This year's Soapbox Science Exeter

When: 22nd June 2024

Time: 12pm-3pm

Where: Piazza Terracina, Exeter Quayside

Please contact local organisers with any questions:

Soapbox Science at Exeter

Soapbox Science showcases the research of women who are making significant contributions to the scientific community.

The event, which takes place each summer, follows the format of London Hyde Park’s Speakers’ Corner, this year transforming Exeter Quayside, Piazza Terracina, into an arena for public learning and scientific debate; creating a dynamic and bustling atmosphere and learning environment for all.

The Exeter Soapbox Science event will be taking place on the 22nd June 2024 between 12pm - 3pm at Piazza Terracina, Exeter Quayside.

To find out more information about the origin of the event you can visit the Central Soapbox Science website.

You can also keep up to date with our event on Twitter @SoapboxExeter and using the #ExeterSoapbox.

Dr Ulrike Bauer (she/her)

The tricks and traps of insect-eating pitcher plants

Dr Ulrike Bauer is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and proleptic Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter. She previously held independent Research Fellowships from the Leverhulme Trust (at Bristol University) and from the Cambridge Philosophical Society (at the University of Cambridge), after obtaining a PhD in Zoology from the University of Cambridge and a Diploma of Biology from Warzburg University in Germany. Ulrikeâ€™s Mechanical Ecology Lab uses carnivorous plants to study how plants deal with the physics in their life and exploit mechanical mechanisms to their advantage.

Twitter / X : @MechEcoLab

Website : Mechanical Ecology Lab (exeter.ac.uk)

Dr Maria Eugenia Correa Cano

The Extraordinary Life Cycle Stages of a Water Bottle

Dr Maria E. Correa-Cano is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Exeter’s Environment and Sustainability Institute. She is a biologist and an ecologist working in an interface of application between Engineering and environmental conservation.

After completing BSc and MSc studies in biosciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and subsequent delivery of environmental conservation programmes in Mexico, Maria has investigated the effects of anthropogenic activities on biodiversity, with a focus on light and plastic pollution, for her PhD and post-doctoral research. Her research on Water-Energy-Food-Environment (WEFE) nexus has contributed to the understanding the trade-offs between these sectors and the impacts of agricultural expansion on the environment and on the local and regional economies. She is currently developing a method based on the Life Cycle Assessment framework to quantify the biodiversity impacts of large organisations as part of the RENEW project.

Website : Dr Maria Eugenia Correa Cano

Dr Sylvia Dimitriadou

What is this fish thinking?

Dr Sylvia Dimitriadou is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Biosciences at the University of Exeter. Dr Dimitriadou has a background in molecular biology and animal behaviour and has extensive experience with freshwater aquatic systems. She is part of the Aquatic Physiology, Ecology and Biodiversity Research Theme and currently studies fish anaesthesia. In her talk, Dr Dimitriadou will be uncovering what she is currently finding out about what goes on in the minds of fish.

Twitter / X : @DrSylvia_Dimit

Dr Katherine Helliwell

Tiny algae with big impacts: from blooms to biotech!

Dr Katherine Helliwell is a NERC Independent Research Fellow holding a joint appointment between the University of Exeter and Marine Biological Association (Plymouth, UK). Dr Helliwell’s research investigates the fundamental biology of single-celled photosynthetic algae, which critically underpin marine ecosystems. Following a degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Bristol, Dr Helliwell pursued a PhD and postdoctoral work with Professor Alison Smith in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge. During this time, her work examined the role of vitamins in governing interactions between algae and bacteria. Following her time in Cambridge, she joined the MBA as a postdoc investigating how an important group of bloom forming algae (diatoms) sense their environment. She now leads her own research group that combines novel molecular tools with environmental methods to investigate the interactions of algae with other marine microbes, and study algal nutrient physiology and cell signalling mechanisms.

Twitter / X : @KEHelliwel

Ridi Hossain

Slow the Flow: Nature-Based Flood Control

Ridi Hossain is a PhD researcher at the Centre of Water Systems, University of Exeter, where her focus is on monitoring nature-based interventions in decentralised stormwater management systems. Prior to embarking on a PhD journey, Ridi completed a master’s degree in data science and AI, as well as a BSc in Computer Science, both from the University of Exeter. Throughout her doctoral studies, she has gained significant experience in Data Science and AI, collaborating closely with Southern Water on projects related to monitoring their retrofitted sustainable drainage solutions. This involvement has also afforded Ridi with opportunities to present her findings at international conferences. Her passion lies in bridging her computer science expertise with Water Engineering. Ridi is proficient in programming, machine learning, and computational methods, and also manages an art business, retailing prints, rugs, and stickers both online and in various markets across the UK. Ridi's entrepreneurial venture, which has garnered attention from OK Magazine, allows her to engage in collaborations with diverse creative individuals.

LinkedIn : Ridi-Hossain

Dr Ievgeniia Kovalska

Exploring Water's Dance on Surfaces

Dr Ievgeniia Kovalska is a Lecturer in Advanced 2D Energy Materials at the University of Exeter. She has over 10 years of experience in two-dimensional and carbon-based materials from their synthesis to exploration for energy, sensing, (opto)electronics and healthcare. Ievgeniia's achievements are demonstrated by more than 40 high-rank publications with more than 770 citations and h-index – 14, granting several patents, and invited scientific presentations worldwide to date.

Ievgeniia obtained her PhD in Chemistry with a specialisation in Physics and Chemistry of Surface from Chuiko Institute of Surface Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Before joining Exeter she was a postdoctoral researcher at Bilkent University (Turkey), and at the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague (Czechia).

Twitter / X : @EvgeniyaKovals3

Miss Caitlin Naylor (she/her)

Manipulating the senses: when what you see no longer matches what you feel

Caitlin completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Bath in 2021. During her undergraduate programme, she completed a one-year research placement in the Object Interaction Lab at the University of Exeter, focussing on how expectations impact perception and action. In 2021, Caitlin began her PhD at the University of Bath, focussing on how body perception can become distorted. Caitlin's PhD research aims to develop a virtual reality rehabilitation tool to help patients with body perception disturbances. Caitlin is the final year of her PhD and is looking forward to pursuing her future career as a researcher.

Twitter/X: @CaitlinENaylor

Interview blog: Beki Hooper interviews Caitlin Naylor

Dr Iveren Winifred Nyinoh

Healthy gut, good health: how diet impacts gut microbes, health, and disease

Dr Winifred Nyinoh is a Lecturer in Clinical and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Exeter and is the BMBS Race Equality Resource Officer. She has a PhD in Microbial Sciences (University of Surrey, 2017) investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying drug synergy in Mycobacteria. She was awarded a Schlumberger Foundation Faculty for the Future Fellowship for Women from Developing and Emerging Economies. Winifred has degrees in medical microbiology, public health, and biology, holds a senior fellowship of the UK Higher Education Academy, a Fellowship of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, and is a member of the Royal Society of Biology. Winifred actively engages with the Devon Healthcare Hub and the Black Universities Heritage Group. She is currently researching the role of the human microbiota in health and disease in underserved communities.

Website : Winifred Nyinoh

Twitter / X: @WINyinoh

Elitsa Penkova

Is antimicrobial resistance in rivers a public health risk?

Elitsa's PhD project is focused on understanding to what extent the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in rivers poses a risk to human health. This builds upon previous work in coastal waters which found that recreational activities, such as bathing, are associated with an increased risk of exposure to and colonisation by drug-resistant bacteria.

Before this, Elitsa completed a two-year MSc by Research in Biological Sciences, where she studied how the ecological context can impact the evolution of antibiotic resistance, using an insect model system (Plutella xylostella).

In addition, Elitsa spent a year at Cefas where she worked on disinfectants as potential drivers of antibiotic resistance in aquatic pathogens.

View blog

Twitter / X : @PenkovaElitsa

Website : Is antimicrobial resistance in rivers a public health risk?

Take part in ‘Poo-Sticks’ river swimming study!

Help us identify health risks of freshwater bathing