Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Kent
Department Name: Sch of Physical Sciences
Abstract
Since humans first discovered that plants and biological extracts could be used to treat ailments, many thousands of assorted therapies have been developed to treat illness and disease. In modern times these therapies include, but are not limited to, small molecule synthetic compounds, large biological proteins, and peptides. Developing new drugs and therapies is expensive, and takes a long time. Decisions about which drugs should be developed for clinical use are often made about market value and potential profit as companies seek to recoup their investment.
Over time, a considerable number of these therapies have become disused. One reason for this is due to cellular resistance, that is, the biological system that a therapy targets evolves and becomes resistant to treatment. Increasing resistance to antimicrobials, antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs is predicted to cause a global health crisis, that will return us to a medical dark-age.
In 2010 the economic impact of cancer was found be $1.16 trillion (1.5% of GDP). Cancer is difficult to treat because normal healthy cells and cancerous tumour cells are similar. This, combined with increasing anti-cancer drug resistance and the high cost of effective treatments, means that global mortality figures are only set to rise from estimated deaths of 9.6 million in 2018.
The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria has been well advertised, however what is not so widely known is that AMR has now been identified to every antimicrobial currently marketed. By 2050 it is estimated that 10 million people per year will die from AMR diseases.
I will address this global health crisis by working to reactivate drugs that have already been approved for use but have been discarded. I will produce a technology that will revitalise currently approved medical therapies by increasing their efficacy, while simultaneously developing novel drug candidates.
To achieve this, I have invented a novel class of molecules that can stick selectively to the surface of specific types of target cell (such as cancer or bacteria). This 'sticking' process produces molecular gateways into the target cell which either result in cell death or enable drugs to pass effectively from the outside to the inside of the cell, increasing permeability of a drug towards the target cell.
This type of work is interdisciplinary, and therefore requires a team that are able to work at the interface of chemistry, biology, pharmacy and social science. Additionally, I want to find out how a team like this can be supported to create and make discoveries, and how it can work effectively.
Although currently targeted to produce novel therapeutic weapons in the fight against AMR and cancer, the development of this technology has the potential to regenerate and increase the activity for a much wider range of currently approved but disused medical therapies. It may also make drugs effective for treating a wider variety of diseases or infections where entry into the cell is the limiting factor, increasing the number and scope of illnesses that can be treated by the same drug. Therefore, this molecular innovation represents an attractive alternative to the high costs and long-timeframes associated with the conventional identification and development of a single novel drug.
Over time, a considerable number of these therapies have become disused. One reason for this is due to cellular resistance, that is, the biological system that a therapy targets evolves and becomes resistant to treatment. Increasing resistance to antimicrobials, antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs is predicted to cause a global health crisis, that will return us to a medical dark-age.
In 2010 the economic impact of cancer was found be $1.16 trillion (1.5% of GDP). Cancer is difficult to treat because normal healthy cells and cancerous tumour cells are similar. This, combined with increasing anti-cancer drug resistance and the high cost of effective treatments, means that global mortality figures are only set to rise from estimated deaths of 9.6 million in 2018.
The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in bacteria has been well advertised, however what is not so widely known is that AMR has now been identified to every antimicrobial currently marketed. By 2050 it is estimated that 10 million people per year will die from AMR diseases.
I will address this global health crisis by working to reactivate drugs that have already been approved for use but have been discarded. I will produce a technology that will revitalise currently approved medical therapies by increasing their efficacy, while simultaneously developing novel drug candidates.
To achieve this, I have invented a novel class of molecules that can stick selectively to the surface of specific types of target cell (such as cancer or bacteria). This 'sticking' process produces molecular gateways into the target cell which either result in cell death or enable drugs to pass effectively from the outside to the inside of the cell, increasing permeability of a drug towards the target cell.
This type of work is interdisciplinary, and therefore requires a team that are able to work at the interface of chemistry, biology, pharmacy and social science. Additionally, I want to find out how a team like this can be supported to create and make discoveries, and how it can work effectively.
Although currently targeted to produce novel therapeutic weapons in the fight against AMR and cancer, the development of this technology has the potential to regenerate and increase the activity for a much wider range of currently approved but disused medical therapies. It may also make drugs effective for treating a wider variety of diseases or infections where entry into the cell is the limiting factor, increasing the number and scope of illnesses that can be treated by the same drug. Therefore, this molecular innovation represents an attractive alternative to the high costs and long-timeframes associated with the conventional identification and development of a single novel drug.
Planned Impact
Results from this study will feed directly into wider associated innovation development projects and be incorporated into quarterly development team meetings, generating instantaneous impact through informing the wider project portfolios of Co-I's and Project Partners.
SSA technology will result in the creation of novel methods towards the treatment of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria and cancer. Although drugs have been developed to treat both antimicrobial infections and cancer the dramatic increase in cellular resistance to these drugs means that many are becoming disused. In 2010 the economic impact of cancer was to decrease global Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) by $1.16 trillion (1.5% of GDP). Global mortality figures and the associated economic impacts are only set to rise from estimated deaths of 9.6 million in 2018. Similarly, by 2050 it is estimated that 10 million people per year will die from AMR diseases. Including secondary effects of AMR this is predicted to decrease GDP by $210 trillion over the next 35 years.
These infections or diseases represent the two greatest global threats to human health today and in the future. SSA innovations will simultaneously produce: i) novel therapeutic treatments and; ii) regenerate the activity of currently disused drugs towards cancer cells and AMR bacteria, where cellular permeability represents the barrier to drug efficacy. This novel approach will lower the costs associated with single molecule drug development costs, making SSA technologies affordable when licenced as therapeutic agents either as novel drugs themselves or as co-formulates for currently approved drug therapies.
Short-term impact (1-3 years):
This project provides a unique environment for the training of group members to include post-doctoral, PhD students and the Primary Investigator. This will create a highly trained UK-based people pipe-line, with the unique interdisciplinary skill set necessary to expand on SSA development within an independent academic or industrial setting. Dissemination of the initial results generated from this work at public TEAtime events, aimed at local year 10, 11, 12 and 13 students will inform the next generation of the increasing prevalence of cellular drug resistance and the associated global implications, and inspire them to become part of the solution.
Medium-term impact (4-7 years):
Experience gained from initial in-house SSA development as novel weapons in the fight against AMR and cancer, combined with our approach to open access dissemination of experimental results will self-advertise the effectiveness of this technology. This will enable us to work with the pharmaceutical industry to licence our first SSA technologies and work in partnership with drug developers to enhance the efficacy of newly developed pharmaceutical drugs that would not otherwise be considered for future development. This will result in the first SSA innovations entering clinical trials.
Long-term impact (7+ years):
SSA technologies will be licenced for use in the treatment of AMR bacterial infections and cancer. These treatments will be financially accessible due to the shared product development costs associated with this novel approach to pharmaceutical development. Use of SSAs will lower the global mortality rates associated with these infections and diseases. This will result in a comparative increase in global GDP. The researchers educated and trained during the development of these SSA technologies will make the UK a centre for the development of SSA type therapeutics, with commercial demand producing the need for spin-out companies that will provide jobs for a variety of skilled individuals and support staff.
SSA technology will result in the creation of novel methods towards the treatment of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria and cancer. Although drugs have been developed to treat both antimicrobial infections and cancer the dramatic increase in cellular resistance to these drugs means that many are becoming disused. In 2010 the economic impact of cancer was to decrease global Gross Domestic Profit (GDP) by $1.16 trillion (1.5% of GDP). Global mortality figures and the associated economic impacts are only set to rise from estimated deaths of 9.6 million in 2018. Similarly, by 2050 it is estimated that 10 million people per year will die from AMR diseases. Including secondary effects of AMR this is predicted to decrease GDP by $210 trillion over the next 35 years.
These infections or diseases represent the two greatest global threats to human health today and in the future. SSA innovations will simultaneously produce: i) novel therapeutic treatments and; ii) regenerate the activity of currently disused drugs towards cancer cells and AMR bacteria, where cellular permeability represents the barrier to drug efficacy. This novel approach will lower the costs associated with single molecule drug development costs, making SSA technologies affordable when licenced as therapeutic agents either as novel drugs themselves or as co-formulates for currently approved drug therapies.
Short-term impact (1-3 years):
This project provides a unique environment for the training of group members to include post-doctoral, PhD students and the Primary Investigator. This will create a highly trained UK-based people pipe-line, with the unique interdisciplinary skill set necessary to expand on SSA development within an independent academic or industrial setting. Dissemination of the initial results generated from this work at public TEAtime events, aimed at local year 10, 11, 12 and 13 students will inform the next generation of the increasing prevalence of cellular drug resistance and the associated global implications, and inspire them to become part of the solution.
Medium-term impact (4-7 years):
Experience gained from initial in-house SSA development as novel weapons in the fight against AMR and cancer, combined with our approach to open access dissemination of experimental results will self-advertise the effectiveness of this technology. This will enable us to work with the pharmaceutical industry to licence our first SSA technologies and work in partnership with drug developers to enhance the efficacy of newly developed pharmaceutical drugs that would not otherwise be considered for future development. This will result in the first SSA innovations entering clinical trials.
Long-term impact (7+ years):
SSA technologies will be licenced for use in the treatment of AMR bacterial infections and cancer. These treatments will be financially accessible due to the shared product development costs associated with this novel approach to pharmaceutical development. Use of SSAs will lower the global mortality rates associated with these infections and diseases. This will result in a comparative increase in global GDP. The researchers educated and trained during the development of these SSA technologies will make the UK a centre for the development of SSA type therapeutics, with commercial demand producing the need for spin-out companies that will provide jobs for a variety of skilled individuals and support staff.
Organisations
- University of Kent (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND (Collaboration)
- University of Sydney (Collaboration)
- The Research Network (Collaboration)
- University of Free State, Bloemfontein (Collaboration)
- University of Cagliari (Collaboration)
- EAST KENT HOSPITALS UNIVERSITY NHS FOUNDATION TRUST (Collaboration)
- Kiel University (Collaboration)
- BMG LABTECH (Collaboration)
- Cancer Research UK (Collaboration)
- AstraZeneca (United Kingdom) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW (Collaboration)
- Texas Tech University (Collaboration)
- Domainex (Collaboration)
- University of Mississippi (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF KENT (Collaboration)
- Tulane University (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL (Collaboration)
- University of Bonn (Collaboration)
- BMG Labtechnologies Ltd (Project Partner)
Publications
Boles J
(2022)
Anionic Self-Assembling Supramolecular Enhancers of Antimicrobial Efficacy against Gram-Negative Bacteria
in Advanced Therapeutics
Caltagirone C
(2021)
An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry.
in Angewandte Chemie (International ed. in English)
Pilgrim B
(2022)
MASC 2022: What challenges and opportunities do supramolecular chemists face in coming years?
in Cell Reports Physical Science
Leigh JS
(2022)
Managing research throughout COVID-19: Lived experiences of supramolecular chemists.
in Chem
White LJ
(2021)
Di-anionic self-associating supramolecular amphiphiles (SSAs) as antimicrobial agents against MRSA and Escherichia coli.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Hilton KLF
(2021)
The phospholipid membrane compositions of bacterial cells, cancer cell lines and biological samples from cancer patients.
in Chemical science
Doolan J
(2022)
Advancements in antimicrobial nanoscale materials and self-assembling systems
in Chemical Society Reviews
Williams G
(2021)
Advances in applied supramolecular technologies
in Chemical Society Reviews
Allen N
(2020)
Towards the Prediction of Antimicrobial Efficacy for Hydrogen Bonded, Self-Associating Amphiphiles
in ChemMedChem
| Description | 1. Supramolecular Self-Associating Amphiphile (SSA) technology platform: To date the SSA technology platform has been the focus of research efforts, leading to the filing of four patents to date and generating income from UKRI, charity, industrial and governmental (US and UK) sources. This innovation is supported by >40 international researchers from academia, industry and UK government as well as forming a major part of my present successful Professorial promotions case (2022). To date SSAs have been shown to: • Act as triggerable functional materials: Soft Matter 2016, 12, 4221-4228; CrystEngComm 2016, 18, 7021-7028; Chem. Sci. 2017, 8, 7620-7630; Supramol. Chem. 2018, 30, 42-51; Chem. Eur. J. 2018, 24, 7761-7773 (hot paper). • Act as broad-spectrum antimicrobials: Chem. Commun. 2019, 55, 95-98; J. Mater. Chem. B, 2020,8, 4694-4700; Supramol. Chem. 2020, 33:7, 414-424; ChemMedChem 2020, 15:22, 2193-2205; Chem. Commun., 2021, 57, 11839-11842. • Selectively interact with phospholipid membranes of different compositions: Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 4015-4018; Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 11665-11668; Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 9761-9773. • Support the production of novel assay developments, to study molecular self-association and biological coordination events: Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9557-9560; Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 4015-4018; Org. Biomol. Chem., 2022, 20, 5999-6006. • Increase the efficacy of antibiotic/antiseptic and anticancer agents: RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 9550-9556; Adv. Therap., 2022, 5, 2200024; RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 14213-14217. • Have the potential to/can act as drug delivery vehicles: J. Mater. Chem. B, 2020,8, 4694-4700, Molecules 2020, 25:18, 4126 - Front cover. • Can act as synthetic water-soluble K+ transporters, when working cooperatively with a known anionophor: RSC Advances, 2022, DOI: 10.1039/D2RA05314D. • Exhibit a druggable profile when administered by i.v. in vivo to mice: Chem. Sci., 2022,13, 9761-9773. • Enable the production of novel flow battery electrolytes: Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 11815-11818. • Act as aqueous environmental clean-up agents against (polar) micropollutants: Org. Biomol. Chem., 2022, DOI: 10.1039/d2ob01365g. It is my belief that we currently have line of site to the clinic with this technology that we are currently developing to enable entry into Phase 1 clinical trials. Details are not supplied due to intellectual property constraints. 2. SynBio materials: The newest innovation within the Hiscock lab, enabled through the UKRI FLF as a linked side project, relates to the incorporation of supramolecular chemistry within novel SynBio materials. Here we have collaborated in the production of biologically derived monomeric units, which when polymerised result in the production of a material that is able to both capture and preserve projectiles shot at 1.5 km/s, This innovation is now patented and has already attracted external translational investment from the Ministry of Defence (UK). 3. Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (www.WomenInSupraChem.com): In 2019 I founded the WISC network. My original aim, which has now been full filled, was to provide a space to support the retention, promotion and progression of women within our field, ensuring the greatest talent remained to further the global achievements of supramolecular chemistry at an enhanced rate. These efforts have been enabled through funding I secured through UKRI, Royal Society of Chemistry, Royal Society etc.. 4. The Research Network - www.theresearchnetwork.net: In collaboration with a Pfizer spinout company, my design for an app to enable effective collaboration between all researchers worldwide has now become a reality (The Research Network - www.theresearchnetwork.net).This app is free for all to use and is specifically aimed at industry and early/mid-career academics, removing some of the traditional limitations associated with forming collaborative networks. |
| Exploitation Route | In brief, we hope to produce new therapeutic innovations to be directly used and inspire related innovations in the fields of therapeutic drug design, specifically for the development of anticancer and antimicrobial technologies. We also hope that the area specific WISC frame work can be adopted by other areas of STEM to enhance equability, diversity and inclusion within these areas. |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| URL | https://www.womeninsuprachem.com |
| Description | The outcomes of this project have been used to support the UKHSA open approach antimicrobial development programme. Supporting a novel approach to antimicrobial development. https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2019/06/23/using-open-innovation-and-big-data-in-the-fight-against-antimicrobial-resistance/ |
| First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
| Sector | Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| Impact Types | Cultural |
| Description | Toolkits for developing and sustaining researcher networks |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or improved professional practice |
| URL | https://www.vitae.ac.uk/doing-research/toolkits-developing-sustaining-researcher-networks |
| Description | Consumables funding to support Daphne Jackson Fellowship |
| Amount | £8,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | AstraZeneca |
| Sector | Private |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Expanding Capability and Capacity in High-Throughput Multinuclear NMR Spectroscopy |
| Amount | £476,316 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/W006480/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2021 |
| End | 09/2026 |
| Description | Future Human PhD studentship |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | Inciting cultural change: taking equality, diversity and inclusivity seriously in chemistry |
| Amount | £3,796,678 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Salford |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2026 |
| Description | Inside and Out: Connecting young people to chemistry research |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry interest group funding for WISC - Improving equality and diversity within the field of supramolecular chemistry |
| Amount | £4,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Royal Society of Chemistry |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 01/2024 |
| Description | Novel shock absorbing materials |
| Amount | £273,526 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Defence Science & Technology Laboratory (DSTL) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2023 |
| End | 01/2025 |
| Description | Novel shock absorbing materials |
| Amount | £40,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | Plus Fund PF0012R |
| Amount | £24,991 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 03/2023 |
| Description | Taking a patient-centred approach to the development of next-generation cancer treatments |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | The development and commercialisation of Supramolecular Self-associating Antimicrobials |
| Amount | £80,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | South Coast DTP |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | University Research Consolidator Award |
| Amount | £3,500 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2021 |
| End | 06/2022 |
| Description | VC PhD studentship: The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2020 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | VC PhD studentship: The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against cancer |
| Amount | £70,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2021 |
| End | 09/2024 |
| Description | • Daphne Jackson Fellowship (BBSRC) support Lisa Thompson (2022-2024) - Lead supervisor - "Developing the Chameleonic Capabilities of Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphile (SSA) Nanotechnology for Targeted Drug Delivery" |
| Amount | £50,113 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2022 |
| End | 09/2025 |
| Description | • Research England Participatory Research funding 2021-22 (2022) Co-I - Seed project funding - "Patient involvement scoping exercise for upcoming next generation bladder cancer treatment development" |
| Amount | £1,050 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Department | Research England |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2021 |
| End | 09/2022 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as anticancer agents |
| Organisation | Cancer Research UK |
| Department | CRUK Therapeutic Discovery Laboratories |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The design, synthesis and characterisation of SSAs as anticancer agents and enhancers of anticancer agents. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Understanding clinical need and patient advocacy, producing pre-clinical trials data in include in vivo and in vitro PK/PD work, building a pipe line to enable the SSA innovation to gain line of site to the clinic. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary Funding outcomes (pharmacology, clinical medicine, cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science): • University if Kent funding (2022-2025) PI - PhD studentship - "Taking a patient-centred approach to the development of next-generation cancer treatments" - £70,000. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2021-22) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £30,000 = 0.62 x FTE technician. • John Stotz Donation (2021-2024) Co-PI - "Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as novel enhancers of cancer treatment" - £73,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2020-21) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £33,217 = 0.62 x FTE technician. Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. Dora, N. O.; Blackburn, E.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; White, L. J.; Turner, S. E. G.; Hothersall, J. D.; Askwith, T.; Doolan, J. A.; Mulvihill, D. P.; Garrett,* M. D.; Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs) as nanoscale enhancers of cisplatin anticancer activity, RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 14213 - 14217. (cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science). 2. Hilton, K. L. F.; Manwani, C.; Boles, J. E.; White, L. J.; Ozturk, S.; Garrett, M. D.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; The phospholipid membrane compositions of bacterial cells, cancer cell lines and biological samples from cancer patients, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 13273-13282. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as anticancer agents |
| Organisation | Domainex |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The design, synthesis and characterisation of SSAs as anticancer agents and enhancers of anticancer agents. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Understanding clinical need and patient advocacy, producing pre-clinical trials data in include in vivo and in vitro PK/PD work, building a pipe line to enable the SSA innovation to gain line of site to the clinic. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary Funding outcomes (pharmacology, clinical medicine, cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science): • University if Kent funding (2022-2025) PI - PhD studentship - "Taking a patient-centred approach to the development of next-generation cancer treatments" - £70,000. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2021-22) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £30,000 = 0.62 x FTE technician. • John Stotz Donation (2021-2024) Co-PI - "Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as novel enhancers of cancer treatment" - £73,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2020-21) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £33,217 = 0.62 x FTE technician. Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. Dora, N. O.; Blackburn, E.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; White, L. J.; Turner, S. E. G.; Hothersall, J. D.; Askwith, T.; Doolan, J. A.; Mulvihill, D. P.; Garrett,* M. D.; Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs) as nanoscale enhancers of cisplatin anticancer activity, RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 14213 - 14217. (cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science). 2. Hilton, K. L. F.; Manwani, C.; Boles, J. E.; White, L. J.; Ozturk, S.; Garrett, M. D.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; The phospholipid membrane compositions of bacterial cells, cancer cell lines and biological samples from cancer patients, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 13273-13282. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as anticancer agents |
| Organisation | East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The design, synthesis and characterisation of SSAs as anticancer agents and enhancers of anticancer agents. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Understanding clinical need and patient advocacy, producing pre-clinical trials data in include in vivo and in vitro PK/PD work, building a pipe line to enable the SSA innovation to gain line of site to the clinic. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary Funding outcomes (pharmacology, clinical medicine, cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science): • University if Kent funding (2022-2025) PI - PhD studentship - "Taking a patient-centred approach to the development of next-generation cancer treatments" - £70,000. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2021-22) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £30,000 = 0.62 x FTE technician. • John Stotz Donation (2021-2024) Co-PI - "Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as novel enhancers of cancer treatment" - £73,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2020-21) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £33,217 = 0.62 x FTE technician. Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. Dora, N. O.; Blackburn, E.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; White, L. J.; Turner, S. E. G.; Hothersall, J. D.; Askwith, T.; Doolan, J. A.; Mulvihill, D. P.; Garrett,* M. D.; Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs) as nanoscale enhancers of cisplatin anticancer activity, RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 14213 - 14217. (cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science). 2. Hilton, K. L. F.; Manwani, C.; Boles, J. E.; White, L. J.; Ozturk, S.; Garrett, M. D.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; The phospholipid membrane compositions of bacterial cells, cancer cell lines and biological samples from cancer patients, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 13273-13282. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as anticancer agents |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Department | School of Biosciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The design, synthesis and characterisation of SSAs as anticancer agents and enhancers of anticancer agents. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Understanding clinical need and patient advocacy, producing pre-clinical trials data in include in vivo and in vitro PK/PD work, building a pipe line to enable the SSA innovation to gain line of site to the clinic. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary Funding outcomes (pharmacology, clinical medicine, cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science): • University if Kent funding (2022-2025) PI - PhD studentship - "Taking a patient-centred approach to the development of next-generation cancer treatments" - £70,000. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2021-22) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £30,000 = 0.62 x FTE technician. • John Stotz Donation (2021-2024) Co-PI - "Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as novel enhancers of cancer treatment" - £73,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • EB Hutchinson Charitable Trust (2020-21) Co-I - "Investigating SSAs as a potential new treatment strategy for cancer." £33,217 = 0.62 x FTE technician. Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. Dora, N. O.; Blackburn, E.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; White, L. J.; Turner, S. E. G.; Hothersall, J. D.; Askwith, T.; Doolan, J. A.; Mulvihill, D. P.; Garrett,* M. D.; Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs) as nanoscale enhancers of cisplatin anticancer activity, RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 14213 - 14217. (cancer biology, supramolecular chemistry, materials science). 2. Hilton, K. L. F.; Manwani, C.; Boles, J. E.; White, L. J.; Ozturk, S.; Garrett, M. D.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; The phospholipid membrane compositions of bacterial cells, cancer cell lines and biological samples from cancer patients, Chem. Sci., 2021, 12, 13273-13282. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as antimicrobial agents |
| Organisation | AstraZeneca |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | Innovation and physicochemical characterisation of novel antimicrobial technologies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Direct and indirect support of J. Hiscock's SSA technology as antimicrobial agents and enhancers of current antimicrobial technologies. |
| Impact | Grant Funding (microbiology/chemistry/materials science): • Internal faculty funding (2021-2024) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • Internal faculty funding (2020-2023) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • GCDC postdoctoral and travel funding (2020) PI - "Tackling the greatest threat to human health in South Africa - Antimicrobial (Antibiotic) Resistance (AMR) in bacteria." - £34,000 Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Clifford, M.; Patenall, B.; Hilton, K. L. F.; Ng, K. K. L.; Ellaby, R. J.; Hind, C. K.*; Mulvihill, D. P.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; Di-anionic self-associating supramolecular amphiphiles (SSAs) as antimicrobial agents against MRSA and Escherichia coli Chem. Commun., 2021, 57, 11839 - 11842. 2. Boles, J. E.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J. and Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as enhancers of antimicrobial agents towards Escherichia coli (E. coli), RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 9550 - 9556. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) 3. Allen, N.; White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; Chu, D. F.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J.; Ng, K. K. L.; Blackholly, L. R.; Wilson, B.; Mulvihill*, D. P; Hiscock*, J. R.; Towards the prediction of antimicrobial efficacy for hydrogen bonded, self-associating amphiphiles ChemMedChem 2020, 15:22, 2193-2205. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) Patents filed: European Patent Application No. 18743767.8, filed September 8, 2020; U.S. Patent Application No. 16/632,194, filed January 17, 2020; International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/EP2018/069568, filed July 18, 2018; and United Kingdom Patent Application No. 1711555.1, filed July 18, 2017. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as antimicrobial agents |
| Organisation | Public Health England |
| Department | Public Health England Porton Down |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Innovation and physicochemical characterisation of novel antimicrobial technologies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Direct and indirect support of J. Hiscock's SSA technology as antimicrobial agents and enhancers of current antimicrobial technologies. |
| Impact | Grant Funding (microbiology/chemistry/materials science): • Internal faculty funding (2021-2024) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • Internal faculty funding (2020-2023) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • GCDC postdoctoral and travel funding (2020) PI - "Tackling the greatest threat to human health in South Africa - Antimicrobial (Antibiotic) Resistance (AMR) in bacteria." - £34,000 Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Clifford, M.; Patenall, B.; Hilton, K. L. F.; Ng, K. K. L.; Ellaby, R. J.; Hind, C. K.*; Mulvihill, D. P.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; Di-anionic self-associating supramolecular amphiphiles (SSAs) as antimicrobial agents against MRSA and Escherichia coli Chem. Commun., 2021, 57, 11839 - 11842. 2. Boles, J. E.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J. and Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as enhancers of antimicrobial agents towards Escherichia coli (E. coli), RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 9550 - 9556. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) 3. Allen, N.; White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; Chu, D. F.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J.; Ng, K. K. L.; Blackholly, L. R.; Wilson, B.; Mulvihill*, D. P; Hiscock*, J. R.; Towards the prediction of antimicrobial efficacy for hydrogen bonded, self-associating amphiphiles ChemMedChem 2020, 15:22, 2193-2205. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) Patents filed: European Patent Application No. 18743767.8, filed September 8, 2020; U.S. Patent Application No. 16/632,194, filed January 17, 2020; International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/EP2018/069568, filed July 18, 2018; and United Kingdom Patent Application No. 1711555.1, filed July 18, 2017. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as antimicrobial agents |
| Organisation | University of Free State, Bloemfontein |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Innovation and physicochemical characterisation of novel antimicrobial technologies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Direct and indirect support of J. Hiscock's SSA technology as antimicrobial agents and enhancers of current antimicrobial technologies. |
| Impact | Grant Funding (microbiology/chemistry/materials science): • Internal faculty funding (2021-2024) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • Internal faculty funding (2020-2023) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • GCDC postdoctoral and travel funding (2020) PI - "Tackling the greatest threat to human health in South Africa - Antimicrobial (Antibiotic) Resistance (AMR) in bacteria." - £34,000 Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Clifford, M.; Patenall, B.; Hilton, K. L. F.; Ng, K. K. L.; Ellaby, R. J.; Hind, C. K.*; Mulvihill, D. P.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; Di-anionic self-associating supramolecular amphiphiles (SSAs) as antimicrobial agents against MRSA and Escherichia coli Chem. Commun., 2021, 57, 11839 - 11842. 2. Boles, J. E.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J. and Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as enhancers of antimicrobial agents towards Escherichia coli (E. coli), RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 9550 - 9556. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) 3. Allen, N.; White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; Chu, D. F.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J.; Ng, K. K. L.; Blackholly, L. R.; Wilson, B.; Mulvihill*, D. P; Hiscock*, J. R.; Towards the prediction of antimicrobial efficacy for hydrogen bonded, self-associating amphiphiles ChemMedChem 2020, 15:22, 2193-2205. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) Patents filed: European Patent Application No. 18743767.8, filed September 8, 2020; U.S. Patent Application No. 16/632,194, filed January 17, 2020; International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/EP2018/069568, filed July 18, 2018; and United Kingdom Patent Application No. 1711555.1, filed July 18, 2017. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Development of SSAs as antimicrobial agents |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Department | School of Biosciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Innovation and physicochemical characterisation of novel antimicrobial technologies. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Direct and indirect support of J. Hiscock's SSA technology as antimicrobial agents and enhancers of current antimicrobial technologies. |
| Impact | Grant Funding (microbiology/chemistry/materials science): • Internal faculty funding (2021-2024) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship (2020-2024) PI - "Repurposing and/or reactivating disused clinically relevant medical therapies" - UKRI contribution: £1,219,826. • Internal faculty funding (2020-2023) PI - PhD studentship - "The development of supramolecular systems to act as novel weapons in the fight against antimicrobial resistance" - £70,000. • GCDC postdoctoral and travel funding (2020) PI - "Tackling the greatest threat to human health in South Africa - Antimicrobial (Antibiotic) Resistance (AMR) in bacteria." - £34,000 Interdisciplinary outcome: 1. White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Clifford, M.; Patenall, B.; Hilton, K. L. F.; Ng, K. K. L.; Ellaby, R. J.; Hind, C. K.*; Mulvihill, D. P.*; Hiscock, J. R.*; Di-anionic self-associating supramolecular amphiphiles (SSAs) as antimicrobial agents against MRSA and Escherichia coli Chem. Commun., 2021, 57, 11839 - 11842. 2. Boles, J. E.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J. and Hiscock, J. R.*; Supramolecular Self-associating Amphiphiles (SSAs) as enhancers of antimicrobial agents towards Escherichia coli (E. coli), RSC Advances, 2021, 11, 9550 - 9556. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) 3. Allen, N.; White, L. J.; Boles, J. E.; Williams, G. T.; Chu, D. F.; Ellaby, R. J.; Shepherd, H. J.; Ng, K. K. L.; Blackholly, L. R.; Wilson, B.; Mulvihill*, D. P; Hiscock*, J. R.; Towards the prediction of antimicrobial efficacy for hydrogen bonded, self-associating amphiphiles ChemMedChem 2020, 15:22, 2193-2205. (microbiology/chemistry/materials science) Patents filed: European Patent Application No. 18743767.8, filed September 8, 2020; U.S. Patent Application No. 16/632,194, filed January 17, 2020; International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/EP2018/069568, filed July 18, 2018; and United Kingdom Patent Application No. 1711555.1, filed July 18, 2017. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Early career researcher supramolecular chemistry consortia |
| Organisation | BMG LABTECH |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Private |
| PI Contribution | The synthesis and physicochemical characterisation of supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support in the development of SSAs as molecular cages. Determination of SSA membrane transport activities. Development of materials characterisation assays. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary outcomes (materials science and supramolecular chemistry): 1. White, L. J.; Wark, C.; Croucher, L.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.*; High-throughput characterisation of supramolecular gelation processes using a combination of optical density, fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption measurements. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9557-9560. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Early career researcher supramolecular chemistry consortia |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The synthesis and physicochemical characterisation of supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support in the development of SSAs as molecular cages. Determination of SSA membrane transport activities. Development of materials characterisation assays. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary outcomes (materials science and supramolecular chemistry): 1. White, L. J.; Wark, C.; Croucher, L.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.*; High-throughput characterisation of supramolecular gelation processes using a combination of optical density, fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption measurements. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9557-9560. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Early career researcher supramolecular chemistry consortia |
| Organisation | University of Cagliari |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The synthesis and physicochemical characterisation of supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support in the development of SSAs as molecular cages. Determination of SSA membrane transport activities. Development of materials characterisation assays. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary outcomes (materials science and supramolecular chemistry): 1. White, L. J.; Wark, C.; Croucher, L.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.*; High-throughput characterisation of supramolecular gelation processes using a combination of optical density, fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption measurements. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9557-9560. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Early career researcher supramolecular chemistry consortia |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Department | School of Biosciences |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The synthesis and physicochemical characterisation of supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support in the development of SSAs as molecular cages. Determination of SSA membrane transport activities. Development of materials characterisation assays. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary outcomes (materials science and supramolecular chemistry): 1. White, L. J.; Wark, C.; Croucher, L.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.*; High-throughput characterisation of supramolecular gelation processes using a combination of optical density, fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption measurements. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9557-9560. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Early career researcher supramolecular chemistry consortia |
| Organisation | University of Kiel |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The synthesis and physicochemical characterisation of supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support in the development of SSAs as molecular cages. Determination of SSA membrane transport activities. Development of materials characterisation assays. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary outcomes (materials science and supramolecular chemistry): 1. White, L. J.; Wark, C.; Croucher, L.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.*; High-throughput characterisation of supramolecular gelation processes using a combination of optical density, fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption measurements. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9557-9560. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Early career researcher supramolecular chemistry consortia |
| Organisation | University of Liverpool |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The synthesis and physicochemical characterisation of supramolecular self-associating amphiphiles (SSAs). |
| Collaborator Contribution | Support in the development of SSAs as molecular cages. Determination of SSA membrane transport activities. Development of materials characterisation assays. |
| Impact | Interdisciplinary outcomes (materials science and supramolecular chemistry): 1. White, L. J.; Wark, C.; Croucher, L.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.*; High-throughput characterisation of supramolecular gelation processes using a combination of optical density, fluorescence and UV-Vis absorption measurements. Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9557-9560. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | The research Network |
| Organisation | The Research Network |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | The innovation of the collaborative mobile phone application. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Supporting application development, and providing the artificial intelligence and machine learning framework to support this enterprise. |
| Impact | This is a collaboration between commercial collaboration experts, machine learning specialist's and supramolecular chemistry. This app supporting collaboration and communication as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia (Dec 2021) will over 500 registered international participants. This app is now downloadable from both the googleplay and apple store. A link to the website can be found here: https://www.theresearchnetwork.net/ |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | The research Network |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The innovation of the collaborative mobile phone application. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Supporting application development, and providing the artificial intelligence and machine learning framework to support this enterprise. |
| Impact | This is a collaboration between commercial collaboration experts, machine learning specialist's and supramolecular chemistry. This app supporting collaboration and communication as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia (Dec 2021) will over 500 registered international participants. This app is now downloadable from both the googleplay and apple store. A link to the website can be found here: https://www.theresearchnetwork.net/ |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | Public Health England |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | Texas Tech University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | Tulane University |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Bonn |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Cagliari |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Kent |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Kiel |
| Country | Germany |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Leeds |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Liverpool |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Mississippi |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Woman in Supramolecular Chemistry Network |
| Organisation | University of Sydney |
| Country | Australia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Founder and Chair of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network (2019-2023) I have now moved onto the WISC advisory board as I have finished my initial three year term as chair (01/2023). I continue to support the network I have formed and have built, but it is now at a point where it can stand on its own two feet and has gained its own identity. Since its launch in late 2019, WISC has achieved much towards its aims of creating a sense of community and kinship to support the progression and retention of women and other marginalised groups in supramolecular chemistry. This includes a successful mentorship programme, funded research projects, publications (journal articles, book chapters, comment pieces, and a book), community clusters, and of course our events and webinars, often in collaboration with vMASC. WISC's stated ethos is to be area-specific and community-led to ensure that everything is relevant to and meaningful for the supramolecular chemistry community. Members of the WISC board have taken their passion and commitment to EDI work into wider arenas - for example tackling the culture within science and chemistry, addressing accessibility within the chemistry laboratory, ableism in academia and the barriers faced by disabled scientists, the visibility of Black women in chemistry and African women in science, and the challenges associated with parenting such as planning a family, pregnancy, and fathers. Much of this work has initiated new collaborations and partnerships. In order to stay true to its original mission, be current to the challenges of the supramolecular community, and grow, WISC has to make sure it is in a position to embrace change. WISC's new Terms of Reference enshrine this by stating that every three years a new individual should take over the position of Chair. Jennifer Hiscock has been Chair of WISC since its launch in November 2019. We are very grateful for everything that she has enabled and for her leadership of this organisation over the last three years. As of January 2023, Jennifer will move into a position on the WISC Advisory Board to support the incoming Chair of WISC, Anna McConnell. Anna was also a founding member of WISC, acting as Vice Chair of Organisation. Her passion to support EDI issues and the retention and progression of women and other minority groups within the field of supramolecular chemistry makes her the perfect candidate to ensure that WISC continues in its core mission to support women and other marginalised groups within supramolecular chemistry. Please keep in touch to get involved in any WISC activities - • sign up to be a mentor or mentee • find out about our events (keep your eyes peeled for a webinar on careers coming soon) • join one of our community clusters to find a safer space to share experiences of and talk about parenting, disability/chronic illness/neurodivergence, or being 1st Gen • help publicise and raise awareness of our Open Access book Women in Supramolecular Chemistry: Collectively crafting the rhythms of our work and lives in STEM • hear about our ongoing projects and publications • hear about other EDI related work and resources with a wider remit from the scientific community, Board and Advisory Board members that may be of interest Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC; https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/) was launched by four friends in 2019, based on the peer group mentoring they had accidentally initiated to support each other's academic careers. The WISC launch Tweet had >200,000 views within a week, and the WISC Twitter account has 1,898 followers. The WISC board now includes 13 members from across Europe, supported by an international advisory board from Europe, Australia, US and India. WISC now combines experience from academia and industry - offering broad perspectives and sharing inter-sectoral best practice - and continues to be guided by the community it serves. New initiatives are driven by feedback from marginalised groups; however, recognising that these issues affect individuals beyond these groups, events and resources are open to all. Broad participation in discussions enables all to contribute and those in leadership positions to better understand how they can support the wider community and effect change within their own institutions. WISCs impact derives from their area-specific approach and ethos of "calling in" support rather than pointing the finger. Calling in is an invitation to discuss difficult topics in a safe environment without fear of getting it wrong, then pulling together the community to make positive changes. WISCs first research article surveying the needs of the community (DOI:10.1002/anie.202015297) was covered by seven international news outlets, reaching >400,000 followers on Twitter. This research guided subsequent initiatives: - Peer mentoring, currently supporting >30 international researchers of varying career stage, with >90% satisfaction amongst participants and many staying with the scheme since its launch in 2019. - Focussed support clusters meet online and carry out research/ other activities. The Parenting Cluster has initiated an ongoing series of publications: 'Pregnancy in the Lab' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00362-0, Feb 2022) has 6,611 downloads since publication; 'Planning a Family' (DOI:10.1038/s41570-022-00427-0, Oct 2022) has 1,269 downloads. Articles including 'Listening to Fathers in STEM' are planned for 2023. WISC led a panel discussion on parenting in academia at MASC-2022. Collaboration within the Disability/ Chronic illness/ Neurodivergency Cluster produced work on accessibility within laboratory teaching (DOI:10.1021/acs.jchemed.2c00328). - The first WISC skills workshop (2021) had >50 in person and 200 virtual attendees from 5 continents. All participants surveyed stated that they would attend another WISC event in the future. - WISC partner with other organisations supporting women in science such as EFeMS (https://www.empoweringfems.com/), who aim to cultivate a community of African women leaders in STEM. - A panel discussion series at virtual and in-person meetings of the RSC Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (MASC) Interest Group has covered topics requested by the supramolecular community via surveys and discussions. WISC engage the supramolecular community: (i) to guide/ inform new initiatives; (ii) to participate in research; (iii) through publishing their findings and ethos; (iv) by leading sessions at high profile events in the field. WISC research has triangulated findings from qualitative online surveys (<105 contributions over 6 continents within a single project) with collaborative autoethnography of researchers (<5 countries per project) and data collected via reflective research group meetings with ECRs. Subsequent publications continue to engage the community with articles attracting significant interest/ downloads. In 2022 WISC published an open access book reporting the lived academic experiences of individuals within the community through anonymised vignettes (https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/women-in-supramolecular-chemistry). Platforming these stories sparked self-reflection, empowering honest, open discussion at subsequent WISC-led events and making the community a safer space to discuss issues affecting marginalised groups. WISC reach a large audience at supramolecular conferences, presenting at all yearly MASC events since 2019. In 2021, the virtual meeting had 498 registered attendees from >200 institutions. MASC-2022 had 280 attendees. WISC also presented at events in Germany, Italy and the US in 2022 and have been invited to contribute to the International Symposium on Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (the pre-eminent conference in the field) in 2023. In 2019 WISC pioneered an anti-harassment policy at MASC meetings, which is freely available on their website as a template for other events to adapt and use. WISC will advise on the organisation and delivery of ISMSC-2023 to ensure an inclusive approach, and were approached to feed into the UKRI FLF EDI strategy and consequently will influence a new generation of leaders within UK academia. WISC are enacting a fundamental change in the supramolecular community across the world and as a consequence I believe that they would be worthy recipients of this award. I am certain that its bequest to the group would only serve to empower them to enhance their activities further and have an even more substantive impact on their community. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Fellow founding members and (advisory) board members of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network have achieved the following have equally contributed to the day to day running and various research outputs of the network. |
| Impact | This is a transdisciplinary collaboration between chemists and social scientists: In November 2019 I launched the international Woman In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network, an organisation that I now Chair, which aims to understand the needs of marginalised groups within the supramolecular chemistry community, and then 'call in' this same community to actively meet these needs, producing a community that is self-supporting. My initial WISC launch tweet was viewed by >26,000 people in the first week, and at present the WISC Twitter account is followed by >1,200 people. WISC is run by a board that is made up of 11 international members from the UK, Italy, Germany and Switzerland, that span both academia and industry. This board is further supported by an advisory board made up of 7 members from the USA, Australia, India and the UK. I financially initiated and support WISC through grants that I have received from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), UKRI future leaders programme and the Royal Society. My funding now means that WISC is able to rollout a novel approach, conducting social sciences-based research to further support those individuals marginalised within supramolecular chemistry, through collaborations with Jennifer Leigh (University of Kent). It is this area-specific activity that has cause WISC to have had the impact it has in such a short time frame, as evidenced below and here (www.womeninsuprachem.com): Our first research paper, An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry was published in Angewandte Chemie in March this year. It was followed up by six international news outlets (including the RSC's Chemistry World magazine), and on Twitter reached over 400,000 followers in the first 7 days since publication. In addition, to date we have received no negative comment to this work, only glowing support. The most recent work of WISC has supported the community through COVID-19 and is a unique activity due to the way that we have utilised embodied and creative research with scientists. These efforts have taken the novel approach to triangulate our findings from a qualitative online survey (n=105 over six continents) with a collaborative autoethnography project (n=12 from 5 countries, and a diverse cohort of participants) and reflective group research meetings (n=14). This work is currently accepted with minor revisions in Chem (Impact Factor = 22.8). Additionally, WISC has also been nominated for the RSC's award for Equality and Diversity (2021). Additionally, WISC supports the international supramolecular chemistry community through the: • undertaking and publication of research which explores the effects of EDI in the supramolecular chemistry community; • providing a virtual space (community clusters) for members of the supramolecular community who are first generation scientists, parents, or have disabilities to find further support; • providing a bespoke mentorship programme aimed to support the promotion and progression of women in supramolecular chemistry; • providing the community with an in person/virtual skills workshop - September 2021 (https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/). An independent report on this conference has now been published in Nature Chemistry (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00849-1) and the official conference report can be found here: https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/news . As a result, this workshop will run again, hosted by Tulane University in 2023; • providing a series of virtual panel discussions in collaboration with the RSC's (virtual) Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry (vMASC) interest group; • launching a sister WISC group with a focus on supporting women in supramolecular chemistry, specifically in the USA; • advise complimentary groups such as the not-for-profit organisation, Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS - https://www.empoweringfems.com/ ), who aim to cultivate a community of African women who are skillful leaders in STEM higher education and in their STEM professions. Through this, they hope to offset the profound gender disparities in STEM. • advising on EPSRC policy. At present, WISC is still relatively young, however, the effects of this network are evidenced within these network reports: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf; (https://www.womeninsuprachem.com/wisc-presentations-and-posters. In addition, we have received a 90% satisfaction rate from our mentoring scheme, our research is reaching a large audience, there is a good international attendance at our international and in person events and, those that have taken part in our reflective and autoethnographic studies have found this work to have improved their wellbeing, self-confidence and career progression. The success of WISC and impact to the global chemistry community is also evidenced by my recent invited interview, published in Nature Chemistry (impact factor = 17.927): 2021, 13, 1153-1155 (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-021-00843-7). Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." Outputs in the forms of publications include: 1. McConnell, Anna J. and Leigh, Jennifer S. and Haynes, Cally J. E. and Caltagirone, Claudia and Hiscock, Jennifer R. (2020) Strem Chemicals UK supporting WISC - Women in Supramolecular Chemistry. STREM Chemicals online blog: https://www.strem.co.uk/strem-chemicals-uk-supporting-wisc-women-in-supramolecular-chemistry/ 2. Editorial interview: Leigh, J. S. and Hiscock J. R.; Interviewer: Pichon, A.* A supporting supramolecular community, Nat. Chem., 2021, 13, 1153-1155. 3. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Leigh, J. S.; Calling in support - An inclusive, rigorous strategy for improving equality and diversity Chemistry World, 2021, March issue, 5. 4. McConnell,* A. J.; Haynes,* C. J. E.; Caltagirone,* C; Hiscock,*J. R.; Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and their Mentors ChemPlusChem, 2020, 85:12, 2544-2545. Editorial for the Supramolecular Chemistry: Young Talents and Their Mentors Special Collection. 5. Caltagirone, C.; Draper, E. R.; Hiscock, J. R.; Hardie, M. J.; Haynes, C. J. E.; Jolliffe, K. A.; Kieffer, M.; McConnell, A. J.; Liegh,* J. S.; An area specific, international community led approach to understanding and addressing EDI issues within chemistry; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 11572-11579. Other outputs: We hosted our first supramolecular skills workshop in 2021 (A report on this conference can be found here: R. A. Dawood and A. Avestro, Nat. Chem. 2021, 13, 1164-1165.) , and have run reflective practice workshops as part of the Royal Society of Chemistry Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry symposia. |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Title | MECHANOSENSORY HYDROGEL |
| Description | Extreme energy dissipating materials are essential for a range of applications. The military and police force require ballistic armour to ensure the safety of their personnel, while the aerospace industry requires materials that enable the capture, preservation and study of hypervelocity projectiles. However, current industry standards display at least one inherent limitation. To resolve these limitations we have turned to nature, utilising proteins that have evolved over millennia to enable effective energy dissipation. Specifically, a recombinant form of the mechanosensitive protein talin was incorporated into a monomeric unit and crosslinked, resulting in the production of the first reported example of a talin shock absorbing material (TSAM). When subjected to 1.5 km/s supersonic shots, TSAMs were shown not only to absorb the impact, but to capture/preserve the projectile, making TSAMs the first reported protein material to achieve this. |
| IP Reference | GB2216633.4 |
| Protection | Patent / Patent application |
| Year Protection Granted | 2022 |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | I am the co-inventor of the patented (24/11/2022) Talin Shock Absorbing Syn-bio material technology, with Ben Goult - University of Kent. This article was uploaded to biorvix on the 30/11/2022: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.11.29.518433v1 The information below is a record of impact from 30/11/2022 - 11/01/2023. Impact • Ihe abstract has since been downloaded 7042 times • the full html has been downloaded 1279 times • the full text PDF has been downloaded 2844 times • It has had a write up in new scientist (4.2 million followers on twitter, this is a publication you can buy at a supermarket), where it trended in the number 1 position over Christmas. • It has been published by 26 international news outlets • It has appeared in 7 blogs • It has been tweeted by 48 independent tweeters. • It is in the 99th percentile of all articles tracked by Altmentric, ranked for impact at 112,110 out of 22,852,911 outputs. It ranks 67th out of the 99,207 from biorivx. • Listed as one of the 5 coolest things on earth: The 5 Coolest Things on Earth This Week | GE News https://www.ge.com/news/reports/the-5-coolest-things-on-earth-this-week-132 New collaborations: • Within a few hours of the pre-print article being uploaded on Biorivx we were personally asked to submit it to nature nanotechnology • within days and ongoing, we are bing approached by multiple serious Venture Capitalist investors, had meetings and gained support from NFX - NFX - Bio. These individuals invest up to 450 million per year in synbio technology. • We have been approached for collaboration by NIST, www.nist.gov the US national institute of standards and technology who are in charge of body armour testing and development for the US government. • We have been approached for collaboration by the US army research office. • We have been approached for collaboration by research groups with links to NASA programmes. • We have received funding from the UK defence accelerator, supported by Dstl, to translate this innovation into the body armour space. • We have been asked by the BBC if they can come up and film the material development process. |
| Title | The research network |
| Description | n/a |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Impact | Not applicable yet |
| URL | http://trn.net/ |
| Description | A panel member and interview for the AI3SD Network+ (Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Intelligence for Automated Investigations for Scientific Discovery). |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 19/08/2021 - I acted as a careers panel member for the Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Intelligence for Automated Investigations for Scientific Discovery Network (AI3SD) training series, this was followed by an interview: DOI: 10.5258/SOTON/P0044 and the secondment of an undergraduate project student within my laboratory for 8 weeks on a summer placement. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.ai3sd.org/about-ai3sd/ |
| Description | Chair of the Women in supramolecular chemistry network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The WISC website has had over 1000 hits from 40 countries worldwide. @SupraChem has 1032 followers. The first tweet gained 26,000 impressions in its first week. The second WISC survey QR code had nearly 50,000 impressions. The pinned tweet which links to the Angewandte Chemie paper had over 14,000 impressions and nearly 300 engagements. We use Twitter to engage with the supramolecular and wider community, and interactions there have led to collaborations with Empowering Female Minds in STEM (EFeMS), encouraged members to join the mentoring programme as mentees and mentors, and access the website for support clusters and online resources. WISC's paper in Angewandte Chemie (published on international women's day 2021) 'An Area-Specific, International Community-Led Approach to Understanding and Addressing Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Issues within Supramolecular Chemistry' has an almetric score of 98. Since its publication, it has already been placed in the top 5% of research of its type. It was picked up by 6 international news outlets, including articles in Chemistry World, ScienMag, EurekaAlert, Chemistry Views and Phys.org. In terms of attention on Twitter, to date the paper has garnered tweets from 141 users from the US, Australia, Mexico, Canada, India and Europe, with an upper bound of nearly 400,000 followers. The first online survey had 100 responses, (81% women), and the second 104 (68% women). In terms of demographics, both had international reach, with respondents from the UK, Europe, India, and the US. The surveys were aimed at supramolecular chemists who were studying or working at postgraduate level and above. The first survey reached MSc students 5%, PhD students 30%, post-docs 24%, and research fellows/independent researchers 41% other 4%. The second survey reached 4% MSc students, 35% PhD students, 11% post-docs, 44% research fellows/independent researchers and 10% other. Both surveys had a very high completion rate, with respondents answering all questions in full. The mentoring network currently comprises 19 mentees (13 PhD students, 4 postdocs and 2 independent early career researcher) based in the UK, US, India, Austria, Germany and Australia forming the basis of 6 mentoring groups. We are expecting recruitment of mentees to increase with the WISC Skills Workshop in September 2021. Results from the latest mentoring network survey showed 90% satisfaction. Comments included: "Having resources and mentors are exceptionally important. I find myself seeking advice from those who have been in my shoes." "I have found that regular mentoring and support makes a world of difference in terms of career development." The reflective projects introduced participants to creative ways of reflecting, sharing, and processing their experiences. From an initial group of 6, the collaborative autoethnography group of research leaders has grown to 12 within a year. Participants commented: "It feels so good to speak about my feelings with you! Thanks a lot for let me be part of this" "Just to say it was lovely to talk to you all and I really appreciate the invitation to join the conversation talking about it helps us to reflect on our choices and reasons, and what we might change for the future" Feedback and comments on WISC from WISC members and the supramolecular community have included the following: "This is a wonderful initiative, and I would be absolutely delighted to contribute to it at any capacity!" "I think continuing to increase the visibility of women scientists in supramolecular chemistry (at all levels) helps to inspire the next generation/progression of younger female members of the field." "I think that the WISC Network is one of the best initiatives in Science to promote gender equality and inclusiveness. Retention and progression of women in Science is crucial for a better society." |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020,2021 |
| URL | https://www.womeninsuprachem.com |
| Description | Invited speaker at the 2021 virtual Chemical Systems Meeting. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk to introduce the ongoing work of the International Women In Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) Network, a network I initiated, chair and work with as a part of my UKRI award. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.womeninsuprachem.com |
| Description | KMTV panel interview |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I was an invited panel member for a KMTV live and recoded broadcast to discuss Next Generation Impact. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/Ebt3Yhw3xtQ |
| Description | Organiser for the 1st Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) workshop: an introduction to Supramolecular Chemistry techniques for early stage career researchers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Please find a full report on this workshop published here: https://d017147e-00c2-4e9e-88fd-affbf75f13ce.filesusr.com/ugd/e3c05f_ef7a72f4eaeb4dc58f83e3c84dee4f36.pdf |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://convegni.unica.it/1stwiscworkshop/ |
| Description | Physical Sciences Data-science Service (PSDS, https://www.psds.ac.uk/) panel member (25/03/2021) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I am currently serving as a panel member for the Physical Sciences Data-science Service (PSDS) |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.psds.ac.uk/ |
| Description | vMASC/WISC online symposia |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | As Chair of the international Women in Supramolecular Chemistry (WISC) network and committee member for the Royal Society of Chemistry virtual and standard Macrocyclic and Supramolecular Chemistry interest group, I have been involved in organizing/chairing a weekly subject specific seminar series. This seminar series features talks from supramolecular postgraduate students and post-doctoral researchers from around the world as well as online panel discussions which focus on providing a forum for early career researchers to ask experts in the field specific questions. To date the panel discussions have focused on the following: • 28/10/2021 - balancing a successful career and home life • 29/06/2021 - finding and managing early career researcher funding. • 08/04/2021 - intellectual property and commercialisation. • 29/01/2021 - scientific careers - what to do after PhD/Post-doc. • 03/12/2020 - science, communications and media interaction panel discussion with Vivienne Parry. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |