the disadvantages inherent in taking a career break of two years or more.
Scientists often feel unable to return after a career break due to a wide variety of reasons: lack of part-time or flexible posts, difficulties with childcare, lower earning capacity, unpleasant and outdated working environments, issues with gaining academic funding for part-time posts, lack of career progression, secretive and unfair recruitment and promotion procedures. In fact, it can be almost impossible for many to return without the help of Daphne Jackson Fellowship, as it offers the opportunity to re-establish your scientific credentials and obtain a recent research record whilst retraining and renewing skills that are essential for a future career. It is a fact that returners have much to offer their employers. Not only are they fully qualified for the role in the first place, their career breaks have often heightened the skills required by top class employers: time management, flexibility and adaptability, conflict resolution, working under pressure.
Notes to editors:
- The Daphne Jackson Trust is the only charitable organisation in the United Kingdom dedicated to returning scientists, engineers and technologists to their careers following a break. The Trust runs a scheme which normally offers two year, part time paid Fellowships in universities and industrial laboratories. Fellows undertake a research project and retraining programme. The Trust has a 96% success rate of returning its Fellows to SET based careers.
- The University of York was founded in 1963 with 200 students. It now has 12,000 students and over 30 academic departments and research centres. It is regularly ranked in the top ten of UK universities and is also in the world’s top 100 universities. York ranked eighth out of more than 120 UK universities in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise co-ordinated by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The University of York places equal emphasis on research and teaching. Most of the people whose research helped the University to perform so well in the RAE also teach. The results confirm that students in every department - both undergraduate and postgraduate - are being taught and advised by leaders in their field.
- The UKRC aims to significantly improve the participation and position of women in science, engineering and technology occupations, to benefit the future productivity of the UK and the lifetime earnings and career aspirations of women. The UKRC is the UK’s leading centre providing information and advisory services to businesses and organisations in these sectors, and supporting women entering, returning and progressing in these fields.
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