I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! is back from 10th–21st March with 8 themed zones, four general zones (including 2 Primary School zones), 60 scientists, and nearly 140 different schools from Shetland to Cornwall taking part.

Thanks to the Wellcome Trust for part funding I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here! Also to the STFC for funding the Extreme Size and Nuclear Zones, the IOP for funding the Light Zone, and the RSC for funding the Colour Zone.

For the latest updates on the event, follow @imascientist on Twitter. Our hashtag for 2014 is — you guessed it — #IAS2014. For updates from scientists taking part, and our funders, check out our Twitter List.

Let’s take a look at the schools and scientists taking part this March! There are still a couple of names to be confirmed, and the lists will be updated as that happens.

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Cancer Zone

The Scientists:

Matthew Lam Breakthrough Breast Cancer	I help to manage research into the biology of breast cancer and how we can use this knowledge to make better treatments for patients.
Leah Fitzsimmons PhD Student at University of Birmingham	I look at ways in which a normally harmless virus can, in some people, contribute to them getting cancer, with a hope to find new ways of treating people and understanding how viruses interact with us.
Andrea Hanvey Hereford County Hospital	I’m a Biomedical Scientist, this means that I cut up body parts to search for diseases like cancer so that doctors can give the correct treatments to save patients lives.
Anastasia Wass PhD Student at University of Reading	I grow cancer cells and race them against each other seeing how competition causes them to become deadly and spread around the human body.
Amar Joshi Postdoc at University of Leicester	Lots people are diagnosed with cancer every year and we need better treatments, by using X-rays to understand how potential drugs work I can help make the drugs better.

The Schools:

• Abbotsmede Primary School, Peterborough
• City of London Boys School, London
• Dixons City Academy, Bradford
• Elton High School, Bury
• Frome Community College, Frome
• Greenshaw High School, Greater London
• Howells Girls, Cardiff
• John Hanson Community School, Andover
• Lampton School, Hounslow
• Moreton School, Wolverhampton
• Northwood School, London
• Saddleworth School, Oldham

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Colour Zone

The Colour Zone is funded by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The Scientists:

Roy Adkin PhD Student at the Open University	Detection of organic compounds in meteorites using fluorescent lanthanide complexes.
Rowena Fletcher-Wood PhD Student at University of Birmingham	I use gamma rays to test recycling materials.
Nicola Rogers PhD Student at University of Birmingham	I make fluorescent nanoparticles to image blood flow and cancer cells.
Kieren Bradley PhD Student at University of Bristol	I grow carpets of zinc oxide nanorods which I then measure to see how well they will work inside solar cells.
Kate Nicholson Postdoc at Durham University	I’m a chemist who shines lasers on ancient books to discover what makes the colours in the inks and pigments our ancestors used.

The Schools:

• Backwell School, Bristol
• Beeslack Community High School, Midlothian
• Bothal Middle School, Northumberland
• Dixons City Academy, Bradford
• Elton High School, Bury
• Loreto Grammar School, Altrincham
• Neston High School, Neston
• Penrice Academy, St Austell
• St Brendan’s 6th Form College, Bristol
• St. Joseph’s College, Dumfries
• Stanborough School , Hertfordshire
• The Co-Operative Academy, Leeds
• Thorpe St Andrew School, Norwich

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Extreme Size Zone

The Extreme Size Zone is funded by the STFC.

The Scientists:

Nick Wright Postdoc at University of Hertfordshire	I study how stars are born and how they die.
Lilian Hunt PhD Student at MRC National Institute of Medical Research	I explore all the gaps between genes in DNA looking for bits that are the same in lots of different animals, seem important and could control development of animals before they’re born.
Francesca Day PhD Student at University of Oxford	I look for particles shooting to Earth from space; they could be flying through your body right now!
Deepak Kar Postdoc at University of Glasgow	Using the biggest machine to look at the smallest objects.
Alan Fitzsimmons Professor at Queen’s University, Belfast	I look at asteroids and comets, and help work out what to do if we find one on a collision course!

The Schools:

• Long Stratton High School, Norwich
• Lucton School, Herefordshire
• Moor End Academy, Huddersfield
• Sirius Academy, Hull
• St Teresa’s, Effingham
• The Hereford Academy, Hereford
• Thornaby Academy, Stockton-on-Tees
• Wallington High School For Girls, Greater London
• Westbridge PRU, Ipswich
• Withington Girls, Manchester

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ComputationalBio Zone

The ComputationalBio Zone is part of I’m a Scientist’s 2014 Big Data Season.

The Scientists:

Nick Goldman European Bioinformatics Institute	We study the differences in the genomes DNA of living organisms, to work out how they are all related by evolution and to understand what the different bits do.
Jane Charlesworth Postdoc at University of Oxford	I’m searching for genes that turn harmless Staphlococcus bacteria into MRSA superbugs.
Iain Moal Postdoc at Barcelona Supercomputing Center	I run computer simulations to work out how the constituents of living beings interact with one another, in an attempt to construct the ‘circuitry of life’ and see how it goes wrong in cancer patients.
Chris Cole Postdoc at University of Dundee	I write computer programs to analyse large scale DNA/RNA sequencing experiments.
Anna Middleton Lecturer at Wellcome Sanger Institute	We are all going to die!! [one day…] would you want to look into your genes to find out more? I explore what people want to know from genes and how they might use genetic technology.

The Schools:

• Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, London
• Fernhill School & Language College, Hants
• Hazrat Khadijatul Kubra Girls School & Madrasah, Birmingham
• Linton Village College, Cambridgeshire
• Moor End Academy, Huddersfield
• Sir John Leman High School, Beccles
• St Andrew The Apostle, London
• The Rural Enterprise Academy, Staffs

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Light Zone

The Light Zone is funded by the IOP

The Scientists:

Sabina Hatch Postdoc at UCL	I work toward creating new solar cells that are more effective at capturing light and generating electricity, part of this is using nanotechnology to control the behaviour light.
Paul Coxon Postdoc at University of Cambridge	I study tiny clumps of different materials using beams of light 10 billion times brighter than the sun!
Mike Lee PhD Student at University of Glasgow	I move things with light.
Matthew Malek Postdoc at Imperial College, London	I make a beam of ghostly particles, called “neutrinos”, then let them travel through the Earth for hundred of miles before catching these ghosts again to see if they can tell us why we are all here.
Mark Jackson Postdoc at Paris Centre for Cosmological Physics	I am trying to understand why the Big Bang happened by decoding the signals hidden in the first light of the Universe.

The Schools:

• Acklam Grange School, Middlesbrough
• Arnold Hill Academy, Nottingham
• Bishop Ullathorne, Coventry
• Brislington Enterprise College, Bristol
• Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School, Lancaster
• Queen Elizabeth School, Wimborne
• Somervale School, Radstock
• Spalding High School, Spalding

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Nuclear Zone

The Nuclear Zone is funded by the STFC.

The Scientists:

Thomas Cocolios Postdoc at University of Manchester	I shine lasers at radioactive stuff at CERN to check their potato-like form and understand where the elements in the universe come from.
Simon Albright PhD Student at International Institute of Accelerator Applications	I’m unlocking the power of the atom to peer inside containers and find drugs, bombs and illegal goods.
Daniel Roach Postdoc at University of Salford	I ring teeny, tiny ‘bells’ (crystals and molecules) with neutrons; the ‘sound’ they produce tells me what the atoms are doing, and that is sometimes very strange things.
Clara Nellist Postdoc at CERN	I design and test pixel detectors (like those in your digital camera) for the ATLAS detector at CERN and I also study what happens when a Higgs boson turns into taus (heavier versions of electrons).
Becky Martin PhD Student at University of Southampton	I avert disaster by modelling nuclear incidents, like Fukushima, to learn who could need emergency assistance most in the future!

The Schools:

• Blessed George Napier, Oxfordshire
• Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham
• Crompton House CofE School, Oldham
• Downside School, Nr Radstock
• Lampton School, Hounslow
• Linlithgow Academy, Linlithgow
• Pendergast Vale College, London
• Saddleworth School, Oldham
• St. Patrick’s College, Banbridge

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Organs Zone

The Scientists:

Muhammed Rassul PhD Student at University of Birmingham	I work on medical imaging, in particular the brain as it is amazing structure which is easily damaged.
Krishna Mohan Surapaneni Professor at Saveetha University, India	I work in liver diseases mainly focusing on fatty accumulation in liver leading to permanent damage to the liver in persons who takes no alcohol.
John Foster Postdoc at Barts Cancer Institute, QMUL	Making sense of how normal cells of the lung are transformed into cancer to find new treatments and improve current ones.
Catherine Mansfield Postdoc at Imperial College, London	I am a heart scientist trying to cure heart disease and save millions of peoples lives.
Adelle Thrower Lecturer and Research Scientist at Unilabs	I am a biomedical scientist specialising in human disease. When a doctor takes a biopsy or organ out it gets sent to my lab and I cut up the “specimen” -anything from an itchy mole, tonsils to a whole liver!! I can then look at the specimen under the microscope.

The Schools:

• All Saints Catholic College, Huddersfield
• Burnage Media Arts College, Manchester
• Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, London
• Howell’s School, Cardiff
• Lawrence Sheriff School, Rugby
• Lucton School, Herefordshire
• Redmoor Academy, Leicester
• Sheffield High School, Sheffield
• Simon Balle School, Hertford
• St Mary’s Menston, Ilkley
• Walthamstow Academy, London

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Plants Zone

The Scientists:

Sarah Harvey Postdoc at University of Warwick	I’m a plant doctor! Although mainly this involves infecting plants with stuff and seeing what happens.
Michael Graham PhD Student at University of Aberdeen	My project is about the dietary properties of Scottish plants… I [run] experiments to see if they could be incorporated as part of the Scottish diet with a view to potentially improving it.
Isabel Webb PhD Student at John Innes Centre	I work with DNA and proteins in pea root bacteria to try and make important plant food chemicals – which would save money and help feed the world!
Clemence Bonnot Postdoc at University of Oxford	I am a sort of plant genealogist. I look at plant genes to understand why and how their water-living ancestor (an algae) has decided 480 million years ago to start a new life on land. It liked it so much that all the plant you know are its descendant.
Amelia Frizell-Armitage PhD Student at John Innes Centre	I am looking at how a particular gene in wheat (which modifies the waxes on the surface of the plant) affects the physiology and ultimately productivity of the plant. Hopefully my work will contribute to improving wheat yields in the UK.

The Schools:

• Baltasound Junior High School, Shetland
• Bethany School, South Yorkshire
• Bothal Middle School, Northumberland
• Cashalton Boys Sports College, Surrey
• Colchester Country High School for Girls, Colchester
• Dunblane High School, Dunblane
• EF International Academy, Torquay
• Little Lever School, Lancashire
• Lowestoft Sixth Form College, Lowestoft
• Lyndon School, Birmingham
• Oxted School, Oxted
• The John Lyon School, Harrow On The Hill
• The Ockendon Academy, Thurrock
• Treviglas Community College, Newquay
• Trinity Church of England High School, Manchester

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Xenon Zone

A general science zone for primary schools.

The Scientists:

Zach Dixon PhD Student at Northern Institute for Cancer Research	I am searching for a weakness in blood cancer so I can kill it with magic bullets!
Mark Wallace Lecturer at University of Oxford	Shoot lasers down microscopes to watch individual molecules wiggle.
Manolis Rovilos Postdoc at Durham University	I study super-massive black holes in the centres of galaxies.
Elizabeth Ratcliffe Postdoc at Loughborough University	I use robots to grow cells and tissues that can repair, restore and heal the body, to learn how we can safely make new and improved medicines for incurable diseases, taking inspiration from Dr Who’s ability to regenerate!
Claire Vinten PhD Student at University of Nottingham	I find ways to make vets even better at doing their job – so when little fluffy pukes all over the kitchen floor your vet will know what’s wrong with him!

The Schools:

• Berkswell CE Primary School, Coventry
• Doonfoot Primary School, Ayr
• Friends Junior School, Saffron Walden
• Friskney All Saints Primary School, Boston
• Guildfordhigh, Guildford
• Hollingwood Primary School, Bradford
• Kingfield, Woking
• Rosslyn Park Primary School, Nottingham
• St Anne’s Primary School, Manchester
• Townhill Junior School, Southampton
• Westfield Primary School, Woking

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Caesium Zone

A general science zone for primary schools.

The Scientists:

Rosie Coates PhD Student at University of Liverpool	There is bacteria living all over the surface of your skin! I look at the genes of this bacteria and try to work out how it manages to survive so well in such a difficult environment.
Rory Miles Research Scientist at Public Health England	I help to make tests to find out if people are infected with really nasty diseases.
Kate Salmon PhD Student at the Open University	I’m a blue-haired, ocean scientist using plankton to see how climate change is affecting the biology of the ocean!
Juan Carlos Lopez-Baez PhD Student at MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine	I am looking at how a small tropical fish called zebrafish has the extraordinary ability to repair and regrow parts of its body after they have been damaged, in the hope of understanding its secrets and borrowing them.
Joe Sweeney Professor at University of Huddersfield	We make completely new molecules and use them to help people find medicines and other useful things.

The Schools:

• Abbotsmede Primary School, Peterborough
• Ashmount Primary School, London
• Cottesmore St Mary’s, Hove
• Farnham Primary School, Bradford
• Fitzmaurice Primary, Bradford on Avon
• Gateside Primary, Beith
• Hillview Primary, Gloucester
• Landscove Primary, Newton Abbot
• Lofthouse Gate Junior School, Wakefield
• Orrishmere, Stockport
• Ravenscourt Park Prep School, London
• The Gerrards Cross CE School, Gerrards Cross

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Lanthanum Zone

A general science zone.

The Scientists:

Lewis Dean Postdoc at University of St Andrews	I’m interested how humans, chimps and other animals learn from each another and when they decide to invent new ideas.
Jessica Smith PhD Student at University of Oxford	I am making a new piece of kit that goes under the skin, this will help doctors when they are trying to fix patients with missing or badly damaged body parts.
Ian Hands-Portman Imaging Suite Manager at University of Warwick	I make very small things look a lot bigger; usually it’s viruses and cells, once I got to look at a piece of Mars.
Divya Venkatesh PhD Student at University of Cambridge	I study the trypanosome – it’s a cheeky one-cell parasite which gets into our blood and instead of hiding, stays in the hostile territory and practically screams: “I’m foreign, and dangerous, kill me!” – but still manages to dodge our defence system.
Clare Nevin PhD Student at Manchester Metropolitan University	I’m a reproductive biologist investigating how modern lifestyles could be damaging our eggs and sperm. I want to know if too many sweets and cigarettes could be making us infertile!

The Schools:

• Acle Academy, Acle
• Beckfoot School, Bradford
• Brownhills West Primary School, Walsall
• Caroline Chisholm School, Northampton
• Little Lever School, Bolton
• Mid Cheshire College, Northwich
• Northampton High School, Northampton
• Simon Balle School, Hertford
• St Edward’s Prep School, Reading
• Therfield, Surrey
• Westcliff High For Boys, Leigh On Sea
• Woodkirk Academy, Wakefield

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Cerium Zone

A general science zone.

The Scientists:

Willem Heijltjes Postdoc at University of Bath	I am making computers smarter and faster by making them think in pictures, instead of words.
Kevin Arbuckle PhD Student at University of Liverpool	I work on all sorts of topics in evolution – whatever I find cool – including such interesting questions as why should animals be toxic/poisonous/venomous (or pretty colours)?
Fiona Heesen PhD Student at the University of Aberdeen	I look at how people living in the countryside use the Internet (which is often very slow!), and try to find out what new things they could do if they had higher speed Internet access.
Eleanor Parker Postdoc at Queen Mary University London and University of Malaya	I take cells from cartilage in the knees of cows and try to find out they recognize and respond to different signals, like what they do when we run up stairs or what happens to them when we get old.
Aled Roberts PhD Student at Cardiff Metropolitan University	Hospital super bugs are in a sticky situation when treated with manuka honey.

The Schools:

• Blessed George Napier, Oxfordshire
• Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham
• Colaiste Chluain Na Sli, Clonaslee
• Colchester County High School For Girls, Colchester
• Haven High, Boston
• Huntington School, York
• Kesteven and Sleaford High School Selective Academy, Lincolnshire
• Mount Tamar School, Plymouth
• Perth Academy, Perth
• QEGS Ashbourne, Derbyshire
• Teddington School, Teddington
• The Sutton Academy, St Helens
• Walthamstow Academy, London