Latest speakers for Future Forum announced as we count down to our key cut-off dates
The latest keynote speakers have been announced for the Minoritised Life Sciences Future Forum conference (MLSFF), which takes place from 31st March to 2nd April 2025 at the ICC Birmingham.
Earlier this month, we announced that the first keynote speakers were Professor Kevin Fenton, Regional Director of the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (London); and Irene Hulede, Education Director for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM).
We are delighted to announce that they will be joined by Professor Louise Owusu-Kwarteng, Mya-Rose Craig and Professor Leanne William.
Professor Louise Owusu-Kwarteng is Professor in Applied Sociology, and Associate Dean for Student Success at the University of Greenwich.
Her research challenges negative narratives around Black academic attainment; ethnicity and identity, and sociological auto/biography. She is currently collaborating with staff and students from the BA Hons Animation programme on an animated auto/biographical exploration of her journey to professorship, entitled ‘Our Kid from the North of the South of the River’ which will be shown at this event.
We are also delighted to announce that we will be joined by Mya-Rose Craig, aka Birdgirl, the founder & President of Black2Nature, which leads the fight for equal access to nature, organising nature camps for ethnically marginalised young people for the last ten years.
She is a 22-year-old British-Bangladeshi birder, conservationist & environmentalist who was included in the 2024 Sunday Times list of 25 most influential young people, having previously been the youngest person awarded an honorary Doctorate at age 17 for her pioneering work with her charity Black2Nature,
She was the Minister for Diversity in Nature and Conservation in Chris Packham's People’s Manifesto for Wildlife and spoke at his People’s Walk for Wildlife; carried out the most northerly climate strike, in the Arctic with Greenpeace, making front-page news worldwide; and campaigns tirelessly for free access to nature, biodiversity loss and global climate justice.
Finally, we are delighted to welcome Professor Leanne William of the University of Warwick, and Academic Lead, LearnSci.
Prior to working in HE Leanne gained extensive experience in technical and research supporting roles, working on both the C.elegans and Human genome project at the Sanger institute, shortly followed by a senior research assistant position in University of Cambridge Biochemistry department.
In 2012 she joined the University of Warwick as a Teaching Fellow. Her experience in FE, and a focus on identifying and minimising transitional barriers, provided a framework for institutional recognition, winning the Warwick award for teaching excellence. As Senior Tutor and Director of student wellbeing, Leanne effected cultural change in placing student wellbeing and representation at the front and centre of curriculum development, provision and support, and was recognised with the Warwick award for Personal Tutor Excellence. MLSFF offers a fantastic opportunity to connect with students, early-career professionals, industry, and academics from diverse backgrounds, joining a vibrant community of collaboration, empowerment, and innovation.
It offers a mentorship scheme, volunteering opportunities, workshops and networking, as well as inspiring speakers and the chance to meet industry professionals and university representatives offering career advice, mentorship, and recruitment.
Contributions are welcome from all life science fields, including engineering and data science
The call for abstracts has been extended to March 3, but the deadline for requests for Travel Bursaries and Registration Fees Grants is Feb 28. The cut-off date for applying to be a mentee is Feb 28, which is also the deadline for booking exhibition stands and tables. The sponsorship cut-off date is March 1.
For more details, visit the conference website.