Laidlaw Personal Impact Report                                                                                   

This report is a broad discussion of my experience as a Laidlaw scholar. I will start by explaining my initial motivations for applying and how my perception of the programme has changed since. I will then move on to describe my research in the first summer, and the valuable lessons I learnt that have helped my career progression. Finally, I will consider ethical leadership and my second summer in light of my six weeks in Uganda with the Kasiisi project.

The Laidlaw programme appeared in my university life at an ideal time. I had just switched course to Natural Sciences after studying a year of anthropology. I was not as inspired by my old course as I had hoped and the mix of the new university lifestyle, strikes, and finally Covid, meant I decided to change course and start again. I began the new course excited and highly motivated; I was studying my favourite subject in school, biology, and combined it with something entirely new to me, philosophy. However, I was disappointed I had wasted (and I use this word loosely as in hindsight it was a very important mistake) a year doing a subject that was not right for me. This is why I say it caught me at an ideal time, as I had something to prove and was keen to make the change worthwhile. That said, I did not fully realise what I was applying for, and the opportunities it would lead to. Not because I failed to look into the programme during the application, but because it has benefitted me in so many ways I never thought it would. After reading other scholars’ reports, and listening to their stories of why they applied, I understand this is a common theme. Initially I applied as I knew lockdown would limit the amount of practical work I could learn in biology. This classic bench science was a huge part of what I missed in anthropology, and I was keen to get back in a lab and learn techniques at a university level. I am extremely grateful to my academic advisor, Jen Topping, for a first few Zoom calls about this. I felt supported and motivated all the way through the process. This was particularly apparent when submitting my research proposal. I had very little idea of what it entailed, and my first draft came back highly edited and vastly improved. This application made me realise another reason why I wanted the scholarship. Leadership skills in science are lacking. A significant part of leadership is communication. We are in a time where science and the public need to communicate effectively, and to do that we need effective and ethical leaders on both sides. It was an unprecedented time for that. Boris Johnson stood next to Chris Whitty and other medical advisors every day and tried to communicate science while balancing it with politics. Furthermore, we are living in the climate era. I heard David Finnigan, an Australian playwright, interviewed on the New Scientist podcast. He made the thought-provoking point that everything being produced right now (art, technology, culture etc.) will be read through a ‘climate lens’ by future generations. Just like we read Charles Dickens through the lens of the industrial revolution. It is the crossovers such as this that make me realise that science must communicate effectively with the politicians and the public effectively in order to save lives and prevent the climate situation for worsening. And to do that, we need good leaders. This is what makes me appreciate the Laidlaw programme as a concept. As the sedate action to the climate crisis has shown, good research alone is not enough to change behaviours, ethical leadership is vital too.

With my initial motivations for applying to the Laidlaw programme established, I will now move on to explaining my project for the first summer, and what I learnt from it. I was enjoying the genetics module of my biology course hugely, and slightly enamoured with how research into genes was carried out. It is elegant and has a long history, going right back to the 1800s with Mendel. After some guidance from Jen, I approached Heather Knight to be my supervisor. She was extremely helpful in the design of my project and gave me a lot of independence in the lab for someone who had just finished first year. My original project involved designing new gene reporters alongside testing the ones Heather already had in her lab. These reporters are introduced into a cell’s genome as a way to measure how much your gene of interest is being affected by a variable, such as temperature. Unfortunately, it became clear that making new reporters was beyond the scope of the six-week project. This is where I learnt a valuable lesson from research: plans change, and you must be ready to adapt your project to them. Furthermore, I learnt not to be disheartened when experiments failed over and over again. It was problem solving at its best and was a real challenge. A memorable moment for me was when the Gel-Doc machine stopped working after I was shown how to use it. It was my second week in and due to Covid it was a bit of a hassle asking someone to help. I decided to figure it out myself and saw that the lid was stiff which prevented it from locking and allowing the UV light on. Using some masking tape I modified the lock to allow it to work. When the technician saw I was surprised to find she was pleased and said I would make a good researcher. This was a huge boost early when I was feeling very out of my depth. My final output for the first summer still developed all the practical skills I had hoped to attempt. I learnt sterile technique, pipetting, fume hoods, DNA purification and protoplast transformation. This last skill has been a great talking point with other academics as they are an interesting model for research since they are cells which have had their cell walls removed. This makes them easier to work with but not a perfect model cell.  Despite all I learnt, I still had lots of questions and experiments I wanted to try. It had got me excited about actually conducting research myself. This is where another important benefit from the Laidlaw programme should be highlighted. It inspired my interest in plant science and gave me the confidence and credentials to apply for the Sainsbury Studentship, a funded 8-week research project at a different university, which I completed this summer after getting back from my Leadership in Action project. This second project made me aware of another skill I had picked up from the Laidlaw programme that is highly relevant to science and research, but not immediately considered: networking. Being able to make connections with people from all different levels and areas of expertise positively influences your own research as it can give you perspective on your own project. It is easy to get lost in the details and fail to see the bigger picture of what the goal of your research is. For example, say you have introduced to a protocol for an experiment, but the initial results change your hypothesis. Instead of carrying on refining that protocol for an experiment that is testing a different hypothesis you should reconsider. A great way to take this step back is to talk to people, whether they are in your lab or a fellow scholar studying history.

Having discussed all I learnt in terms of research I will now reflect on the leadership aspect of the Laidlaw programme. A useful lesson that was taught well before my Leadership in Action project was to consider your values. I am ashamed to say this is something I had never really thought about. Of course, what we value comes easily once we search ourselves for them. But the act of selecting and writing down a finite set of principles felt significant. It changed the way I interacted with people in a team since I realised sometimes people are trying to live by different ethical codes and values can clash. If we are aware of those things though, we can be more sympathetic when those clashes do emerge. It also makes us more confident when making decisions, as if we have carefully picked our values, our decisions only have to fall in line with them for us to rest easy. A great outcome of the ethical leadership module with Daniel Effron was this detailed discussion of values. A memorable moment was during the second consolidation session that I completed with my Leadership in Action group. We were discussing ethical blindspots and the rationalisation that goes on when someone steals from a big company. At first, it seems like a clear case of telling oneself that those companies can afford the loss. However, as we discussed further, it became clear this could be a matter of opposing values. An example that was brought up was taken from a recent Radio 4 debate between two pundits from opposite sides of the political spectrum. One strongly disagreed with turning a blind eye to a young woman stealing nappies from a big supermarket. The other insisted we must. No agreement was reached, and it was clear to us that their values had got in the way of them realising the right action. Most people believe that stealing is wrong, yet also believe that no one deserves to be put in the position where they have to steal basic supplies. If we examine these opposing values we can see that the right thing to do is intervene and, if we are able, purchase those basic necessities ourselves.

It is conversations like these that developed my confidence going into the Leadership in Action component of the Laidlaw programme. This took place in Uganda with the Kasiisi project. It is very difficult to summarise what an amazing opportunity it was for me to go and what a brilliant experience it was. It was a shaky start, testing positive for Covid the first day I arrived in Entebbe and having to isolate for a week. I had company for the first two days, but after he tested negative he joined the others. The rest of my isolation was surreal, having just landed in not just a new country but a new continent and immediately having to be separated from everyone. Then emerging to a group that had already shared those first few experiences and made friendships, it all tested my resilience. Luckily, all eleven other Laidlaw scholars were lovely and made me feel very welcome. It was a privilege to share this time with such a fantastic group. A standout event was when we got the news that Roe v. Wade was overturned. A classic case of legality opposing morality that was talked about in the ethical leadership workshops. This time it was real though, and our discussion of it that morning at breakfast was very cathartic and made a huge impact. Alongside the fellow scholars, we got the chance to meet incredible people that have overcome unimaginable challenges. Dr Emily Otaki, the county director for the Kasiisi project came from a place where most woman get married at 14. She resisted all those social pressures, presumably sacrificing a lot, and studied to get a PhD in primatology. Due to the programme laid out by the charities hard working staff, we were overwhelmed with inspirational leadership stories such as this. All in all, I thought the whole experience would test my leadership skills more. I think my greatest takeaways concerned people/cultures and ethics/values. All these are valuable lessons, and I got to observe well-practiced leadership while navigating a new environment. Skills that will undoubtedly be indispensable in in future situations.