The SoCoBio DTP Annual Conference is a multi-day event that provides the entire cohort of the South Coast Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership (SoCoBio DTP) with opportunities to communicate their science, exchange research ideas, and share their training experience. In addition, there are networking opportunities with industry, guest lectures, discussion panels, a wellbeing workshop led by DTP Wellbeing Lead and student wellbeing champions. The conference is held at a different DTP partner each year so students also get an opportunity to visit partner institutions and tour their facilities.
2025 Annual SoCoBio DTP Research Conference, 23 -25 April 2025, at the University of Southampton
We are excited to welcome SoCoBio students, the DTP Leadership Team, supervisors, industry collaborators and guest speakers to the 2025 SoCoBio DTP Annual Research Conference, hosted by the University of Southampton.
Please use the buttons on this page to download the Joining Instructions Pack, which contains all the information you need to plan your journey to the venue, view the event programme, and read the abstracts of the talks by SoCoBio students. (Links will be live shortly.)
This year’s conference features a full programme, including 10-minute talks, 3-minute thesis-style flash talks, posters, guest speakers (see below), and a wellbeing workshop on reflexivity. Additionally, there will be a Data Management pre-workshop session, a careers talk, a PIPS Q&A, and outreach organization talks. Prizes will be awarded for the best Year 4 student talk, best Year 3 poster, and best Year 2 3-minute thesis-style talk.
Day 3, April 25, is industry-focused. Student talks and posters will be presented by CASE students, and there will be an ‘Industry Questions Time,‘ giving students the opportunity to ask industry representatives about their career paths, career opportunities within their businesses, tips on applying for jobs, and anything else they may wish to know. Industry representatives will have the opportunity to network with students, learn more about the programme, and discover other ways to engage with SoCoBio DTP.
An overview of the event can be seen in the poster below.
2024 Conference at UKent: Posters, talks and group photo
2023 Conference at USusx: Reflexivity activity, networking lunch, talks and group photo
2022 Conference at USoton: Posters & talks
Guest Speakers
Key Note Speaker
Dr Richard Henderson, CH FMedSci FRS, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, University of Cambridge
Richard Henderson (b. 1945) is a structural biologist with an undergraduate degree in physics from Edinburgh University (1966). He worked on the structure and mechanism of chymotrypsin for his Ph.D. with David Blow at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB). As a postdoc at Yale, he developed an interest in membrane proteins and worked on voltage-gated sodium channels. With Nigel Unwin back at LMB, he used electron microscopy to determine the structure of bacteriorhodopsin in two-dimensional crystals, first at low resolution and later at atomic resolution. Most recently he has focused on single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) in which electron images of a thin film containing the macromolecules of interest are obtained without the need for crystals, using the plunge-freeze method developed by Jacques Dubochet’s group at EMBL. He shared the 2017 Chemistry Nobel prize with Dubochet and Joachim Frank.
Presentation Title: Accomplishments and potential of cryoEM in structural biology
Abstract: In the last decade, single particle electron cryomicroscopy (cryoEM) has experienced an enormous leap in its capability, due to improved electron microscopes, better detectors and better software, and this has revolutionised structural biology. I will show some topical examples and discuss potential for further improvements. I will also talk about our efforts to encourage development of less expensive cryoEM equipment such as described in McMullan et al, PNAS 120, e2312905120 – https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312905120.
Guest Speaker Industry focused Day
Prof Lindy Holden-Dye, Professor of Neurosciences, School of Biological Sciences – University of Southampton
Professor Lindy Holden-Dye (PhD, BSc, MSc, PhD, FRSB, FBPhS) holds a personal Chair in Neuroscience within Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton, UK. Her interests focus on fundamental processes of neuronal communication and she has established research expertise in invertebrate preparations to explore these processes. Through this interest she has published more than 200 research outputs and contributed to research relevant to a number of important areas of neuroscience that inform understanding of neural communication relevant to mental health. Her expertise in invertebrate neuroscience, and in particular nematode neural systems and the model genetic organism Caenorhabditis elegans positions her well to participate in drug discovery and mode of action programmes for novel antiparasitics. For the last two decades she has collaborated with industry to improve prospects for parasitic nematode control. Her research group identified the molecular target for the resistance breaking anthelmintic emodepside showing it acts through a calcium-activated K+ channel SLO-1 to bring about neuromuscular paralysis in nematode worms. This discovery has paved the way for the pursuit of new approaches to the treatment of human filarial disease. The experimental approaches deployed in her research group encompass genetics through to whole animal physiology and incorporate novel methods for tracking animal behaviour and signal processing. She is also passionate about sharing her enthusiasm for neurobiology with the next generation of scientists and has supervised more than 35 postgraduate research students to completion.
Presentation Title: Learning from worms
Abstract: During my scientific career I have worked my way down the evolutionary tree, from mammals, via molluscs to nematode worms. Throughout this 30 plus years, I have collaborated extensively with industry, in particular the animal health sector. In my talk I will elaborate on how I found my scientific path and what I have learned from working with the worms. I will share the highs and lows of these experiences and endeavour to use these personal reflections to highlight some issues to consider for career progression.
Industry & other guests
A range of industrial partners are attending the conference and participating in the Industry Questions Time session, Industry networking lunch and other sessions on careers and scientific outreach. We strongly encourage students to make the most of this occasion to build connections and learn about the opportunities available to them after their PhD.
This year, we are joined by:
Ellie Kirby – Promega, Rob Howlin – Haleon, Joanna Bacon – UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Hayley Jones – Royal Horticultural Society, Marcus Guest and Lianna Poghosyan – Syngenta, Innogen Carter-Hall Vitacress Ltd, Camilla Arvidsson – Sense about Science, Emily Rogers – Careers Consultant (Researchers) at the University of Southampton.
This year's conference is sponsored by:
This year's organisation committee are:
From the DTP Leadership and SoCoBio supervisors: From the USoton – Matthew Terry, Rohan Lewis, Fatima Pereira, Sandra Dancer; From the UPort – Marta Roldo, Binuraj Menon, Arthur Butt; From USusx – Chrisostomos Prodromou, From UKent – Campbell Gourlay, Christopher Mulligan. From Industry – Rob Howlin (Haleon)
DTP Students: From USoton – Alex Clarke, Anastasia Kolesnikova, Liliana Jeziorska, Molly Rutt, Johanna Fish, Yomna Moqidem