As 2015 draws to a close, we are reflecting on what a busy and interesting year it’s been.

We awarded 26 new Fellowships in 2015. Since Professor Daphne Jackson first set up the scheme in 1986, 307 awards have been granted to date. Eight new Fellowships were awarded recently – congratulations to our new Fellows, and thanks to your hosts and sponsors.

Our newest Fellows are:

• Dr Yoanna Ariosa at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford, co-sponsored by The Kennedy Trust and Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, University of Oxford.
• Dr Aisha Baba-Dikwa at The University of Manchester, sponsored by BBSRC.
• Dr Lucy Bates, hosted and sponsored by the University of Sussex.
• Dr Zoe Gardner at The University of Nottingham, co-sponsored by The University of Nottingham and EPSRC.
• Dr Yogita Patil-Sen at the University of Central Lancashire, co-sponsored by the University of Central Lancashire and the Royal Society of Chemistry.
• Dr Latha Vellaniparambil at The University of Manchester, co-sponsored by NERC and BBSRC.
• Dr Louise Vickers, hosted and sponsored by Sheffield Hallam University.
• Mr Anthony Wynne at Plymouth University, sponsored by BBSRC.

The third Daphne Jackson Research Conference was held at the Wellcome Collection in October, attended by current and former Fellows, Trustees, sponsors, donors, and supporters. We had a lively panel discussion on maximising the potential of returners and showcased talks and posters from our talented Fellows. The abstracts programme has details of the wide variety of talks and poster presentations from current and recent former Fellows.

We published an infographic and a report, ‘Leading the way for returners: a survey of former Daphne Jackson Fellows’, of our most comprehensive survey to date. We were delighted with the overwhelmingly positive results about how the Daphne Jackson Fellowship affected Fellows careers.

Many thanks to our many sponsors and hosts, our Trustees and Awards Assessment Panel, current and former Fellows, and all our supporters during this productive year!

We currently have sponsored Fellowship opportunities at the University of Oxford and we are looking for a new Communications Manager to join our team, please get in touch if you would like to know more. The deadline for applying is Friday the 8th of January.

You can find out more about the Trust’s staff team and the hours we work – there is always someone available during office hours to answer your query, so please do get in touch by phone or email. We can also be contacted via Twitter (@DaphneJacksonTr), Facebook and LinkedIn.

Please note, the Daphne Jackson Trust office will be closed from midday on 24th December 2015 – 4th January 2016.