Fantastic news and so well deserved, Erin!

Did you know that bisexual flowers are perfect? Botanists do. My latest pin celebrates the fact that 90% of flowering plants have individual flowers with both male and female parts. Botanists call these 'bisexual' or 'perfect' flowers. Please share! www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4...

I'm writing my thesis and wrapping up this PhD, but I've been extremely blessed in my final year to receive awards and recognition for my public engagement and sci-comm work. Thank you to everyone who supported and nominated! @britsocimm.bsky.social @fbmh-uom.bsky.social @fbmhdocacad.bsky.social

What came first, the scientist or the journalist? Great first panel for #abswss25 discussing career journeys into science journalism. 2 perspectives from a science background and 2 from a journalism background. @absw.bsky.social

Amazing shortlisted colleagues on the EDI award @britsocimm.bsky.social - @pallettlab.bsky.social & @mcsinton.bsky.social lead important initiatives and I’m always inspired by this. Well done to everyone!

This was a real surprise, and I'm so grateful. The support I've had has been phenomenal and it's giving me the courage to keep going and recognise "hey, I'm actually quite good at this". Thank you @britsocimm.bsky.social for this lovely award.

We're halfway through Pride so now seems a good time to drop a pin that people have been requesting: something for allies. The thing is though, I'm not interested in selling a traditional ally pin that allows just anyone to claim they're on our side, so lets talk about that 🧵 canopyrobin.etsy.com

I'm representing North West at the @FameLab national final on 6 June! I'll be bringing the gross factor to my talk on mucus, alongside nine other amazing speakers covering a wide range of science topics. So excited to show Cheltenham Science Festival attendees what I'm all about! #SciComm #PhDSky

I am so pleased to announce that I have been shortlisted for the @britsocimm.bsky.social Public Engagement Award. I have worked really hard on supporting PE initiatives, as well as building my own ( @reshiveblog.bsky.social ), so this is really exciting for me! #ImmunoSky #PhDSky

I'm now on Instagram! No idea what I'm doing, but hopefully I can make it educational and fun. 🧪 www.instagram.com/slimescience... #SciComm #PhDSky #AcademicSky

#FluorescenceFriday #FluorescentFriday Here's a Trichuris muris egg getting up close and personal with the intestinal epithelium. #PhDSky #ImmunoSky

Nothing like tackling a public speaking fear than a public speaking competition. I am so thrilled and shocked to have won the #FameLab North West final. Everyone was amazing and I hope you're all proud. Looking forward to learning and improving ahead of the national finals!! #SciComm #PhDSky

We're working hard to think of new ways to be helpful! Always looking for feedback.

Is this surprising to you? Check our blog (and below!) for a recent post on how fiction reading is beneficial to your mental health and wellbeing. Read for fun, not as a chore! #BookSky #EduSky #AcademicSky

What makes a great leader? Confidence? Charisma? Jiya from @alliancembs.bsky.social explains that psychology points to something else: Emotional intelligence and understanding people. Have any stories on good/bad leadership? Let us know below! #PsychSciSky #AcademicSky #SciComm

Scientists and politicians need to communicate if we want helpful scientific advancements to make it to everyday life. Federica looks at the links between science and policy and the current barriers to efficient cross-talk. #SciComm #AcademicSky #PhDSky research-hive.com/2025/02/18/s...

When the PhD goes wrong, it can feel like the end of the world. Dead ends and failed experiments are hard, but often inevitable. Elan writes about her experience and tips for managing stress in these situations, emphasising community. Talk it out! #PhDSky #PhDChat research-hive.com/2025/02/06/p...

With my wonderful partner's help, I ran a workshop introducing PGRs to blogging and how our platform @reshiveblog.bsky.social can help kickstart #scicomm skill development. It was so exciting and with the great feedback, I hope I can start hosting it online to even more people #PhDSky

For my final blog post of the year, I wrote about parasite cleanses. My own personal pet-hate of pseudoscience internet, since helminths are my thing. I focussed on how these snake oil salespeople get people hooked on their content and into their online stores. #AcademicSky #SciComm

Get down to the engineering building to see some NanoSIMS #UoM-TBM

Joined the rest of UoM's immunologists at our Christmas dinner social. The theme was dress to impress, so we had to show them how the goths do it. Maybe a slight shock to those who only see me at work 🤭 #ImmunoSky #AcademicSky #QueerInSTEM

One of our team members, Rashmi, wrote this wonderful story about just how personal her research is to her.

On a casual afternoon of my final year, I have noticed I've been incorrectly spelling a gene name the entire time. In every single write-up, abstract, poster and presentation. #PhDSky

What a privilege it is to help people share their stories through my blog. Rojita's journey is incredible.

NEW POST: Good news! A healthy night's sleep will do more for your memory than those extra late-night hours of revision. Nina Wycech explains the science behind how important sleep is for learning, and how it is the real key to exam success. #PhDSky #EduSky #NeuroSkyence

Happy Fluorescence Friday! To summarise my talk at @thestemvillage.bsky.social last week: Intestinal goblet cells are far more complex than we think. A simple PAS or Muc2 antibody stain won't reveal the whole picture in your studies. #ImmunoSky #PhDSky #AcademicSky #QueerInSTEM

Society if scientists could figure out how to effectively fill seats in lecture theatres. #AcademicSky

Yesterday was such a special day, being surrounded by LGBTQ+ immunologist from around the world, as well as allies. Over the years, many people have asked why we need these events, so here’s a couple of reasons 1/🧵 #LGBTQSTEM #Immunosky 🧪🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Boasting some BIG numbers here! I really do love participating in @imascientist.bsky.social. I've not quite won them over to win the coveted prize yet, but each term is another chance. 😼 #PhDSky #EduSky #SciComm #AcademicSky

Proud to be part of this exclusive club 😎

So thrilled to be here, and on LGBTQIA+ in STEM day no less! #QueerInSTEM

Teaching in the undergrad labs and a group were discussing "I wouldn't do lab work! Imagine how horrible it must be doing the same things over and over and over" and I'm just stood behind them like #PhDSky #AcademicSky

Excited to share my work at this symposium on Monday! #QueerInSTEM #PhDSky

My friend Nina bravely wrote this and I'm so proud of her! It's a lovely piece and this is something I'm thrilled I can use my growing platform for. #PhDSky

Thank you for sharing! It is disheartening to hear people say they relate to this article, but I appreciate people using it to start discussing their own experiences! #PhDSky #AcademicSky

Since we're talking about proper word choice when communicating science to non-scientists, here's my list of some examples of "kinda-jargon." Jargon is when your non-scientist audience has never heard the word before. Kinda-jargon is they've heard it but in a very different context. #SciComm 🧪

It's been a while since I wrote a full blog article. I find the greatest writing motivation from being mad about stuff. I tried tackling the issue of bullying in academia. It started as a rant, but I tried my best to make it something useful for others. Feedback VERY welcome. #AcademicSky #PhDSky

A tropical disease so neglected, that it failed to get status as a neglected tropical disease?? PhD Student Isabella Hubbard from LSTM wrote this piece for my blog. I must admit, I hadn't heard of it before either! #PhDSky #AcademicSky #SciComm manchesterresearchhive.wordpress.com/2024/06/13/a...

I'm really pleased to share the latest article on my blog, written by a talented undergrad student! So happy to see students getting involved! Rebecca wrote about the antivax movement, misinformation on social media, and how scientists can help fight it. #SciComm #PhDSky #Immunology #AcademicSky

I've been hard at work developing ideas for my blog. While we're Manchester and biology-based, we would love submissions from PhD + Masters students and postdocs from elsewhere. If you don't have a platform to openly communicate science, we're happy to host you! #SciComm #PhDSky #AcademicSky

One in five children are not vaccinated or under-vaccinated. I discuss why and what we can do to address this inequality. 🧪#VaccineConversations open.substack.com/pub/sheenacr...

I am super excited that my Biological Sciences Review article is finally out. It's also my first commissioned/paid piece! (They're always asking for more writers so check your uni emails for opportunities). It's also so cool to put mucus on the map for A-Level students. #PhDSky #AcademicSky #SciComm

#HiSciSky Immunology PhD student at Uni of Manchester. Love all things helminths and mucus. I'm also a very persistent editor of my research-based blog Research Hive. Would love to hear from PhD students who are interested in writing science communication blogs! manchesterresearchhive.wordpress.com

Scientists are amongst the most trusted by the public as a source of innovation information. >53% people say science has become politicised- the influence of government, funders and presumably pharma on science are issues- we must work with diverse stakeholders to address concerns and retain trust 🧪

As it should!

Super excited that this year we’re hosting the first ever #LGBTQ+ Immunology Symposium in Manchester! Talks will be from LGBTQ+ researchers (all career stages) but we want immunologists to come & participate regardless of their identity! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 Who’s going to come along?? 18th November

This was the first article I wrote about mucus and helminths! After studying pure science for 10 years, it was great to have a go at being a bit more creative in describing my research background! My blog is open to all PhD students who would like to practice writing accessible sci-comm blogs.

I'm more than likely going to only talk about my blog. My goal is to grow into a platform for all PhD students to practice #SciComm and share their #PhDExperience More research-focussed posts to come soon. manchesterresearchhive.wordpress.com