Dr Laura Vickersappointed as a temporary lecturer of plant biology in the School of Biosciences will be taking her teaching expertise to Harper Adams University next month, as she embarks on a lectureship in Crop Production and Agronomy. It is a particularly exciting time for Dr Vickers she was also successful in being awarded a 0.4 FTE NERC Directed Knowledge Exchange Fellowship in the area of Horticulture last month.

Dr Laura Vickers

The Fellowship aims to facilitate collaboration between research and industry, as well as disseminate research outputs in a form that is accessible to business.  Dr Vickers said, “the fellowship is something that industry has been crying out for, there is a real need to translate research outputs so that they can directly benefit business. This is a great opportunity for us to identify the challenges and gaps in our knowledge in horticulture so that we can prioritise future research questions.” 

Dr Laura Vickers "The School of Biosciences is a place you develop in and take away with you"

Dr Vickers will be leaving the School of Biosciences at the end of next month, but is adamant that she will still be part of the School’s community. “There is still a lot to do in Biosciences, there are research collaborations to continue, and even pilot schemes to test out. Both I and Dr Pritchardhave been awarded an educational enhancement grant by the Centre for Learning and Academic Development in the last few weeks, so I will still be involved in the steering committee for that. The School of Biosciences is not a place you leave, but a place you develop in and take away with you.”