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BALR Committee elections October 2024

To vote for secretary, and PhD rep please click the link below


This system will allow one vote per person
Voting closes at 10.15am on Friday 4th October 2024

Secretary applications

Dr Katy Roach With my extensive background in respiratory disease and my previous experience as a committee member, I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to contribute to the BALR’s mission and operations. In my current role as a Lecturer at the University of Leicester within the field of respiratory disease, I have developed a deep understanding of the complexities and needs of this area. I am accustomed to organizing and facilitating complex projects, which parallels the organizational and administrative responsibilities of the secretary role. I have experience of organising conferences such as the Respiratory Genomic Conference, East Midlands ILD Research Alliance and the BALR. This background equips me to handle the BALR's administrative tasks with precision and insight, ensuring that inquiries are addressed promptly, memberships are managed efficiently, and committee meetings are well-organized. My experience as a previous BALR committee member has provided me with valuable insights into the workings of BALR organizations and has prepared me to effectively manage the administrative duties of the Secretary role. I am adept at organizing meetings, ensuring the timely completion of tasks, and managing grant-related processes, including travel grants and grant scoring. As well as previously being involved in the summer studentships applications and marking. I am confident that my background and skills will enable me to contribute effectively to the BALR. I am particularly excited about the prospect of working closely with the Chair and other committee members to ensure the smooth operation of the BALR. The training and shadowing provided by the departing Secretary are highly appealing, and I am eager to learn and integrate into the role seamlessly.

Dr Bettina Schock I am working in respiratory research for over 20 years and have been a BALR member since 2009. Since 2018 I am a committee member. I strongly support the BALR mission of the BALR to provide a platform for exchange of ideas and establishment of collaborations between all respiratory researchers. Being based at Queen’s University, Belfast, I am particularly keen that the BALR and its committee represents all nations of the UK. In the last year, I have successfully initiated additional BALR summer studentships to develop the next generation of respiratory researchers, supporting the BALR aim to further fundamental and translational pulmonary research in the UK. Having build the relationship with several charities, I will continue this work at least until it is firmly established within the BALR calendar. I have also gathered experience of committee work in local societies (Ulster Immunology group), where I acted as an interim secretary. I am working withing the BALR committee for several years now and have developed a good working relationship with the current committee members. I enjoy organizing meetings and collaborations and would love to serve the BALR as its next secretary.

PhD student representative applications

Jessy Zhu My name is JiaYi (Jessy) Zhu and I’m a 3rd year PhD student studying pulmonary arterial hypertension at the University of Cambridge. As a BALR member and Early Career Researcher (ECR), I am keen to empower the voice of student lung researchers and support wider career development opportunities. Through my work on the Student Committees at my institute, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, my college Queens MCR, and my studentship programme DTP-MR, I have gained significant experience in representing student interests and organizing symposiums and seminars. These roles have allowed me to work closely with my peers, gaining insights into the challenges and needs that ECRs face, such as navigating funding opportunities, securing mentorship, and balancing research pressures with career development. Moreover, most students are interested in further exploring their career potentials, especially with more exposure to potential industries, internships, and networking events.  By joining the BALR committee, I aim to leverage these experiences to contribute meaningfully to the support and guidance provided to ECRs. I am eager to help organize conferences, review abstracts, and participate in grant evaluations, enhancing my understanding of the broader academic and research landscape while helping to foster an inclusive and supportive environment for ECRs.

Connor Mawer Throughout my academic career I have gain valuable experience in advocating for my peers in my roles; UCL Faculty of Medical Sciences PGR Representative, University of Edinburgh Biomedical School Representative and founder and President of the Edinburgh University Biomedical Society. My dedication to these roles were recognised by UCL Faculty of Medical Sciences Representative of the Year Award, UCL Inclusion Award, Impact Award and Teaching Award for Supporting Students’ Learning. As a current committee member of the UCL Early Career Researcher Network, I have experience with ECR priorities. Further, as a core member of the AdvancedHE Disabled Student Commitment Group, so I am well-positioned champion inclusion within the respiratory community. I am an experienced representative in respiratory sciences, recognised for my advocacy and inclusion efforts, and well-positioned to champion inclusion within the respiratory community as the PhD Representative for the BALR.

Emily Cash I am a third year PhD student at the University of Nottingham, studying on the Wellcome Trust’s “Team Science and Drug Discovery” Doctoral Training Programme. In my DTP “Team Science” is one of our core values and I would love to build upon these skills within the BALR team, as a representative of its early career members. For my PhD I am researching the molecular mechanism of caffeine in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia supervised by Dr Amanda Tatler. My research interests are in cell signalling in respiratory disease; I also work within COMPARE (Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors) and Institute of Cell Signalling at UoN. I have a first-class degree in Biochemistry, Postgraduate Certificate in Education and a little teaching experience too! I love working within the Respiratory Medicine group and I was awarded the Wendy Stannard early career prize by the Institute for Lung Health. I am actively involved in my Doctoral Training Program (DTP), providing peer-peer support and training. I am the student representative for my cohort, attending DTP management meetings, communicating with the student body and championing their views with enthusiasm and positivity, which I hope might help bring experience for this opportunity with the BALR.

Jonathan Smith My name is Jonathan Smith, and I am currently studying for a PhD in Paediatric Lung MRI with a focus on neonatal and infant imaging and bronchopulmonary dysplasia. As a senior paediatric respiratory resident doctor pursuing a career in clinical academia, I am passionate about improving lung diagnostics in early life, to maximise the potential of those born with pulmonary disease. My career motivations and PhD subject align closely with the 10 research priorities for lung research in the UK, specifically around early intervention, improving diagnostics and rolling this out to the wider healthcare system (points 4, 5 and 8). Additionally, as a healthcare professional who came to research later in their career, I am passionate about broadening access to research to all healthcare professionals outside of the standard academic pathways. I have prior experience of organising a regional meeting, as chair of the Yorkshire Paediatric Respiratory Day for the past 5 years. This along with the links I have established within my subspeciality and the postgraduate research community within my university place me in a strong position to advocate for early career researchers within the field and communicate directly with them.

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