Events
WiNUK events cover fascinating educational topics, from dementia to mental health to careers advice.
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As well as education and inspiration, many of our events include advocacy; voicing injustices in neuroscience research and neurological conditions. We are proud to provide unique spaces for female neuroscientists to share their honest experiences, which may inform, support, and catalyse change.
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Speakers are invited to share their advice for other women and girls, as well as for allies, funders and institutions.
Attendees have valuable opportunities to ask questions, gain advice from experts, and connect with peers.
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All locations, careers, ages and genders are invited to attend WiNUK events, with virtual options providing free on-demand access.
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Future Events
Coming Soon...
Inaugural Women in Neuroscience UK Annual Awards
November 2024
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The inaugural WiNUK Annual Awards aims to honour unsung heroes in neuroscience across various categories, including efforts to improve student and staff experiences through mentorship, elevate public understanding through science communication, advance sex/gender gap research in neurological health, or champion diversity in STEM workplaces. These activities, often led by women and other minoritised identities, are undervalued despite their significant benefits to the workplace and society: some reduce them down to ‘soft skills’ or overlook them in recruitment and promotion. Let's take an evening to shine a light on these invaluable contributions and amplify the impact of these inspiring and committed individuals.
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Stay tuned to our website, newsletter and social media for more information on how to register and how to nominate your inspirations in neuroscience!
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Past Virtual Events
Neural Networking: Past and Future
Thursday 18th April 2024
19:00-20:00 (GMT)
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Our second Neural Networking event aimed to support students and neuroscientists in reflecting on their journeys so far and to consider what's next, whilst meeting new WiNUK friends along the way.
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Neural Networking
Wednesday 21st February 2024
14:00-15:00 (GMT)
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Our first Neural Networking event brought together attendees interested in neuroscience from different career stages and locations around the world. Beginning with a neuroscience quiz as an icebreaker, we then split into breakout rooms focused on different neuroscience themes for focused discussions and valuable connection building.
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Hosts: Anwesha Chakraborty and Lizzie English
Decoding the Application Process
Wednesday 13th December 2023
19:00-20:00 (GMT)
YouTube recording coming soon!
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This event focused on guiding future applicants through the intricate paths of academia and industry in the UK.
We tackled the undergraduate and postgraduate application process but also discussed scientific job applications. Our panel had diverse backgrounds in neuroscience, and have navigated the application process successfully
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Hosts: Anwesha Chakraborty and Ananya Shankar (WiNUK Virtual events officers)
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Speakers:
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Emma Soopramanien
Bio: Meet Emma, MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience from UCL, who is a passionate advocate for accessible science communication. With a unique talent for infusing humour into complex scientific concepts through science stand-up comedy, Emma bridges academia and entertainment. As an ambassador for a medical communications internship and the Student and Early Career representative for the British Neuroscience Association, Emma is dedicated to empowering others in their academic and professional journeys. Her commitment extends beyond neuroscience, shining in various fields through her enthusiasm for knowledge and mentorship.
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Mahnoor Khalid
Bio: Mahnoor has a BSc in Neuroscience with Psychology from the University of Aberdeen and MSc in Integrative Neuroscience from the University of Edinburgh. Following this, she joined Randox Health as a scientific consultant. Her academic interests include neuropsychiatric disorders & neuroendocrinology. She has always been passionate about creating more opportunities and inspiring women in neuroscience, and is excited to achieve this through her role as a virtual impact evaluator with WiN.
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Emily Beswick
Bio: Emily completed her PhD in Neuroscience at the Euan Macdonald Centre for Motor Neuron Disease Research at the University of Edinburgh, where she is now an honorary fellow. She recently completed a post-doc at Newcastle University, working on an international collaboration exploring digital tools to support early diagnosis of dementia-causing diseases. In January she will be beginning a post-doc at Trinity College Dublin using speech data to evaluate cognitive status, and recently applied for fellowship funding to support this project. Emily’s background is in neuropsychology and her research interests involve integrating digital health solutions in neurological clinical trials.
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Dr Kamar Ameen-Ali
Bio: Kamar is a senior lecturer in biomedical science in the School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University. She obtained her PhD in behavioural neuroscience and neurobiology from Durham University and has previously worked as a researcher at the universities of Glasgow, Sheffield and Newcastle. Kamar’s research uses human post-mortem brain tissue to understand how neuroinflammation drives the progression of neurodegenerative diseases which lead to dementia. Kamar will share advice on applications for PhDs to lectureships, as well as employability outside of academia.
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Inclusion and Belonging: Addressing neurodiversity
Monday 13th November 2023
19:00-20:00 (GMT)
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
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This event aimed to shed light on the importance of neurodiversity in neuroscience. We had a lineup of speakers who shared their invaluable experiences and research.
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Hosts: Sirjan Chhatwal and Shloka Dhareshwar (WiNUK Virtual events officers)
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Speakers:
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Dr. Ellie Dommett
Bio: Ellie Dommett is a Professor of Neuroscience at King’s College London. She started her career as an electrophysiologist at Sheffield University and now heads up the ADHD Research Lab at King’s aiming to better understand ADHD and neurodiversity more generally. She is also a passionate educator and has been teaching in Higher Education for over 20 years. Outside of work she runs (slowly) and is owned by a rescue greyhound.
Talk Title: “Destination: Neurodiversity Research. Route: From the midbrain, head outwards.”
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Dr. Mallika Chatterjee
Bio: Dr. Mallika Chatterjee is an Assistant Professor at Amity Institute of Neuroscience and Neuropsychology, Noida, India, and a Fullbright Nehru scholar at Brown University, U.S.A. For her research, she focuses on identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying various neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia.
Talk Title: "Exploring Neurodiversity-Looking into Behavior Modification with Sugars in the Zebrafish."
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Julia Dabrowska
Bio: Julia Dabrowska is a second-year DPhil student at the University of Oxford. Her PhD focuses on combining behavioral, electrophysiological, and machine learning methods to better understand brain network activity & mechanisms underlying attentional control in the context of new learning in a diverse population.
Talk Title: "Female PhD with ADHD? More common than you think.”
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Sofia Krylova
Bio: Sofia Krylova is a MD/PhD student in Albert Einstein College of Medicine (NY, USA). Before moving to New York to pursue graduate education, she received bachelor's degree from UCLA in Neuroscience, studying traumatic brain injury models in rats.
Last year, Sofia was diagnosed with ADHD for the first time at the age of 23. Ever since she has been on a journey to figure out the best strategies for her to manage her condition in her personal life and in the workplace. In the meantime, she uses her Instagram page (@sofia.in.the.lab) to share the difficulties of being a PhD student, including her experience with ADHD, in hopes of validating other people going through similar struggles.
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Time is Brain: From Stroke Research to Surviving Stroke
Wednesday 31st May 2023
19:00-20:30 (BST)
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
Please submit your feedback
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The phrase “time is brain” emphasises that brain tissue is rapidly lost as stroke progresses.
Thank you for joining us at the end of May to mark Stroke Awareness month. We heard from a brilliant range of speakers, sharing talks on surviving stroke, stroke research and opportunities and funding in stroke research.
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Hosted by Adriana Zainurin and Yin Yuan
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Speakers:
Mrs Stacie Broek: Course creator and author of (al)ONE: Thriving a Stroke
Dr Gargi Banerjee: Clinical Lecturer in Neurology at University College London
Dr Rubina Ahmed: Associate Director Systems Engagement at Stroke Association
Alternative Careers in Neuroscience
Tuesday 2nd May 2023
19:00-20:00 (BST)
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
Please submit your feedback
Thank you for joining us for our speaker talks and Q&A session on careers in neuroscience. We learnt from the experiences and expertise of our invited experts working in a broad range of neuroscience-related careers after their university studies in neuroscience or related subjects. The month's guests' professions spanned illustration, conference organisation, science writing and science presenting.
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Schedule:
Our hosts Aarushi Vaidya and Shloka Dhareshwar introduced the session.
First talk - Dr. Claire Sexton, Director of Scientific Programs & Outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association. In this role, she leads research programs and initiatives to accelerate the Association’s scientific agenda. Her work spans the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference® (AAIC®), the AAIC Satellite Symposia and the Alzheimer’s Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART). As an expert in the field, Dr. Sexton also delivers presentations to audiences around the country on the Association’s role in scientific advancements and the overall state of Alzheimer’s and dementia research.
Second talk - Dr. Radhika Patnala, Director of Sci-illustrate where she leads teams to solve and design communication problems for biotech and pharma sectors, whilst striving to bridge the line between science, art and design. She is a valedictorian with a PhD from the National University of Singapore specialising in Neuroscience and Epigenetics. Dr Patnala founded Sci-illustrate in 2017 with an aim to create and use inspiring visuals that enhance effective science communication within the biotech research, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. She served as an Individual Specialist with UNESCO and the co-curator of the Creative Resilience initiative. Her work on COVID communications has been featured in the BBC, and she has been a keynote speaker at the World Health Organization global conference on communicating science during health emergencies.
Third talk - Ginny Smith, a science writer and presenter with expertise in psychology & neuroscience. She has a passion for brain science and has co-written 5 highly illustrated books for DK publishing, including ‘How the Brain Works’ and ‘1,000 Amazing Human Body Facts’. Ginny had articles featured in publications from BBC Science Focus to The Telegraph. Her latest book for adults; ‘Overloaded; How every aspect of your life is Influenced by your Brain Chemicals’, that was published by Bloomsbury was chosen as one of the ‘Books to read in 2021’ by New Scientist magazine. Ginny founded Braintastic! Science, which produces spectacular science shows and resources to help young people understand neuroscience. She is regularly found on stage at schools, festivals and events, and relishes answering children’s questions about the brain, from why we dream to whether doctors could ever do a brain transplant!
Opportunities in dementia research
Wednesday 8th March 2023
19:00-20:30 GMT
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel​
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Thank you for joining us on International Women’s Day to discover opportunities in dementia research and to learn about how gender disparities in this field are beginning to be addressed.
Schedule:
Our hosts, Shloka Dhareshwar and Lizzie English, will introduce the session.
First talk - Katherine Hanlon, Research Officer from Strategy and Impact at Alzheimer’s Research UK, will be providing us an update on gender disparities in the dementia research career pipeline and an evaluation of the strategies that ARUK have been implementing to tackle these.
Second talk- Lizzie English, our founder, will introduce the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART), and discuss her experience of being an ISTAART Ambassador with the Alzheimer’s Association.
Third talk- Aoife Kiely, Science Review Manager from UK Dementia Research Institute, will tell us about what the UK DRI is and exciting developments within it.
Each talk will be followed by a Q&A open to audience questions.
Relevant upcoming dementia research funding and events will be signposted.
Minds matter: Rethinking mental health in academia ðŸ§
Wednesday 8th of February 2023
19:00-20:00 GMT
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
Please submit your feedback
For an in-depth review of the event, please read Lauren's fantastic blog
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We were excited to kick the new year off with inspiring neuroscientists and academics discussing the importance of mental health.
Madina Abubakar and Sirjan Chhatwal (WiN UK Events Officers) organised this event and hosted the speakers and Q&A sessions.
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Session speakers:
Dr. Jelena Brasanac, post-doctoral fellow at Charite Universitätsmedizin, Berlin.
Research: Works in the field of Immunopsychiatry and investigates inflammatory, immuno-metabolic subtypes of depression
Talk title: Researching and cultivating mental health
Talk highlights: her take on mental health of scientists and her journey of co-founding DragonFly Mental Health, a non-profit on a quest to cultivate excellent mental health in academics worldwide.
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Dr. Julia Rummel, co-founder INNOKI, Berlin.
Current role: Certified systemic (ECA) and wingwave coach, neuroscientist and co-founder of INNOKI
Talk title: My path from academia to an own consultancy business – Why or why not?
Merry WiN-UK-mas!
Thursday 14th December 2022
19.30-20.30 GMT
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
Please submit any feedback
Our Christmas event including a talk from Dr Asma Soltani who discussed her career as a clinical-scientist and her work on neurodevelopmental disorders (Rett Syndrome). The event also featured a Christmas and neuroscience quiz. Our quiz winners received exciting prizes including confidence building and scientific writing sessions. The event concluded with interactive networking sessions.
Session speakers:
Yin Yuan (WiN UK Events Officer) introduced the event and hosted the quiz session.
Sirjan Chhatwal (WiN UK Events Officer) hosted the quiz and led the networking session.
Dr. Asma Soltani: CPCH Clinical Research Fellow & Neurodevelopmental disorders in children Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust at the University of Cambridge.
Women in Neuroscience UK: Launch Event
Wednesday 23rd November 2022
19.30-21.00 GMT
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
Please submit any feedback
We’re grateful that our WiN UK launch event was a huge success with over 80 attendees from over 15 countries. Our event featured a talk by our incredible speaker and adviser Dr Emmanuelle Viré, about her career journey as a female academic. Our event began with an introduction of women in neuroscience, featuring a talk by the founder Lizzie English. We concluded our launch event with a networking opportunity where attendees were divided into breakout rooms to get to know each other.
Session speakers:
Aarushi Vaidya (WiN UK Events Officer) introduced the session and discussed the goals of the network.
Lizzie English (WiN UK Founder) discussed why she began the network.
Dwaynica Greaves (WiN UK Website officer) discussed the website.
Gemma Deegan (WiN UK Design coordinator) spoke about the designs and themes.
Julia Dabrowska (Win UK Blog Editor) discussed the blog component of Win UK.
Yin Yuan (WiN UK Events Officer) discussed upcoming events.
Abinayah John (WiN Social media coordinator) discussed the different social media platforms.
Giada Vanacore (WiN UK secretary and newsletter director) discussed our newsletter
Dr Emmanuelle Viré (WiN UK Advisor and Associate Professor UCL) gave a talk on her career as a female academic.
Shloka Dhareshwar (WiN UK Events Officer) conducted the Q&A session following Dr Dr Emmanuelle Viré’s talk.
Madina Abubakar (WiN UK Events Officer) led and introduced the networking session.
Gender disparities across neurological conditions:
Keynote at the International Women in Neuroscience Symposium
Friday 12th August 2022
11:00 - 12:30 BST
Watch the recording on our YouTube channel
If you have any feedback or questions, please do get in touch
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Gender biases continue to impact the success and satisfaction of neuroscience researchers, the usefulness of neuroscientific trials, and the experiences of those with neurological conditions.
The talks and discussions in this session spanned gender disparities in neurodevelopment, brain injury and neurodegeneration.
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Our founder, Lizzie English, introduced this session and chair a panel of expert researchers.
Firstly, Victoria Milner from King’s College London presented her research into the experiences of autistic women and girls, and the barriers facing their diagnoses.
Next, Katherine Snedaker and Hope Kent discussed sex and gender differences in brain injury. Both speakers represented PINK Concussions, the only charity to focus on brain injury in women and girls from sport, domestic violence, accidents and military service: Katherine is the Executive Director and Founder, whilst Hope is the UK/EU Policy and Research Director. Hope can also be found researching brain injury at the University of Exeter.
Our final talk was given by Katherine Hanlon from Research Impact and Strategy at Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK). Katherine discussed the process and findings of ARUK’s analysis into gender and dementia. She highlighted how these results are inspiring new ways to evaluate research at ARUK.
Shloka Dhareshwar, from the WiN UK Events Team, supported Lizzie during the Q&A segments as a co-chair.
Thank you to the organisers from the International Center for Neuroscience Research, Georgia, for inviting Lizzie to develop and chair this exciting session.
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Find out more about the symposium: Women in Neuroscience Symposium 2022 – International Center for Neuroscience Research (georgianeuroscience.com)
Women in Neuroscience panel:
Invited session at the BNA Members Meeting
28th April 2022
Please watch the recording on the BNA YouTube channel
If you have any feedback or questions, please do get in touch
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With science still seen as a male-dominated profession, are we doing enough to help others to pursue neuroscience careers, and to be satisfied and successful in their work?
The session’s panellists included inspiring women in neuroscience from a variety of backgrounds, topics and career stages. Each panellist introduced themselves and discussed their career progression, before we joined together in a panel discussion including delegates questions.
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Inspired by the ‘Picture a Scientist’ documentary and the ‘leaky pipeline’ theory, we discussed the challenges that face women in neuroscience and how these could be tackled. As well as a source of inspiration and advice, this session promoted opportunities to network, including through a new network specific to women in neuroscience, Women in Neuroscience UK, with aims to enable fellow female neuroscientists to form mentorship connections, strike up collaborations, and share information about relevant scientific training opportunities.
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Lizzie English, University of Cambridge (chair)
Professor Gina Rippon, Professor Emeritus of Cognitive NeuroImaging at Aston University, Birmingham (panellist)
Professor Selina Wray, University College London (panellist)
Tomi Akingbade, University of Cambridge (panellist)
Dr Emma Yhnell, Equal Opportunities and Diversity Representative of the BNA, (panellist)
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