The Society are delighted to announce the successful applicants of our Accelerator and Momentum Fellowships: Dr Marlou Dirks (University of Exeter, UK), Dr Mark Dallas (University of Reading, UK) and Professor David Thwaites (University of Newcastle, UK).
Accelerator Fellowship
These Fellowships are designed to provide physiologists of the highest calibre with funding for focused projects within research, teaching and public engagement. Projects funded through this scheme will advance physiology in line with The Society’s vision to see physiology flourish.
Dr Marlou Dirks (University of Exeter, UK)
Dr Dirks’ Fellowship project ‘The role of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the stimulation of skeletal muscle protein synthesis and glucose uptake: friend or foe?’ aims to determine the role of dietary branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) ingestion and omittance on skeletal muscle protein synthesis and insulin sensitivity, thereby providing a foundation for future grant applications that will advance the field of nutritional physiology.
On winning the Fellowship, Dr Dirks said:
I am incredibly honoured to receive an Accelerator Fellowship, which offers me the exciting opportunity to establish an independent and novel research line, and at the same time become more involved in the Physiological Society.
Momentum Fellowships
These Fellowships are designed to assist applicants that wish to gain support in re-prioritising their career ambitions within their existing academic commitments. Applicants for this scheme will be looking to change the balance of their academic portfolio to either research, education or public engagement and, in so doing, pursue a novel and impactful avenue of physiological activity. Applicants must be able to demonstrate a prior/ongoing commitment to this career development pathway.
Dr Mark Dallas (University of Reading, UK)
Dr Dallas’ Fellowship project ‘Bright Spark’ aims to increase awareness, curiosity, and engagement with physiology in high school students. The project aims to bring neuroscience into the classroom and challenge students to be the brain scientists of the future through a wide range of resources written by scientists.
On winning the Fellowship, Dr Dallas said:
I am delighted to receive this Physiological Society Fellowship award and I’m looking forward to encouraging people to explore physiology in fun and creative ways.
Professor David Thwaites (Newcastle University, UK)
Professor Thwaites’ Fellowship project ‘Transmembrane nutrient and micronutrient transport at the animal-microbe interface’ aims to explore the broader significance of eukaryote membrane transporters and the foundational role they play in enabling eukaryotes and prokaryotes to act in a cooperative manner to form discrete functional ecological units.
On winning the Fellowship, Dr Thwaites said:
It is a great honour to receive this inaugural Momentum Fellowship from The Physiological Society. I value greatly The Society’s commitment and this opportunity to develop new avenues of Physiological research.