In December, the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health hosted the 6^th Irene Manton Lecture, in partnership with the prestigious Linnean Society of London.

The lecture celebrates the significant contribution made by women to the natural sciences and is named after British botanist Irene Manton who, as well as being the first female president of the Linnean Society, studied for her PhD here at the University.

Guest speaker Eleanor Drinkwater, PhD student from the University of York, highlighted the scientific contributions of women in science, through her talk entitled ‘Metamorphosis: a 300 year story of intrepid women, rainforests and butterflies’.

Her presentation focused on the contribution to science from three different women across 1700-1900s – Maria Sibylla Merian, Mary Anne Theresa Whitby and Dr Margaret James Strickland Collins – highlighting how even several hundred years later there is still a gender inequality in science related subjects.

Commenting on the event Eleanor said: “It was a real honour to talk about such an important topic – the incredible women who have helped shape science. My take-home message for the audience is to be determined, be curious and to study bugs.”

The event culminated in a Q&A session, facilitated by Professor Mahesh Nirmalan, Vice Dean for Social Responsibility and Public Engagement.

If you missed the event you can view it here.