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The Forest of Biologists – an interview with Professor Steven Kelly

24 July 2023
Steven Kelly under an umbrella with trees in the background

The Forest of Biologists was launched on 13 March 2023. We recently caught up with Steven Kelly, Professor of Plant Sciences at the University of Oxford and former Editor-in-Chief of Biology Open, who planted the seed for this project several years ago.

Continuing our commitment to the Global South

15 March 2023

Map of the world with Global South countries highlighted in red

As we open applications for 2025 Workshop proposals, we are delighted to announce that one of these Workshops will again be reserved for organisers based in a Global South (GS) country*. This initiative was launched in last year’s application round and is part of our commitment to diversifying our Workshop programme so that we can support a wider selection of research communities around the world.

Become a correspondent for our community sites

3 October 2022

Enthusiastic about science communication and looking for a chance to broaden your writing experience? The Node and FocalPlane are looking to appoint six correspondents who will volunteer to develop and write content for our community sites over the coming year.

Meet our Directors: Sally Lowell

Head shot of Sally Lowel

22 August 2022

Sally Lowell is a developmental and stem cell biologist at the University of Edinburgh, UK. “My group is interested in how cells build embryos and tissues, and how we can control the behaviour of these cells in culture,” she explained. She is particularly interested in the local ‘conversations’ that cells have when communicating with their neighbours, and how these local interactions can affect their fate within the developing embryo. Sally’s lab is developing tools to ‘listen in’ on the communications between cells. They are also investigating how differences in cell adhesion and tissue morphology can affect this communication.

Meet our Directors: Holly Shiels

Head shot of Holly Shiels

29 July 2022

Holly Shiels is based at the University of Manchester, UK, where her lab investigates the interplay between environment and cardiac physiology. They are currently working on the tolerance of fishes to hypoxia and to changes in temperature, as well as the effects of microplastics and crude oil on cardiac health. This latter research area also relates to broader concerns about air pollution, since crude oil contains polyaromatic hydrocarbons, which are the same molecules that form a ‘corona’ around particulate matter in the air we breathe.

Join us on biologists.social

29 June 2023

Banner showing a compilation of biological images and the words Supporting biologists, inspiring biology

The Company of Biologists has launched a new server on Mastodon: biologists.social. It is a space for biologists to discuss science, research, teaching, life and more.

Extending our Open Access initiatives to China

17 January 2023

“It is important for more people to have access to others’ research results. This benefits the entire community.” Professor Wei Xie, Tsinghua University.

The Company of Biologists has had a long-standing commitment to Open Access (OA) as we believe it benefits science. Why? Because publishing articles immediately OA enables scientists in all parts of the world to read, share and re-use the latest research in our peer-reviewed journals.

Meet our Directors: Peter Rigby

 

Head shot of Peter Rigby

30 September 2022

Peter Rigby is Professor Emeritus of Developmental Biology at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, an organisation that he led from 1999 to 2011. Peter began his career as a biochemist, and completed his PhD with Brian Hartley in Cambridge, where he studied enzyme evolution. He then moved to Stanford to work with Paul Berg, focusing his postdoctoral research on SV40, a virus that can transform its host into a tumour cell. “It was clear to myself and my peers that it was time to stop working on E. coli and to start working on eukaryotic cells,” Peter said, “and the only way to get inside the workings of a eukaryotic cell was by using viruses.”

Meet our Directors: Stephen Royle

Head shot of Stephen Royle

10 August 2022

Steve Royle is based at the Centre for Mechanochemical Cell Biology, Warwick Medical School, where his team is investigating the molecular mechanisms that underpin two important cellular processes: membrane trafficking and mitosis. “We’re interested in the nuts and bolts of how these key processes work,” Steve explained.

A return to in-person internships

Two people standing in front of a presentation screen

6 July 2022

Emily Simmons, our first intern able to work in the office since the start of the pandemic, recounts her experience.

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