The Research Conference was our biggest yet – attended by 184 delegates consisting of staff, Trustees, Fellows, representatives from host and sponsor organisations, Vice Chancellors, media and other individuals active within the Higher Education and research sectors. We were delighted that Sir Mark Walport, Dame Mary Archer and Stephen Metcalfe MP were in attendance.

The Conference was made possible from a very generous donation from the estate of Nadia Slow which formed the majority of the sponsorship for the Research Conference. Further sponsorship was received from the Nutrition Society, the Royal Society of Chemistry and the British Pharmacological Society.

Julie Maxton from the Royal Society and Teresa Anderson, Chair of Trustees at the Trust, opened the Conference, followed by Jim Al-Khalili who hosted an ‘In conversation’ segment with a panel of supporters of the Trust including David McAllister from BBSRC, Pia Ostergaard and Helen Marsh, both from the Trust. Athene Donald, a patron of the Trust, ended the day with her inspiring closing remarks.

Delegates heard from eight Fellows who gave oral presentations in the morning and afternoon sessions, chaired by Trustees, Professor Edith Sim and Professor Ted Smith. Over the lunch break, delegates had the opportunity to network with Fellows whilst viewing research posters from 43 Fellows.

Prizes were awarded to Fellows for their work including Dominique Meunier as the overall winner for best oral presentation, Anne Jay as the overall winner for best poster presentation, Patricia Grasa Molina as highly commended for best poster presentation and Clare Lawson as highly commended for best poster presentation.

In a new feature for this Conference, the audience watched six former Daphne Jackson Fellows give inspiring and heartfelt Five-minute Fellowship presentations outlining what their Daphne Jackson Trust Fellowship had meant to them over their career and lifetime. The audience voted for the winner Carolyn Carr.

For the first time, the Trust additionally ran a pre-conference event for Fellows on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st November, also at the Royal Society. This included a promotion on the benefits of learned society/professional institution membership as well as a Networking Skills workshop.

The Trust received very positive feedback overall from delegates with 83 per cent rating the Conference as ‘excellent’ and 90 per cent would recommend the event to friends and colleagues.

Photographs were taken on the day, which can be view in our Facebook album on the Trust’s page. We also shared information and photos using the hashtag #DJTRC2017 from @DaphneJacksonTr.

The next Daphne Jackson Trust Research Conference will take place in the autumn in 2019, so please do watch this space!