Welcome to the latest edition of the Institute’s termly newsletter, which is an update and highlights some of the many excellent activities at the Institute over the past 3 months, some attracting major media attention (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ion/news ).

Now that the Government eased restrictions on the 19th July 2021 and thanks to the successful roll-out of the vaccination programme, we wanted to set-out our plans for a collective return to campus. We are following UCL guidance and we strongly recommend that all Heads of Research Department and line managers read this guidance and implement a flexible return to work wherever possible. From Monday 19 July, staff who have been working remotely and who wish to start returning to campus may do so, to “re-acclimatise” themselves, although we do not expect everyone back onsite at this stage.
 
From 27th September 2021, subject to Government guidance, we anticipate all remaining staff to return to work on campus, for at least part of the time, with the proviso that flexibility and equity in our ways of working will remain a priority. The guidance acknowledges we are seeking to balance colleagues’ requests for greater flexibility with the value of all being together in the same place, for the benefit of both our staff and students.
 
Some staff will be required to work wholly onsite, and others will prefer to continue working in this way, even if their role means it’s possible for them to work remotely for part of the time. UCL’s guidance distinguishes a group whose job roles cannot be performed remotely, from those for whom a balance of on site and remote working is appropriate; Importantly, the distinction will be based on the duties and responsibilities of the individual role, and not on the type of employment contract held by an individual so as to avoid any divides between Professional Services, Research and Academic staff members.  UCL has specified the expectation that a minimum of 40% of working time will be spent on site; the expectation from IoN is that unless otherwise negotiated with your respective Head of Research Department, we will aim to be coming to work at least two days a week (pro-rata for part-timers) and that the time we spend at UCL will be used to ensure that face-to-face contact with students and colleagues is maintained wherever possible.  Of course, exceptions can and will be negotiated, and we will all apply the policy using a pragmatic and common sense approach; we believe that facilitating opportunities for the face-to-face interactions that we have missed on during the pandemic is probably desirable for our community and Institute. It will inevitably take us some time, collectively, to strike the right balance and we look forward to seeing you all in person again soon.
 
We wanted to thank you for your participation in the Faculty’s Staff Survey, which closed on the 25th June; IoN’s participation rate was 56%. We are extremely grateful to you for taking the time to share your opinion and suggestions. We will now begin to compile the results over the next month and the IoN Senior Management Team and the EDI/Athena SWAN Committee will review its findings and plan appropriate actions in response to the data, ahead of the new academic year. We will keep you all informed via our website.
 
Our plans for a new Translational Neuroscience Centre with state of the art facilities are progressing well; we are pleased to report that construction has begun on site following the Groundbreaking event on the 17th May. UCL President & Provost Dr Michael Spence was joined by construction partner ISG and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to break ground at the new home of UCL Neuroscience on Grays Inn Road. You can watch the ceremony, photos and read all about it here.
  
Last but not least, huge congratulations on the 2020/21 successful promotions . The success of our staff represents the huge amount of talent and commitment they share. Successful promotion at UCL is a major achievement, years in the making. Please scroll down for further details about the promotions process , Academic Careers Framework , Academic Promotions and Early Career promotions (grades 7 & 8).

We are both delighted that, following the recent Director appointment process, we have the opportunity to work together and support the progress of IoN over the next five years, which promises to be an exciting transformational phase in our history. We look forward to working with you closely to develop the IoN 2022-2027 Science strategy which will ensure the IoN community link with the new UCL five year strategy. We are shortly advertising for four new IoN Deputy Directors to expand our leadership team and capacity to develop and deliver the new strategy.

Thank you all for your determination, resilience, hard work and fantastic achievements over this past academic year. We encourage you all to take a well-deserved break this summer, and look forward to welcoming you back in September.

As always, keep safe and stay well,

Michael & Hélène.

ION news

Senior Academic, Research and Teaching Fellow and Early Career promotions announced
Huge congratulations to the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology staff who have been awarded a promotion in this year's promotions round. Promotions are awarded to staff showing exceptional talent and commitment to UCL's mission.

The success of our staff represents the huge amount of talent they share and their commitment to furthering the field of brain sciences. 

We now have 4 new Professors, 4 new Principal Research Fellows, 6 new Senior Research Fellows and 3 new Associate Professors (Teaching)

We encourage all Academic, Teaching and Research staff to consult the Academic Careers Framework and Early Career promotions (grades 7 & 8) to build their CV and track record towards applying for promotions; speak to your Head of Research Department and your line manager. If you don’t try, you don’t get! 

The following promotions are effective from 1st October 2021

Professors

• Dr Christos Proukakis (Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, Professor of Neurology and Neurogenetics);
• Dr Dominik Bach (Imaging Neuroscience, Professor of Cognitive-Computational and Clinical Neuroscience);
• Dr Vladimir Litvak (Imaging Neuroscience, Professor of Translational Neurophysiology);
• Dr Jonathan Rohrer (Neurodegenerative Diseases, Professor of Neurology).

• Dr Gabriele Lignani (Clinical & Experimental Epilepsy);
• Dr Rina Bandopadhyay (Clinical and Movement Neurosciences);
• Dr Christian Lambert (Imaging Neuroscience);
• Dr Rebecca Samson (Neuroinflammation).

• Dr Amit Batla (Clinical and Movement Neurosciences);
• Dr Adam Liston (IoN Central Administration);
• Dr Tim Young (IoN Central Administration).

• Lauren Byrne (Neurodegenerative Diseases);
• Nadine Dijkstra (Imaging Neuroscience);
• Yael Hacohen (Neuroinflammation);
• Miha Modic (Neuromuscular Diseases);
• Tim Tierney (Imaging Neuroscience);
• Elliott Wimmer (Imaging Neuroscience).

How UCL’s new centre for neuroscience is supporting the local community

UCL has partnered with ISG to deliver a new landmark facility for UCL Neuroscience at 256 Grays Inn Road. As part of our joint commitment to supporting the local community and environment, ISG have delivered a number of community-facing initiatives.

How neuroscience artworks are inspired by nature

Site artists Annie Cattrell and Freya Gabie were appointed to create a series of artworks for UCL’s new neuroscience facility at Grays Inn Road. They discuss how nature, the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week, informs their art and creative. 

Congratulations!

We’re pleased to announce the following recent prizes and awards:

Professor Lisa Cipolotti elected to Academy of Medical Sciences

We are delighted to announce that Professor Cipolotti (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) has been elected Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in recognition of her exceptional contributions to biomedical and health science.

Professor Roger Lemon elected Fellow of the Royal Society
We are delighted to announce that Professor Roger Lemon (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) has been elected Fellow of the Royal Society

Professor Alan Thompson wins the prestigious MS Charcot Award

Professor Thompson wins the 2021 lifetime achievement award for outstanding research into the understanding and treatment of MS.

Prof. Frederik Barkhof awarded the International Society for Magnetic Resonance Imaging Gold Medal

Professor Barkhof has been awarded the prestigious ISMRM Gold Medal recognising a major research contribution to the field of magnetic resonance.

Professor Tom Warner becomes President of the Association of British Neurologists

We are delighted to announce that Professor Tom Warner (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) becomes President of the Association of British Neurologists (ABN).

Dr Keir Yong awarded 2022 Elizabeth Warrington Prize

We're delighted to announce that Keir Yong (Alzheimer's Society Fellow, Senior Research Fellow, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) has been awarded the 2022 Elizabeth Warrington Prize.

Dr Tobias Hauser has been named a FENS-Kavli Scholar for 2021

Dr Hauser (IoN) will join an active network of 30 scholars from 13 different countries who work together to improve neuroscience in Europe through scientific exchange, advocacy and outreach.


Congratulations to Olga Ciccarelli on her appointment as the
new BRC Theme Director for Translational Neuroscience. 

Dr Tim Tierney awarded Epilepsy Research UK & Young Epilepsy Fellowship for bedside brain imaging

Congratulations to Anna Kuppuswamy as a new Fellow of the YAE

"Absolutely delighted to be elected a Fellow of Young Academy of Europe! Time to move forward the agenda of fatigue advocacy!"

Professor Antonella Spinazzola receives Brain Research UK Miriam Marks Fellowship 2020

One of two Fellowships awarded in 2020, will support her research into Parkinson’s disease, a progressive, degenerative neurological condition affecting around 145,000 people in the UK. 

Winner of the Harinarayan Young Neuroscientist Award 2021 - Dr Gabriele Lignani
Dr Gabriele Lignani, a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy at the Queen Square Institute of Neurology, picked up the prestigious award for his research into Activity-dependent Gene Therapy for Intractable Epilepsy.

The ADDF & Harrington Discovery Institute grant ADDF-Harrington Scholar Award to Dr. Paul Fish (ARUK DDI)  

Professor Paul Fish has been granted an ADDF- Harrington Scholar Award, selected for his work aimed at restoring brain function.

Professor Rickie Patani awarded prestigious Lister Prize for 2021
Professor Rickie Patani has received a Lister Institute Research Prize Fellowship for his research on diseases of the nervous system.


Huge congratulations to Dr Cath Mummery who has been elected as one of the three new councillors at the Royal College of Physicians 
Dr Cath Mummery from Queen Square Institute of Neurology has been elected as one of the three new councillors at the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) selected in a round of elections and appointments


 

Grants over £500k

Edmond J Safra Philanthropic Foundation

Professor Tom Foltynie (Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences) has been awarded £1,375,000 for research into ‘Accelerating Clinical treatments for Parkinson’s Disease starting 1st January 2021 for 36 months.

F Hoffman La Roche AG

Professor Frederick Barkhof, (Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation) and Dr Declan Chard (Department of Neuroinflammation) were awarded £2,220,817 for research into ‘Advanced Neuroimaging Biomarkers For Predicting and Monitoring Response to Ocrelizumab’ starting 1st January 2021 for 36 months.

MRC

• Professor Dimitri Kullmann (Department of Clinical & Experimental Epilepsy) was awarded £2,640,411for research into ‘A Network Approach to Gene Therapy for Refractory Epilepsies’ starting 1st June 2021 for 60 months.
• Dr James Jepson (Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy) has been awarded £1,490,164 for research into ‘A neurodevelopmental origin of dystonia’ starting 1st July 2021 for 60 months.
• Dr G. Elliott Wimmer (Department of Imaging Neuroscience) has been awarded £1,800,740 for research into ‘Memory-based sequential decision making: neural computations and shaping effects of mood’ starting 1 June 2021 for 60 months.

NIH

Professor Karen Duff (UKDRI) has been awarded £1,274,368 for research into ‘Differential vulnerability to tauopathy in Alzheimer’s disease and Frontal Temporal Lobe Dementia’ starting 15 May 2021 for 60 months

Sergey Brin Foundation

Dr Christos Proukakis (Department of Clinical & Movement Neurosciences) was awarded £977,468 for research into ‘Understanding inherited and acquired variation in Parkinson’s disease through multi-cell omics analyses’ starting 1st March 2021 for 36 months.

Wellcome Trust

• Professor Cathy Price (Department of Imaging Neuroscience) was awarded £3,732,109 for Wellcome Centres Extension, ‘Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging’ starting 1st December 2021 for 24 months.
• Professor Mary Reilly(Department of Neuromuscular Diseases) has been awarded £810,083 for research into ’Preventable axon degeneration in human disease’ starting 1st April 2021 for 60 months

Focus: Education

It was fantastic to see the outstanding postgraduate student satisfaction scores for a number of our Programmes in the recent PTES results

The 2021 results reveal our postgraduate taught students are among the most satisfied overall at UCL, particularly with teaching and learning, and Covid-19 support and communications.

The ION Programmes with exemplary overall satisfaction rates include:

• MSc Clinical Neurology - 100%
• MSc Dementia: Causes, Treatments and Research (Neuroscience) - 92.3%

First Fellows appointed to unique neurology and neurosurgery programme with Cleveland Clinic London

PGR update 

With Summer being well under way, we would like to remind all research students of the annual leave entitlement which is 27 days plus bank holidays and 6 UCL closure days. It has been a difficult year and it is encouraged for all PGR students to take a well deserved break if desired. This annual leave policy will be officially published in the new academic manual for 2021/22.

We have recently asked all students to complete the IoN Supervision survey which will enable us to determine the quality of supervision at the IoN. There is still a chance to participate in the IoN Student Experience survey managed by the Athena Swan Student & Education action group. The aim of these surveys is to make the student voice heard and the results will empower meaningful change. If you would like to continue providing feedback after these surveys close, please use Unitu or speak to your student representatives.

Congratulations to Dr Josephine Barnes who is now Faculty Graduate Tutor (Research) for the Faculty of Brain Sciences

We're delighted to report on the success of the Conference, organised by Committee members chaired by Javier Bautista (PhD researcher at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology) held on 27th May 2021.

Opening with a welcome from the Dean, followed by a series of presentations from PGR students and the 3 Minute Thesis competition, the conference was a unique opportunity to hear about and discuss ongoing research carried out by PGR students across the whole Faculty, with more than 200 registered people and 59 talks in total. 


Congratulations to Mica Clarke on winning the 3MT competition for her amazing work on PET imaging in frontotemporal dementia.
 

Virtual Graduation Ceremonies
Congratulations to our graduating class of 2021, we are all immensely proud of you! ION students and family and friends were invited to join an online ceremony on 8th July 2020. The ceremony was an opportunity to celebrate all of your hard work and achievements, and students were invited to capture their fond memories from their time at UCL. Upload your photos, videos and messages. 

 “Congratulations to all ION successful graduate students! We wish you the very best for your future career! Please, keep in touch…” 

Prof Helene Plun-Favreau, Deputy Director for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Focus: Health, Safety & Lab Operations

New staff & student departure form

IoN has introduced a new mandatory staff & student departure checklist which can be found on the IoN intranet  If you are leaving IoN please remember to fill out the checklist and return the signed copy to your Departmental Administrator. This will help us to keep track of research samples, keep our space free of clutter, re-use functional equipment and to maintain a safer and more sustainable work environment.

Lab & office inspections

With more staff on site and a slightly more normal working pattern all departments and teams are reminded to proceed with their annual lab and office inspections and to upload reports onto RiskNet.

UCL COVID-19 support and resources

• UCL's coronavirus information hub, including: FAQs for UCL staff and UCL students
• Keeping Safe on Campus webpages 
• Recordings of the Return to Campus roadshow events.

Laser safety

The IoN safety team together with UCL safety services are currently reviewing safety arrangements around laser equipment and confocal microscopes. If you own any laser equipment not previously declared to the IoN safety team, please do so by emailing our laser safety officer Sergey Novoselov s.novoselov@ucl.ac.uk

Focus: COVID-19

Covid-19 vaccine: Common stroke symptoms must be ‘urgently evaluated’

Neurologists at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology & National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery (UCLH) have published the first clinical observations of patients who experienced an ischaemic stroke, the most common form of stroke, following an Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

Royal College of Physicians award for UCLH long Covid service

UCLH’s post-COVID service, including Dr Michael Zandi, won the award for "excellence in times of crisis" at the 2021 Excellence in Patient Care Awards.

Coronavirus: The Whole Story podcast - in our 50th episode, we explore the long-term physical and psychological effects of the coronavirus with Dr Michael Zandi. 



Half of children with inflammatory syndrome after COVID-19 have neurologic symptoms

Half of young people who developed the rare but serious multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19 had neurologic symptoms or signs when they entered the hospital according to preliminary research.



iReadMore app provides limitless speech therapy for stroke, brain injury and Covid patients

A smart app, developed at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, which improves the reading ability of people who have suffered a stroke, has been a ‘godsend’ for patients asked to rehabilitate at home during the pandemic.
 

Focus: 
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI)

The Inaugural Excellence in Mentoring Award 2021
 
We are very proud to announce the winner of the first UCL Queen Square Excellence in Mentoring Award, Dr. Chris Hardy. We wish our warmest congratulations to the winner! 


 
“I’m very honoured to have received this award and thank my mentees for nominating me. Watching them flourish has been a source of great joy and I’m looking forward to hearing about their inevitable career successes in years to come. I would encourage others to get involved in the scheme if they aren’t already – I’ve learned a lot from the experience and am really grateful to have had this opportunity.” Dr. Chris Hardy.
 
An honourable mention was given to Dr. Martina Bocchetta, Professor Gipi Schiavo, Professor Nick Fox, Dr. Jo Barnes, Professor Parmjit Jat, Prof Rickie Patani, and everyone whose support has been lauded by their mentees. 
 
This award recognizes the inspiring colleagues who have improved our workplace through mentoring. We sincerely thank all the mentors in our scheme for their excellence and dedication, and for being real role models. 

The IoN Mentoring Scheme was set up in 2013, as part of our institutional Athena SWAN strategy to support the career progression of female scientists and clinicians. The impact in the institute was undeniable, and it has since been expanded to all scientists and clinicians at QSIoN. It is a professional and personal development experience that benefits mentees and mentors alike, as confirmed by our participants. Over 90% of mentees agreed or highly agreed that the QSIoN mentoring scheme had a positive impact on their career development​, while 78% of mentors think being a mentor had a positive impact on their own career.
 
Dr. Josephine Barnes has been the Mentoring Scheme Lead since 2016, taking over from Professor Helene Plun-Flavreau, and had a significant role in shaping the programme into the huge success it is today.  
 
“I am delighted that this scheme has grown to offer mentoring to anyone at QSIoN who wishes to join and I’m thrilled that the mentors also enjoy providing support. This is the first time we have shone a light on the important work mentors do in our institute.  There is now a fantastic team working on mentoring at QSIoN and this scheme will go from strength to strength in the future. Please do let us know if you would like to help with mentoring. We are always looking for new members of the scheme and also of the organisational committee!” Dr. Jo Barnes
 

Pride Month 

Q&A with Professor Edward Wild a member of UCL’s LGBTQ+ Steering Group. about the importance of Pride Month to the UCL community and what it personally means to him. 

• Director’s and Dean’s Race Equity Pledges 2020–21 : Professional Services Directors have now joined Deans in making public pledges to promote race equity.
• Changes to maternity, shared parental, paternity/partner’s leave and adoption leave : We are pleased to announce the following HR policy changes. These changes enhance the support we offer within our family-friendly policies.
• UCL launches new podcast series - Black Lives at UCL : The new podcast explores the lived experiences of UCL’s Black staff and students through the lens of higher education.

James Samuel Risien Russell, one of Britain’s first black British consultants, a pioneering neurologist and Professor of Medicine at UCL, has been commemorated with an English Heritage London blue plaque.

• UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology BAME Scholarship in memory of James Samuel Risien Russell

Looking for candidates for the role of Athena SWAN Lead to help us drive cultural change at the ION
 
Building an equitable and inclusive community is a long journey that requires strategy and commitment from all levels of an organization. The Athena SWAN Charter recognizes and celebrates good practices in higher education and research institutions towards the advancement of gender equality: representation, progression, and success for all. It offers adhering departments and institutions a framework to build evidence-based approaches and policies to remove systemic barriers disproportionally affecting one gender. Ultimately, it invites adhering departments and institutions to self-reflect and find solutions that work better for all members of staff.
 
The IoN established its Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Committee in 2012, in an effort to address gender inequity in our workplace. In 2013, the Institute received its first Bronze Award, followed by an upgrade to Silver in 2015. In December 2019, we submitted an application for the renewal of our Silver award, which was successfully granted in the summer of 2020. This was a well-deserved recognition of the Institute’s continuous commitment and progress towards eliminating gender bias. Going forward we want to stimulate further change and to build work towards an Athena SWAN Gold recognition in 2024. Our aim is to enhance IoN external status as an ‘employer of choice’ to female staff.
 
Professors Nick Woods and Elizabeth Fisher have led the Institute’s Athena SWAN work for the past 3 years, having been instrumental to our winning 2019 Athena SWAN Silver submission. They believe now is the right time to pass the baton.
 
“Being an Athena Swan lead for IoN is immensely gratifying because it is a position in which we can effect change and see results.  The changes brought about by the Athena Swan program are important for the individuals involved, for the culture of our Institute and for the long-term effects on diversity – and therefore innovation in Neuroscience and Neurology.” Professor Elizabeth Fisher and Professor Nick Wood.
 
We are looking for two people to be appointed to the roles of Athena SWAN Co-Leads, one representing the Professional Services and the other representing Researchers/Academics. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone to develop their leadership skills while helping drive positive and impactful cultural change in the Institute of Neurology. 

Those coming into the role will be supported by a robust EDI governance structure in the Institute, Faculty and UCL, and will be paired with mentors with experience leading an Athena SWAN Silver or Gold Department at UCL.
 
“ Athena SWAN was instrumental in supporting progress in gender equality in Higher Education. At IoN, we have made great progress over the last few years, thanks to our Athena SWAN committee. In order to build on the momentum and apply for a gold award in three years, we are excited to recruit two new Leads to actively drive the IoN strategy in order to keep enhancing gender equality. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about the role.” Professor Helene Plun-Favreau
 
The closing date for applications is September 1st. We particularly encourage applications from our black and minority ethnic colleagues who are under-represented within the IoN and UCL at leadership roles at this level. For more information about this role, contact Professor Helene Plun-Favreau (h.plun-favreau@ucl.ac.uk) or our EDI Project Manager, Ana Faro (a.faro@ucl.ac.uk)

2021 FBS Staff Survey
We are happy to report that our final participation rate was 56%. We are extremely grateful for your contributing your valuable time, your honest information, and your thoughtful suggestions.

What are the next steps? 

The Faculty of Brain Sciences has collected the completed surveys and will begin compiling the results over the next month. We expect to receive an Institutional report in August. Senior Leadership and the EDI/Athena SWAN Committee will review its findings and plan appropriate actions in response to the data, ahead of the new academic year. We will keep our members of staff informed via our website.

The Students & Education group for the Athena SWAN committee at IoN want to hear directly from you and understand your experience at the IoN. They are particularly keen in understanding if gender, racial and social inequalities exist for students, to remove barriers in the application process and improve diversity and inclusion within the Institute.

• PGT (MSc and MRes) survey 
• PGR (MPhil/PhD/MDRes) survey

This virtual event on 12th May 2021, was joined by over 100 attendees from 16 countries, offering postgraduate students and postdocs the chance to hear from a range of speakers working in diverse sectors, including industry, academia, science policy, Over 100 people attended and we are pleased to advise that the recording of the event is now available

The prize aims to recognise outstanding work published in the past year by early career UCL neuroscientists in any field of neuroscience, and is awarded in two categories; junior scientist and advanced scientist. The competition is open to all UCL PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates and junior Principal Investigators working on any aspect of neuroscience.

Deadline: 1pm on Friday 3 September 2021 - Submissions via email to Maya Sapir (m.sapir@ucl.ac.uk)

 

The current situation with regards to Covid-19 is understandably stressful and upsetting for many of us, as our attention is drawn to our own physical health, and that of those around us, it is also important to remember to care for our mental health and wellbeing at this time. Self-isolation and quarantine can also have a significant impact on our mental health.

Resources to support you 

• 5 ways to well being campaign  
• Remote, not Distant at UCL
• Alcohol use and misuse 
• Smoking and tobacco use 
• Remarkable Stories  UCL Student Support and Wellbeing podcast featuring interviews with students, staff & alumni. 

ION yoga: online sessions

ION continue to organise online yoga sessions. Please see IoN Intranet wellbeing pages for further information.

Please keep an eye on IoN Intranet wellbeing pages for updates, as well as the list of resources from UCL Health and Wellbeing Human Resources  including the Your Wellbeing survey     

Wellbeing champions at Queen Square


      

Jacky Bauer, Linda Taib (above).

The wellbeing champions organised a week of events for Mental Health Awareness Week 10 -16 May 2021  Queen Square programme 

If you’re doing something that you’d like to share, we want to hear about it!

• IoN wellbeing Teams is a space to chat with colleagues, take a break and share tips and photographs, including Pets Corner.
• or write to Sandra Porteous s.porteous@ucl.ac.uk or tweet and tag us @UCLIoN

Focus: Sustainability

Sustainability at UCL



UCL Sustainability Awards 2021
UCL’s ninth Awards Ceremony took place, virtually, on July 14th 2021. Congratulations to everyone at ION who won an award or was nominated. You're all winners to us!



UCL wins prestigious climate action award

UCL has been named the winner of the Green Gown Award for Climate Action for our campaign to become a zero-carbon institution by 2030

The Inclusive Environments Report  

This report discusses how far UCL has come in terms of creating ‘an accessible, publicly engaged organisation that fosters a lifelong community’, focusing on creating an inclusive campus, embedding inclusivity into the management of estates and operations, and initiatives such as the Sunflower Lanyard Scheme. 

UCL Sustainability Annual report
UCL is on a journey to becoming a more sustainable university - read all about the successes and challenges of the last year, and highlights from our students and staff

Focus: Public Engagement

New Starters and staffing news   

• Communications Medicine welcome Dr. Edwin Jabbari to the Editorial Board
• Disease Models and Mechanism welcome Professor Rickie Patani as a new Editor 
• Meet the Expert with Professor David Werring to mark Action on Stroke Month,
• Spotlight on... Professor Selina Wray
• IoN scientists run marathon to raise money for MS  A dozen multiple sclerosis (MS) researchers collectively ran three marathons to raise money for charity at this year’s Edinburgh Marathon Festival (EMF). 

UCL Brain Stories   

• UCL Brain Stories is the brand new monthly podcast series from the UCL Neuroscience Domain presented by Caswell Barry (UCL Division of Biosciences), Steve Fleming (UCL Division of Psychology and Language Sciences) and Selina Wray (UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology). 

• UCL Brain Stories aims to showcase the best of UCL Neuroscience, highlighting the wide range of cutting-edge research going on within the Neuroscience Domain as well as bringing you the people behind the research to share their journey of how they ended up here. 
  Each month we’ll be joined by a leading neuroscientist to offer their perspective on the big questions and challenges in Neuroscience research, to find out what stimulated their fascination with the brain and hear how they ended up becoming part of the UCL Neuroscience community. 
• Listen on:  Google Podcast | Apple Podcast| Spotify  | Soundcloud  
• Find out more here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/research/domains/neuroscience/brain-stories-podcast

IoN intranet   

Recent Queen Square events
 

• Queen Square Inaugural Lectures: Professor Andrea Malaspina 27th April 2021, "A life in MND research: understanding the pace of ageing and neurodegeneration"
• Queen Square Inaugural Lecture: Professor Rosaline Quinlivan 25th May 2021, ‘Changing natural history of childhood onset muscle diseases’
• Virtual: Queen Square Symposium: 17th June 2021  The 22nd annual Queen Square Symposium took place on the 17th June 2021.

Upcoming Queen Square events

Queen Square Inaugural Lectures 2021

We are delighted to announce our inaugural lecture series 2021. 

• First lecture at 5pm and the second at 6pm.
• Lectures will take place via Zoom.
• Please RSVP to qsioneventsrsvp@ucl.ac.uk

7 September  2021

• Professor Martina Callaghan (Imaging Neuroscience);
• Professor Vincenzo Libri (Neuromuscular Diseases).

21 September  2021

• Professors Ahmed Toosy & Jennifer Pocock (Neuroinflammation)

5 October 2021       

• Professors Tammaryn Lashley & Selina Wray  (Neurodegenerative Disease)

Institute Annual address 4th November 2021

A new data retention schedule has been published and is available to view now.


 

UCL logo new procedure and request form: all requests to use the UCL logo together with an external organisation now require approval from Council, UCL’s governing body. Please submit any requests through the new form here. For more information, visit the brand resources webpages.

Open Science newsletter June 2021
This termly newsletter has updates across the 8 Pillars of Open Science,  Reliability and Reproducibility in Computational Science and Open Science in Horizon Europe

Nominations for the One UCL awards are now open – closing on 29 July

UCL are bringing the winter One UCL Awards forward this year to mark the start of a new term and welcome back more staff to campus. These awards are for all UCL employees – academics, researchers, professional services and technical staff. Please nominate colleagues whose contributions you would like to celebrate via the One Awards page.

UCL COVID-19 support and resources

The Future of Work survey was open to all UCL staff and captured a wide range of views for how the post-Covid future of work might look at UCL – find out more about the results.

• Returning to UCL Campus - Interim People Management Guidance
• New staff guidance on remote and hybrid working

• The Keeping Safe on Campus webpages provide information about what we’re doing to protect our staff and students and how you can help keep campus as safe as possible.
• Recordings of the Return to Campus roadshow events.
• UCL Connect to Protect reporting tool and a step-by-step guide on how to report or respond to potential cases.
• Please see also IoN wellbeing and H&S sections above.