SUSTAIN - women in research

We are delighted to announce the 24 SUSTAIN participants starting their year-long programme on Monday 6 June 2022. As in previous rounds, applicants were chosen randomly and stratified by location and funder. All applicants are grant awardees funded by the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Medical Research Council, the Royal Society or the Royal Academy of Engineering. The programme will provide the participants with a range of innovative training and support opportunities to develop and refine their leadership and career potential. 

SUSTAIN round 6 participants: 

Dr Anette Allen, Research Fellow, University of Manchester 

Dr Anna Barnard, Sir Henry Dale Research Fellow, Imperial College London 

Dr Michelle Buckner, Assistant Professor of Antimicrobial Resistance, University of Birmingham 

Dr Hayriye Cagnan, Associate Professor, University of Oxford 

Dr Jeongmin Choi, Royal Society University Research Fellow, University of Cambridge 

Dr Kirsten Christensen-Jeffries, MRC Research Fellow, King’s College London 

Dr Hannah Durrington, MRC Clinician Scientist, University of Manchester  Honorary Consultant Physician, Wythenshawe Hospital 

Dr Taya Forde, Lecturer, University of Glasgow 

Dr Toshana Foster, Assistant Professor in Molecular Virology, University of Nottingham 

Dr Jennifer Greaves, Assistant Professor, Coventry University 

Dr Betina Ip, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow, University of Oxford 

Dr Rand Ismaeel, RAEng Fellow, University of Southampton 

Dr Georgia Isom, MRC Career Development Award Fellow, University of Oxford 

Dr Katrina Lythgoe, Group Leader and Sir Henry Dale Fellow, University of Oxford 

Dr Verity McClelland, MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow, King’s College London 

Dr Jo Morling, MRC Clinician Scientist, Clinical Associate Professor in Public Health, University of Nottingham 

Dr Jill O’Reilly, Associate Professor, University of Oxford 

Dr Jacinta O’Shea, Associate Professor, University of Oxford 

Dr Ruth Payne, Clinical Lecturer, University of Sheffield 

Dr Rathi Prasad, Consultant in Paediatric Endocrinology and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London 

Dr Melanie Roffet-Salque, Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow and Proleptic Lecturer in Environmental Chemistry, University of Bristol 

Dr Danielle Whittaker, Post-doctoral researcher/Specialist in Veterinary Neurology, King’s College London 

Dr Abby Wilson, RAEng research fellow, University College London 

Dr Kali Wilson, Royal Society University Research Fellow/University of Strathclyde Chancellor's Fellow, University of Strathclyde 

The year-long programme offers interactive skills training and career development sessions, tailored mentoring and the opportunity to network with research leaders. It is designed so that participants are part of a unique cohort to share learnings and includes:

• Interactive career development workshops

The sixth round of SUSTAIN is planned to launch with a 2 day, 1 night in-person residential in June. This decision will be reviewed closer to the time and will take into account any challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation. Subsequent workshops are likely to be a mixture of in-person, virtual, and hybrid events.

The residential and subsequent workshops will be tailored to support attendees through the challenges of combining research, teaching, clinical practice and caring and other responsibilities where relevant. Previous sessions have included topics on:

• Time management
  • Negotiation
  • Setting up a research team for success
  • Developing your leadership style

• A peer support network 

The cohort is small by design and are matched in co-coaching trios to enable ongoing peer support and safe discussion of issues/challenges. Small group work at each workshop helps to embed and put into practice key learning points.

• One-to-one mentoring

Participants are mentored by a Fellow of the Academy. Bespoke training on how to get the most out of mentoring, and ongoing support is provided to both mentees and mentors over the course of the programme.

SUSTAIN supports 24 women for a period of one year. Only award holders from the following partner organisations are eligible.

Medical Research Council 

• Career Development Award
• Clinician Scientist Fellowship
• New Investigator Research Grant (NIRGs)
• Clinical Academic Partnership Grants
• MRC Investigators (Programme Leader Track only)

Royal Society

• Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship
• Sir Henry Dale Fellowship
• University Research Fellowship

Academy of Medical Sciences

• Academy of Medical Sciences/The Health Foundation Clinician Scientist Fellowship
• Springboard Award
• Starter Grant Award for Clinical Lecturers

Royal Academy of Engineering   

• Research Fellow
• Engineering for Development Research Fellows

In February 2022, we published the findings of an independent evaluation of the SUSTAIN programme, which looked at the lasting impact the programme has had since it first started in 2015. SUSTAIN was found to be strikingly successful, with over 90% of evaluation participants saying the programme was helping them thrive as independent researchers. You can find visual highlights of this report here: 

We also work to support individuals and organisations who are developing their own programmes similar to SUSTAIN. If you are looking to develop your own programme, you can explore our new toolkit here.   

Read case studies of SUSTAIN participants here.

“SUSTAIN is the first programme that is tailored specifically towards women at the beginning stages of their independent careers. By integrating a range of approaches, SUSTAIN enables new PIs to develop their own, personal leadership styles needed for their successful progression as scientists.”

Professor Eva Hoffman, SUSTAIN reference group

“Trying to build a career, deliver high quality science and raise a family can seem daunting. But you are not alone and many of the challenges faced by women in research are shared. SUSTAIN offers a structured programme of training and mentorship coupled with the opportunity to learn from and share with people who have walked (or are walking) in your shoes.”

Professor Elizabeth Sapey, SUSTAIN reference group

A number of reports over the past decade have highlighted the relative paucity of women researchers in science securing senior leadership posts in the UK due to barriers and hidden biases[1][2][3]. Although the number is slowly rising, the Academy believes that a more concerted effort is needed to ensure women are appropriately supported along their career trajectory to enable them to secure those senior positions.

Reference group members

• Professor Christine Harrison FMedSci, Professor of Childhood Cancer Cytogenetics, Newcastle University (chair)
• Professor Eva Hoffman, Professor in Molecular Genetics, University of Copenhagen
• Professor Jim Smith FRS FMedSci, Director of Science, Wellcome and Visiting Group Leader, Francis Crick Institute
• Professor Elizabeth Sapey, Director of the Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, University of Birmingham and FLIER round two participant
• Dr Zania Stamataki, Senior Lecturer in Liver Immunology, University of Birmingham and SUSTAIN round one participant