Accreditation Working Group

Members of the Accreditation Working Group

 Dr Liz Lakin (Chair)

 Dr Aileen Allsop

 Karen Booth

 Prof. David Coates

 Dr Mark Downs

 Prof. Stuart Ferguson

 Dr David Griffiths-Johnson

 Prof. Janey Henderson

 Prof. Simon van Heyningen

 Sarah Jones

 Rachel Lambert-Forsyth

 Natasha Neill

 Dr David McAllister

 Prof. Richard Reece

 Dr Eva Sharpe

AWG member biographies

Dr Liz Lakin FSB (Chair)

Liz Lakin is Lecturer in the Biological Sciences at the University of Dundee, with specific responsibility for Schools' Support and associated outreach work both nationally and internationally. In her current role she teaches on the environmental and whole organism components of the undergraduate programmes. Having worked for many years in Initial Teacher Education her teaching experience spans all levels of science education from primary and secondary to post-compulsory at both further and higher education levels. She is also involved with developing and delivering CPD for national and international teachers of science/biology. Liz has worked extensively over the years as an external examiner at a range of Higher Education Institutions on both primary and secondary Initial Teacher Education Courses. Her research interests focus on teaching and learning in the Biological and Environmental Sciences and areas of pedagogic expertise include developing and enhancing independent learning; she has several professional and academic publications within this area to her name. Liz is a Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the Society of Biology. She is a committee member of the Society’s Scottish Branch and chairs the Accreditation Working Group.  Liz currently remains acting Chair of the Lakeland area Association for Science Education.

Dr Aileen Allsop FSB

Aileen recently retired as Vice President for Science Policy, R&D, AstraZeneca. She studied Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in London, and joined Beecham Pharmaceuticals in 1981, immediately after completing her doctorate. Since then she has worked for over 25 years in the pharmaceutical industry, initially in drug discovery, latterly in drug development and most recently in Science Policy, where she led the team on behalf of AZ R&D. Her technical background is infectious disease, in which field she has led programmes in research biology, disease strategy and development projects. In her policy role she led a global team focused on integration between private sector research and skills with the wider scientific community, the UK being a major part of that agenda. Aileen's experience on the interface between government, the private sector, medical charities and the universities is wide ranging from bioethics, such as the use of animals or stem cells in research, through to working to improve the UK Science Base.

Prof. David Coates FSB

David is the Dean of the School of Life Sciences Learning and Teaching, College of Life Sciences, University of Dundee. He is currently also chair of HUBS (Heads of University Biological Sciences). With a degree in genetics from Leeds, he studied the molecular genetics of heritable traits in Linum spp. (John Innes Institute). After work on the transcriptional regulation of oncogenes in Crown Gall (Purdue University, Indiana), he moved to Oxford as a Demonstrator in Genetics, and began a long period of work in the risk assessment of genetically modified crop plants (virus resistance), in collaboration with the Institute of Virology (as was) and the Plant Health Group of the Central Science Laboratory, which continued after moving back to Leeds in 1989. These plant virology studies were complemented with collaborative work on the metalloproteases of the two early key metazoan genomes, the ‘worm’ Caenorhabditis elegans and the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. These studies lead to a year working in Paris with Pr Corvol at the College de France, looking at the evolutionary history of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme, and involvement in the annotation of the D.melanogaster genome at Celera Genomics.

Becoming Head of the School of Biology in Leeds changed his focus from personal research to academic leadership. Four years later he moved to Bradford as Dean, and then moved to Dundee in 2009, where he is engaged in rewriting the basic tenets of a Life Sciences degree. David also works with Diabetes UK, the major national charity for those who live and work with diabetes, and is currently chair of the Governance Committee.

Dr Mark Downs FSB

Mark is Chief Executive of the Society of Biology. He joined the Society from the major charity for hearing health and deafness, RNID, where he was the Executive Director for Science and Enterprise (2004-2009). Mark joined RNID after spending three years as the UK’s lead policy official for negotiating and implementing a range of far reaching, EU driven, business related environmental legislation at the Department of Trade and Industry. He previously spent five years at the British Embassy in Tokyo as First Secretary (Trade Policy) with responsibility for all UK-Japan bilateral and multilateral trade relations. He focused, in particular, on the medical, environmental, telecommunications and legal services markets.

Earlier in his career, Mark managed and undertook biosensor research, managed Government LINK programmes and worked on innovation and S&T policy. He was responsible for setting up the Government’s Faraday Partnership Programme and worked on the 1993 Science & Technology White Paper. He has a PhD from Cranfield University where he worked on the development of DNA sensors for rapid gene identification and a BSc in Biotechnology from the University of London.

Prof. Simon van Heyningen FSB

Simon van Heyningen is a biochemist who graduated from Cambridge (MA and PhD), worked for a few years at Northwestern University in Illinois and at Oxford University and then moved in 1974 to Edinburgh University where he remained until his retirement in 2009.   His research, which started in protein chemistry but became more cellular as time went on, was on the mechanism of action of bacterial toxins, particularly cholera, tetanus, and whooping cough.  In the 1990s, he was appointed Director of the University’s Biology Teaching Organisation, and most his work since then has been in learning and teaching: as Vice-Provost of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, and then as the University’s Director of Quality Enhancement and Vice-Principal and Professor of Learning and Teaching. 

His particular interest in the area was assessment and he chaired two Scottish Enhancement themes in that area, and took part in visits and discussions throughout the UK and elsewhere.  He has also conducted reviews and audits in the UK and in many other countries including South Africa and the campuses of the University of the West Indies. This kind of work has continued in his retirement.

Sarah Jones

Sarah has a joint honours degree in chemistry and biochemistry. She worked in the area of drug research and development within GlaxoSmithKline for ten years before qualifying as secondary science teacher specialising in chemistry.

She is currently the Education and Skills Manager for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry with responsibilities for industry-academic links, education and careers.

Rachel Lambert-Forsyth CBiol MSB

Rachel is Head of Education at the Society of Biology covering all aspects of the Society’s work ranging from primary through to postgraduate. Rachel leads for the Society within SCORE (Science Community Representing Education). She graduated from Plymouth University with a BSc in Marine Biology and Coastal Ecology during which time she completed a dissertation on 'The effect of different feeding regimes on the mortality rate of juvenile seahorses (Hippocampus reidi)' in partnership with the National Marine Aquarium. She went on to complete an MSc in Sustainable Environmental Management which included a placement with Devon County Council Environment Directorate, during which time she reviewed and rewrote their Marine Role and Action Plan for 2008-2011. She is a Chartered Biologist and is interested in promoting the biological sciences as a career choice for all and ensuring that biology qualifications are engaging from cradle to grave.

Natasha Neill

Natasha is the Qualification and Skills Officer at the Society of Biology, focussing on supporting the Accreditation Working Group through the pilot and launch of the Accreditation Programme. Natasha graduated in 2010 from University of York with a BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry and has worked in an international law firm, aiding with event planning and administration. Her research project whilst at York was a novel investigation into the plausible antimicrobial properties of separated hop extracts for use in cosmetic formulations.

Prof. Richard Reece FSB

Richard is currently Professor of Molecular Biology at The University of Manchester, and is also the Associate Vice-President for Teaching, Learning and Students. He studied Biochemistry at The University of Leeds and did his PhD work, studying the mechanism of action of DNA topoisomerases, at the University of Leicester. Upon completion of his PhD, he spent five years undertaking post-doctoral work at Harvard University, before returning to the UK as a Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and then Professor at The University of Manchester. His research interests focus on the molecular mechanisms by which cells are able to alter their patterns of gene expression in response to metabolic changes in the environment. This work has involved a mixture of molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics and structural biology. Richard is deeply committed to raising the standards of teaching quality across higher education and to promoting the public understanding of science. He regularly gives talks, both in the UK and across the world, to school-aged science students and participates in numerous Café Scientifique-type public science events.

Dr Eva Sharpe MSB

Eva is the Higher Education Policy Officer at the Society of Biology and leads on many of the Higher Education projects for the Society, including HE Policy and careers as well as acting as Secretariat to the Society's HE Special Interest Group, the Heads of University Biosciences and sitting on the Accreditation Working Group.  Eva joined the Society in 2010, first interning in the Science Policy Department before moving to the Education Department. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a degree in Pharmacology in 2005, followed by an MRes in Integrative Biomedical Sciences at Imperial College London and a PhD in Biochemistry at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre.

Several AWG members at the Accreditation Awards Ceremony