I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here is back this November with 50 scientists, and more than 140 schools from Orkney to Cornwall, and 4 schools from France and Spain.

The scientists will be competing for the school students’ votes in two weeks of fast-paced live chats and questions on everything from cells, to robots, to space, to pizza.

For the latest news and announcements, find us on Twitter, @imascientist, and follow the hashtag, #IASUK.

Let’s meet the scientists and schools taking part…

 

Antibiotics Zone

This zone is funded by e-Bug.

The Scientists

Sally Cutler | Lecturer at University of East London

Bacterial infections of humans and animals – “bad germs” of the UK and beyond.

Robert Hampson | PhD Student at University of Nottingham

I make chemicals that make bacteria less nasty.

Matt Bilton | PhD Student at University of Oxford

By zapping cells with lasers, infecting them with bacteria and peering at them down powerful microscopes, I study how the immune system battles tuberculosis; the white plague!

Marikka Beecroft | PhD Student at Durham University

Bacteria need certain metals to grow, I study how the lack of these metals affect them so in the future we can make new medicines.

Ceri Owen | NHS Grampian

I use maths to fight hospital ‘superbugs’.

The Schools

• Wirral Metropolitan College, Birkenhead
• Winstanley College, West Lancs
• Whitefield School, London
• Westcliff High for Boys, Essex
• Varndean School, East Sussex
• Thefield school, Surrey
• St. Paul’s School, Barcelona, Spain
• St Cyres School, Vale of Glamorgan
• Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School, Bucks
• Riverside College Halton, Cheshire
• Reigate Grammar School, Surrey
• Norden High School & Sports college, Lancashire
• Moor End Academy, West Yorkshire
• MidKent College, Kent
• Merchant Taylors Girls School, Merseyside
• Lycee Simone Veil , Valbonne, France
• Lycee du Val D’Argens, Le Muy, France
• Lycace Stanislas, Nice, France
• Lowestoft Sixth Form College, Lowestoft
• Dawlish Community, Devon
• Coleg Gwent, Crosskeys
• Colchester County High School For Girls, Essex
• Bournemouth School, Dorset

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Big Data Zone

This zone is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

The Scientists

Stefan Lines | PhD Student at University of Bristol

I use some of the most powerful computers in the world to run simulations that explain how to make planets like our Earth around stars trillions of miles away!

Rob Appleyard | PhD Student at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

The Large Hadron Collidor produces a huge amount of data every second, and my job is to look after hundreds of computers that are used to store it and search for the key insights buried within.

Jodi Schneider | Postdoctoral at INRIA

I study how Wikipedia and other online groups make decisions.

George Ryall | Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

I develop and maintain systems to store the huge quantity of data the LHC creates and other systems that allow scientists to process it.

Anna Scaife | Professor at University of Southampton

I’m helping to design a GIANT radio telescope so that I can watch clusters of galaxies crash into each other all across the Universe.

The Schools

• The Ravensbourne School, Kent
• The Grey Coat Hospital, London
• The Downs School, West Berkshire
• St Cyres School, Vale of Glamorgan
• Robertsbridge Community College, East Sussex
• Redland Green School, Bristol
• LSA Technology & Performing Arts College, Lancashire
• Loreto Grammar School, Cheshire
• Kesteven and Sleaford High School, Lincolnshire
• Impington Village College, Cambridge
• Home Educator, London
• Fitzharrys school, Oxon
• Downend, Bristol
• Doonfoot Primary School, South Ayrshire

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Body Zone

This zone is funded by The Physiological Society.

The Scientists

Theresia Mina | PhD Student at University of Edinburgh

I want to find out the effect of obesity and stress during pregnancy to child’s health and behaviour development.

Katie Pickering | PhD Student at Leeds Metropolitan University

Looking into how we use Smartphone technology and physical activity apps to reduce obesity and the diseases linked to being physically inactive.

Giovanna Bermano | Lecturer at Robert Gordon University

Apple or pear? which one should I be? Body shape is important in relation to obesity and the risk of developing obesity-associated diseases, I do research to answer these questions.

Duane Mellor | Lecturer at University of Nottingham

Working out how food can improve health, especially reduce heart disease risk in people with diabetes, perhaps not in the ways you might think I have been using special type of chocolates to make arteries healthier.

Andrew Philp | Lecturer at University of Birmingham

I am an physiologist, fascinated about how exercise activates genes and proteins to make muscle bigger, stronger and more fatigue resistant.

The Schools

• Trinity CE High School, Manchester
• St Leonards, Fife
• Shire Oak Academy, West Midlands
• North London collegiate School, London
• Gumley House Convent School for Girls, Middlesex
• Grove School, Shropshire
• Flegg High, Norfolk
• Elton High School, Bury
• Downend, Bristol
• Chelsea Academy, London
• Birchwood High School, Herts
• Bethany School, South Yorkshire
• Beckfoot School, West Yorkshire
• Attleborough Academy Norfolk, Norfolk
• All Saints Catholic High School, Lancashire
• All Saints Catholic College, West Yorkshire

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Careers in Chemistry Zone

This zone is funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Experts

Sarah Harris | Science Council

I currently manage the content of the Future Morph websiteand social media, so have to have a good awareness of the career routes and options available, and recently helped organise the STEM from the Citycareers fair for year 9 students, which looked at the huge range of careers options from studying STEM.

Robert Bowles | Careers and Skills Executive at the Royal Society of Chemistry

After an early career in marine biotechnology, I moved out of the lab to develop a career working with people rather than microbes, gaining five years’ experience in sales and marketing of educational software to schools.

Ian Cade | Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Manchester

In most cases the active ingredient in a medicine is a large complex molecule and this is usually made by joining smaller molecules together, I design new ways of making these building blocks.

Claire Cooke | Schools and Universities Executive at the Institution of Chemical Engineers

The main functions of my job are to promote chemical engineering as a career to secondary school students, and then when they attend university, encourage them to join IChemE as student members.

Angela Stokes | EISAI

I am a Regulatory Affairs professional with a strong scientific background in chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology and over 25 years of working experience gained in chemical companies, contract research organisations and pharmaceutical companies.

The Schools

• Winstanley College, West Lancs
• Winsford Academy, Cheshire
• Thornden School, Hants
• The Warwick School, Surrey
• Stanborough School, Hertfordshire
• St. Joseph’s College, Dumfries and Galloway
• St Aiden’s Academy, Darlington
• Slough and Eton, Berks
• Prendergast Vale College, London
• Langholm Academy, Dumfries & Galloway
• Kingsmead, Somerset
• Inverkeithing High School, Fife
• Esher CofE High School, Surrey
• Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Devon
• Casterton Business and Enterprise College, Rutland
• Carshalton Boys Sports College, Surrey

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Drug Synthesis Zone

This zone is funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Scientists

Zoe Roberts | PhD Student at University of Warwick

I am a chemist who takes nature’s building blocks and makes them into materials that can go in the body to fix injuries.

Sarah Ashwood | PhD Student at University of Manchester

Making molecules! I am a synthetic organic chemist and I work in a lab to make lots of molecules which can be used as medicines, materials and many other things (while avoiding explosions…).

Elaine O’Reilly | Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University

We turn bacteria into miniature pharmaceutical factories and force them to make important drugs and natural products such as morphine and methamphetamine.

David Foley | Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Dundee

I hunt down new treatments for deadly diseases, working as part of team with lots of other scientists.

Aaron Acton | Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Birmingham

I use chemicals to make ‘little machines’ that can be used to see how your body works on the inside.

The Schools

• Wyvern College, Hampshire
• Winterbourne International Academy, Bristol
• St. John Payne School, Essex
• Queen Elizabeth School, Cumbria
• Poole Grammar School, Dorset
• Okehampton College, Devon
• Merchant Taylors Girls School, Merseyside
• Lingfield Notre Dame, Surrey
• Kirkland High School and Community College, Fife
• Hammersmith Academy, London
• Gumley House Convent School for Girls, Middlesex
• Forrester High School, Edinburgh
• English Martyrs School, Hartlepool
• Elton High School, Bury
• Allestree Woodlands School, Derbyshire
• All Saints Catholic College, West Yorkshire

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Extreme Temperature Zone

This zone is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.

The Scientists

Pierre Lasorak | PhD Student at Queen Mary University

I am studying tiny particles that can travel through mountains and cosmos. They are filling the universe, and there is so much that you have right now inside you about 12 millions of these.

Lisa Simmons | Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University

I use high energy x-rays to look at the atomic arrangement in many different types of materials, from metallic glasses (liquid metals) to archaeological teeth , to understand the diet and movement of our ancestors.

Kate Dobson | Postdoctoral Researcher at Manchester X-ray Imaging Facility

I look at all sorts of rocks using x-ray microscopes that let me see what’s happening inside them: at the moment I am recreating miniature volcanoes to try and understand wha makes a volcano erupt.

Joshaniel Cooper | Postdoctoral Researcher at ISIS neutron and muon source

I make magnets very cold and try to make them conduct electricity with exactly no resistance.

Joe Reed | PhD Student at University of Southampton

Simulating wind from the Sun breaking Earth’s magnetic field.

The Schools

• Valley Gardens Middle School, Tyne and Wear
• St Marks Catholic School, Hounslow
• St Laurence School, Wiltshire
• St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, Worcestershire
• Sawtry Community College, Cambridgeshire
• Sanday Community School, Orkney
• Plymstock School, Devon
• Lutterworth High School, Leics
• Loreto Grammar School, Cheshire
• Larkmead School, West Berkshire
• Kingfield, Surrey
• Irchester Community Primary School, Northants
• Howell’s School Llandaff, Cardiff
• Hagley Catholic High School, Worcestershire
• Coopers School, Kent
• Caroline Chisholm School, Northamptonshire
• Buxton School, London
• Bryn Celynnog Comprehensive School, Pontypridd
• Avenue Primary, Surrey

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Space Zone

This zone is funded by the Stimulating Physics Network.

The Scientists

Julian Onions | PhD Student at University of Nottingham

I build universes from nothing in computers, and see how they turn out.

Jane MacArthur | PhD Student at University of Leicester

I am studying rocks from Mars and grains from a comet using microscopes and light brighter than the sun, to help understand what they are made of and how they formed in the early Solar System.

Hugh Osborn | PhD Student at University of Warwick

I’m using telescopes in exotic locations here on Earth to search for distant planets around other stars.

Helen Johnson | PhD Student at Durham University

I use the world’s largest telescopes to ‘time-travel’, studying the Universe as it was billions of years ago – extreme, dynamic and always surprising!

Heather Campbell | Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Cambridge

I explore exciting explosions of stars (know as supernovae), which rip the whole star apart and shine so brightly they are visible in other Galaxies, I discover them using the Gaia satellite, but I need the public and schools to help observe these new objects.

The Schools

• The Grey Coat Hospital, London
• Testbourne Community School, Hampshire
• Tanbridge House School, West Sussex
• South Molton Community College, Devon
• Penrice Academy, Cornwall
• Okehampton College, Devon
• Melksham Oak Community School, Wiltshire
• King Richard School, Hampshire
• Harris Academy Bermondsey, London
• Hammersmith Academy, London
• Enfield County School, Middlesex
• De Warenne Academy, S.Yorks
• Cecil Jones College, Essex
• Bordesley Green Girls’ School, Birmingham

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Spectroscopy Zone

This zone is funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Scientists

Rebecca Ingle | PhD Student at University of Bristol

I use one laser to make a chemical reaction happen and then use another laser to watch exactly how the individual particles move during a chemical reaction in real time.

Matthew Camilleri | PhD Student at University of Bath

Shining light on plant compounds and see what happens.

Laura Schofield | PhD Student at University of Nottingham

I make the building blocks for plastic from plant materials.

Francesca Palombo | Lecturer at University of Exeter

My work contributes towards understanding disease – cardiovascular diseases and cancer – using light-based techniques within the class of molecular spectroscopy.

Andrew McKinley | Lecturer at Imperial College, London

I design exciting experiments to bring cutting edge research to students!

The Schools

• The Ockendon Academy, Essex
• Stanborough School, Hertfordshire
• Netherhall School, Cumbria
• Cross and Passion College, Antrim
• Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Devon
• Christ’s College Guildford, Surrey
• Chelsea Academy, London
• Carterton Community College, Oxfordshire
• Campion School, Warwickshire
• Bexleyheath Academy, Kent
• Berkshire College of Agriculture, Berkshire
• Alcester Grammar School, Warwickshire

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Europium Zone | A general science zone

This zone is funded by the Wellcome Trust.

The Scientists

Theodoros Laftsoglou | PhD Student at University of Leeds

I’m trying to understand how a friendly bug produces electricity, so that we can use it to turn our waste-water into green electricity.

Philip Ratcliffe | Professor at Insubria University, Como, Italy

I try to find out what the smallest particles (quarks) are like and how they move.

Kerry O’Shea | Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Glasgow

I study exciting new materials that will make your next smartphone even faster.

Alison Thomson | PhD Student at University of Aberdeen

Not just nerves are damaged in motor neurone disease, organs are damaged too – and I’m trying to work out why. See what your ice bucket challenge was in aid of!

Alexander Pool | PhD Student at Bart’s Cancer Institute, Queen Mary’s

I look at cancer cells using a gigantic microscope, to see how [mutations causing strange things to happen inside them means] they can grow really fast, then we try to work out ways to stop them in their tracks.

The Schools

• The Bulmershe School, Berkshire
• St Bartholomew’s School, Berkshire
• Smith’s Wood Sports College, Birmingham
• Prendergast Vale College, London
• North Somerset Enterprise and Technology College, North Somerset
• Mid Cheshire College, Cheshire
• Lucton School, Herefordshire
• Lofthouse Gate Junior School, West Yorkshire
• Kesteven and Sleaford High School, Lincolnshire
• Hitchin Girls’ School, Beds
• Hillcroft Primary School, Surrey
• Farnham Primary School, West Yorkshire
• Broadoak, North Somerset
• Archer Academy, London
• Acle Academy, Norfolk

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Gadolinium Zone | A general science zone

This zone is funded by the Wellcome Trust.

The Scientists

Tora Smulders-Srinivasan | Lecturer at Northumbria University

I race fruit flies to discover more about how Parkinson’s makes neurons die!

David Wilson | PhD Student at University of Warwick

I study the death of planets.

Daniel Parsons | Professor at University of Hull

I play with mud, sand and water in a big experimental tank to understand how climate change alters our rivers, coast and oceans!

Clare Harding | Postdoctoral Researcher at University of Glasgow

I am finding out how the tiny parasites called Toxoplasma get from our food into our brains and can even change the way we think!

Arthur Dyer | Oxford University

I play with viruses that only attack cancer cells to make them into a cancer cure and try to change people’s DNA to fight diseases.

The Schools

• Waingels College, Berkshire
• Thistley Hough Academy, Staffs
• Sussex Downs College, East Sussex
• St Andrew’s CofE Primary, Dorset
• Smithycroft Secondary School, Glasgow
• Maghull High School, Merseyside
• Longton Primary School, Lancs
• Gateside Primary, Ayrshire
• Friends Junior School, Essex
• Eastlea Community School, London
• Dunblane High School, Perthshire
• Drayton Manor High School, London
• Carshalton Boys Sports College, Surrey
• Broadoak Mathematics and Computing College, North Somerset
• Bedes, East Sussex
• Avanti House, Harrow