For over 100 years, Prior Scientific has been manufacturing precision optical and electromechanical equipment and instrumentation. Prior Scientific is a leader in the development of precision motion, automation, and optical systems, sub-systems, and components. Key product lines include microscope automation equipment including high precision motorized microscope stages, automated slide and well plate loaders, Piezo nanopositioning systems, motorized filter wheels, high-speed shutters, laser autofocus systems, custom, and OEM electromechanical and optical systems. Prior Scientific's integrated design and manufacturing facilities allow us to partner with integrators and OEMs and produce prototypes, custom-built products, and complete system solutions according to individual customer requirements for any application, including photonics, research, nanotechnology, medical devices, metrology, and semiconductor manufacturing. Prior Scientific has manufacturing bases in the UK and USA, both ISO 9001:2015 certified, and additional regional offices in Germany, Japan, and China supporting its products worldwide.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science, with annual revenue over $40 billion. Our Mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Whether our customers are accelerating life sciences research, solving complex analytical challenges, increasing productivity in their laboratories, improving patient health through diagnostics or the development and manufacture of life-changing therapies, we are here to support them. Our global team delivers an unrivaled combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and pharmaceutical services through our industry-leading brands, including Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Patheon and PPD.
By engaging with the public, we can connect with our local community and others who are interested in our work, help inform the decisions people make about science and their health, and inspire the next generation to pursue careers in science and cancer research. Come and speak to our Public Engagement Manager to find out more about upcoming events taking place that you can get involved in or how you might be able to translate your research for a non-scientific audience.
There are many challenges in scientific research when it comes to using and delivering software as part of the research. The Research Software Engineering (RSE) Group at the ICR are developing a solution to some of these challenges using docker containers for reproducibility and web-app interfaces for ease of use through the framework ShinyProxy. We present here a selection of applications we have developed or enhanced with ICR researchers to overcome some of the obstacles, including:
1. pisca-box (Dr Heather Grant, Molecular Pathology) simultaneously released as a singularity app on Alma and a web-app hosted by the ICR to lower the barrier to take-up.
2. SOPRANO (Dr Luis Zapata Ortiz, Molecular Pathology) a web application that makes accessible a published complex bioinformatics pipeline.
3. Reversions-web (Dr Stephen Pettitt, Breast Cancer Research) an explorable dataset linked to a publication, hosted on a shared ICR virtual machine.
We aim to expand collaboration with the ICR researchers to further develop tools to reduce complexity and improve reproducibility so that the complex bioinformatics tools both available to use and being created by the ICR can more effectively help maximise research benefit.The ICR is committed to the development of its scientific technical staff, and this is showcased by being a founding signatory of the Technician Commitment since 2017. The technician commitment aims to ensure visibility, recognition, sustainability, and career development of technical staff within research institutes and higher education. To strengthen our position on these four aspects of the commitment, ICR has secured one million pounds from the Wellcome Trust to support the research culture within our institute by developing career pathways for our technical staff. This programme will work on (a) piloting an apprenticeship scheme to train a new generation of scientific laboratory technicians within the sector, (b) building a mid-level science technician development programme, and (c) designing a collaborative programme for Core Research Facilities Managers and Senior technicians. We will be collaborating with other leading research institutions and higher education to ensure this programme tackles the challenges technical staff face in their roles and to develop a training to aid them in their career development. We want to hear from you and get your input to help us identify what you need and how we can help you by developing a comprehensive programme that works for all.
The ICR is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of research integrity & cultivating a positive research culture. These are key to accomplishing our mission to make the discoveries that defeat cancer. Research integrity: Our commitment to this is underscored by the formation of a Research Integrity steering group with 5 faculty champions, the introduction of mandatory research integrity training & an up to date hub of tools & resources to use within your teams. Researcher Development: ICR wants its early career researchers to succeed in a breadth of scientific roles & our next destination data support this. In addition to next destinations, we capture our support to researchers in several ways including attitude surveys & engagement with staff groups. The Researcher Concordat helps us identify ways in which we can do this better, including encouraging 10 days of professional/career development per year. The poster highlights how research integrity & researcher development initiatives at ICR work together to promote excellence in research & grow our impact for patients.
Narrative CVs have been introduced by research funders with the aim of better recognising the quality rather than quantity of research contributions. They are also an opportunity to highlight many of the 'hidden' contributions you make to open research and the wider research community. Narrative CVs aim to look beyond the metrics e.g. number of publications, impact factors or a list of your key lab techniques, to better showcase how and why you have done things and the impact they have had. The poster outlines the 5 main sections of the narrative CV or 'Resume for Research' as per UKRI's format, with some prompts for how you could evidence your activities in these areas. We will use this as an opportunity to gather examples from researchers at different career stages to produce a bank of examples we can make available for future funding applications.
The Wellbeing and Occupational Health Co-ordinator will be on hand to promote and publicise a variety of wellbeing initiatives available to staff and students at the ICR; explain the how role-modelling good wellbeing by managers can benefit their team and increase productivity, reduce absence and aid retention; explain the role of the Wellbeing Champion and how to become a Wellbeing Champion. She will also provide information to staff and students on the services provided by our Occupational Health Team, People Asset Management, and explain what to expect from an OH referral. She will also showcase our Employee and Student Assistance Platform to promote the wealth of information, advice and guidance available from Spectrum Life.
Evolve is the ICR's strategic programme to strengthen our organisation, grow our income and ensure we operate more efficiently - so that we can deliver our institutional strategy. Find out more about the different workstreams and what it will mean for you - from innovative projects to grow and diversify our income; to a new service hub to streamline support requests; and the Stratus project to adopt simple, standard and modern processes in our everyday operations. You will also be able to learn about work to develop our estate with a focus on wellbeing and sustainability and opportunities to get involved in different projects.
From its launch in March 2022, ActNow has played an important role in spotlighting sustainability issues at the forefront of people's minds. ActNow members have been integrated into a majority of ICR committees and forums, providing a voice for sustainability and acting in a consultation capacity. This poster outlines the progress we have made and the steps we still need to take to meet our ambitious targets. In the past year, we have piloted the UK's first sustainable computing certification, engaged major funders in conversations around sustainability and have raised awareness about the carbon footprint of food choices and the impact of business travel. Although a majority of sustainability projects and initiatives are focused on reducing carbon emissions, as this has more established frameworks and methodologies for quantification, there is increasing awareness of the importance of also measuring and improving biodiversity. This is an area that particularly resonates with our staff and so we have also been introducing initiatives and volunteering opportunities around this. Overall, ActNow provides an opportunity for everyone to play their part in making the ICR a more sustainable workplace, which is critical for building a culture of sustainability across our organisation and meeting our strategic goals.