Derek A MannFMS Dean of Research & Innovation

Team-Science – the need for modernisation of technical career pathways

Hull Kingston General Hospital

Blood Transfusion Technician

HND in Biochemistry

I started my scientific career as a technician.1979-82

Queen Elizabeth College London 1982-85

BSc Biochemistry

All 3 summer terms spent working as a technician

1986 - 1990

Prof Frank Walsh

PhD at Institute of Neurology

Dr Steve Moore

Klug, Perutz and Milstein

1991-94 Postdoc at LMB Cambridge

Old LMB Building

Mike Gait and Mohinder Singh

What I have learnt from my career to date

Science is best progressed by teamwork

Impactful science is cross-disciplinary

Collaboration is essential and fun!

As an academic your legacy is etched in those you have trained and mentored.

How have I put this into practice…………

Build cross-disciplinary teams that have shared responsibility for success and that have a sense of belonging.

Place career mentorship at the heart of our scientific endeavour.

Recognise and reward for their contributions irrespectiveof their rank and seniority.

Create opportunities and enable aspiration, make everyone feel there is no glass ceiling.

+ 10 PhD students+ 2 postdocs (increasing soon to 6)

A Model for Team-Science and Technical Career Training

Laura Sabater

Part-time PhD in Epigenetics and Bioinformatics

Part-time PhD in cardiac fibrosis in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

2018 – completed his PhD in fibrosis imaging (now a technical facilities manager)

Technical Career Training Towards Doctorates

Part-time PhD in cellular senescence

A University Business Built on Technical Expertise

GSKMedimmuneUCBMissionEnfleofenNuformix

And many others!

£1M+ Turnover in 18 months

Became a spinout in 2019.

An exemplar case of how technical staff can be developed

Hannah Paish Research Technician in the NFRG since 2016

NFRG Scientist of the Year in 2018

Author on 4 publications, 3 as 1st author.

Share holder in FibroFind

Started a part-time PhD this year on her own independent research

Generated new IP which will be filed for patenting in 2019

Attending a major scientific conference in Canada in 2019

As Dean of Research and Innovation in FMS I am committed to improving technical careers in team science.

Data scientist

Statistician

Technologist

Engineer

Administrator

Clinical scientist

Project manager

The increasing reality of how science really works

Theoretician

Innovator

Translator

Entrepreneurialscientist

Senior academic

Lecturer/Fellow

PDRAs

Technicians

BUT: Recognition and reward is not reflecting the reality

80% of all postdocs hope to pursue an academic career but only 10% remain in academia

80% of all postdocs hope to pursue an academic career but only 10% remain in academia

Technical staff are not sufficiently rewarded or recognized for their skills, dedication and impact.

Creates false impressions:

Science progressing through the work of the lone genius

The eureka moment painted as everything!

Fails to recognize/reward efforts of others:

Postdocs, students, technicians, support staff working for decades to deliver the “vision”.

Women represent just 3% of Nobel prize winners in the sciences

Big awards in science do not help

Improve authorship recognition

CRediT(Contributor

roles taxonomy)

FundersMechanisms to fund team-scientistsResearcher co-investigator stausEnabling ”career porosity”Training in team science

EmployersParity of esteem between technical and academic career structures, rightup to level of professor.Recognising skills specialists”The Glasgow Model”

Publishers

A proposed career framework for technologists

Closing thoughts……….

The increasing complexity and cross-disciplinary nature of research demands Team Science.

Team Science will deliver optimally when ALL team members enjoy parity of esteem and equal opportunities for training, career progression and recognition and reward for their contributions.

Technical scientists are the foundation of research enterprise and its success in universities.

Opportunity and Recognition are key to wellbeing in a scientific career and must be embedded in technical career pathways.

EDI principles should be at the core of Team Science and encourage career flexibility and diversity of career pathways

If you achieve success, be a good role model and care for the aspirations of your colleagues.

Opportunity nourishes careers, closed doors starve them.- Derek A Mann