The life and times of a younger member volunteer and medicinal chemist.

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Coming down from my YMS-induced high from yesterday. Amazing event, very slick and professional. More details and pics to follow soon.
Posted by David Foley on Jun 14, 2012 10:09 AM BST
Just a quick note to say the closing date for the Younger Members Symposium is fast approaching, June 6th.

Online registration and details on the event, which will be held at The University of Nottingham on the 13th of June are available here,
Posted by David Foley on May 31, 2012 6:53 PM BST
Just wanted to draw you attention to the fact that various important elections are underway at the moment within the RSC.

I am aware of two younger members who are running for the Organic and Dalton Divisions; Alexandra Ferguson and Claire Rees. Whilst I believe you should research all of the candidates and make an informed decision before voting, I do think it important that younger members sit on as many of these committees as possible. Here is the link for details and candidate statements.

One issue with being a young candidate, as pointed out by both the candidates mentioned above, is a relative lack of experience when compared to the other candidates. Additionally, more experienced and senior candidates are more likely to be well-known, especially within the fields for which they are running.

It is therefore important in my opinion for the young members of this society to support their own, and ensure their voice and concerns are represented at the highest levels of the society. Regardless of who you choose to support, I urge you all to cast your vote in these important elections.
Posted by David Foley on May 10, 2012 8:11 PM BST

We are approaching the day when the second Younger Members Symposium will take place (Wednesday 13th of June this year at 
The University of Nottingham). The experience which we gained during the process of getting funding may be useful to other groups 
and we decided to put together a few advices. 

It is crucial not only to plan the budget carefully, but also to approach companies and organisations which may potentially be interested 
in sponsoring as early as possible. The obvious reason is that this gives enough time to find out what funding may be available which 
determines the service which can be provided on the day for attendants. On the other hand the amount needs to be accommodated into 
the annual budget of the approached company. Our experience is that it may take a few months before the application for donation is 
accepted and the money is paid into the bank account due to the fact that the procedure is handled by several people.

Obviously there are companies which are not interested in donating for events such as this, but nevertheless it is always worth to ask. 
In some cases other kind of help may be available like for example catering or freebies. Some organisations may solve the problem of 
one of the biggest spendings by providing venue. There are also companies which encourage non-profit organisations to apply for 
donations. This information is usually mentioned at their websites, together with application ready to download and fill in. Another 
kind of assistance can be obtained from professional bodies such as the RSC and SCI. 

Another experience is that people who have time to take up any kind of volunteering, also to volunteer for organising events like this, 
tend to have less other commitments and therefore be less settled down. They can travel a bit more or be in a transition period, for 
example between the university and the first job. The result is that people in the committee may change during the time of organising 
the event. This shall be taken into account, for example it may be useful to designate at least two people who will have access to the 
bank account, so that the account can be accessed and bills can be paid at any time.  
Posted by Bozena Lukasiak on May 6, 2012 4:34 PM BST
One of the speakers for YMS 2012, Prof. Mark Miodownik, is currently hosting a BBC4 series called "How it Works". This series looks at the use of metal, plastic and ceramics throughout history and, of course, explains the chemistry behind it all. The next episode is on Monday at 9 pm, but you can see all the episodes on iPlayer.

Don't miss out on a chance to hear Mark speak in person; register for the YMS 2012 today.
Posted by David Foley on Apr 10, 2012 2:52 PM BST
Fantastic set of slides, albeit with a med. chem. focus, available for free thanks to the BMCS and Southampton Uni.

http://my.rsc.org/groups/forums/viewtopic/80/109/2601?post_id=5728#p5728
Posted by David Foley on Apr 3, 2012 7:10 PM BST
The largest and most active YMN has just published this showreel on YouTube. Check it out, hopefully it will inspire younger members to run their own events. If you have any questions as to the nitty gritty details of running any of these events, drop the YMN Manchester committee a line on Facebook or email ymn_manchester@yahoo.co.uk.



BTW apologies for running silent of late, been crazy busy.
Posted by David Foley on Mar 24, 2012 3:46 PM GMT
Recent announcements of redundancies and closures from AstraZeneca and Genzyme is regrettably par for the course for the pharmaceutical industry these days.

I do wonder how the press releases about these closures always have the blurb about the company's commitment to developing new drugs that will benefit patients and how this in no way affects their ability to do so because they're just gonna magically be able to do more with less at a time when the targets under research are increasingly challenging.

I don't know if the people writing this are simply blissfully unaware of the realities of research, or delusional, but I have yet to see any of them adequately explain how they are going to improve their current pipelines (admittedly most pharmaceuticals companies have the bar set pretty low for that measurement) without significant and substantial investment in R&D, not closures and cuts.

Some claim that mergers and acquisitions are going to do that, but it seems to me that mergers and acquisitions are just followed by more lay-offs, presumably with expensive redundancy packages and (here's the interesting bit) NO guarantee that what they've bought will EVER see the light of day as a product. Caveat emptor, anyone?
Posted by David Foley on Feb 25, 2012 8:36 PM GMT
On Wednesday 13th of June this year, the East-Midlands Local Section and The University of Nottingham will play host to the second Younger Members Symposium.

Following on from the success of the inaugural YMS in Manchester in 2010, this event aims to showcase some of the best research from across academia, industry and chemical education from the future leaders in these sectors.

I have been fortunate to have a played a role in both the inaugural YMS and its successor (and so yes, I'm a little biased), and I must say I am again impressed with the dedication, professionalism and passion shown by the organising committee.

As you can see from the website, there will be parallel sessions hosted in three very broad themes: academic research, industrial research and education and outreach. A criticism often levelled against such broad symposia is that the lack of focus makes it hard to justify the finical and time commitments in attending, as there is simply no chance that every speaker at the YMS will be an expert in your particular area of research!

Whilst this argument has some merit, I believe that discipline specific meetings, conferences and symposia are a dime-a-dozen; both nationally and certainly internationally. What the YMS provides is the more rare opportunity for young chemists to broaden their horizons before deciding on the next step to take in their career. In this respect, I am especially excited to see the “Outreach and Education” theme included in the programme. There are so many career opportunities available in this area for young chemists, and I believe it is vital to sample this diverse sector before deciding whether to pursue a career in academia or industry.

A similar argument can be made for industry itself. Undergraduates, postgraduates and postdocs have, for better or worse, only experienced the academic side of chemical research for the most part. Whilst we have been inundated with a lot of bad news regarding the state of chemical industry in the UK, this often represents the tendency of the mainstream media to highlight only the “bad” news. Whilst certain sectors of the chemical industry in the UK and worldwide are indeed under pressure at the moment, other areas are quietly going about their business; and doing a very good job of it. Other sectors are contracting in the UK, but expanding elsewhere in the world and vice versa. By setting up a separate session dedicated to industry, the YMS 2012 committee hope to put this sector in its rightful place, on equal footing with academia, and give its younger employees the opportunity to highlight their good work. The organising committee is committed to ensuring that abstracts from industry or academia that are lacking in detail due to IP concerns will be treated fairly.

Crucially the YMS offers young scientists the opportunity to meet with their peers and form the networks they will need to advance in whatever career path they choose to follow. Contacts made at the YMS 2012 will hopefully be with chemists at a similar stage of their career, able to provide the most relevant advice and insight and hopefully resulting in genuinely “life-long” collaborations.

I believe the fact that the keynote speakers for the YMS will be Prof. David Phillips, in addition to the commitment shown by our industrial sponsors, speaks volumes as to the high regard held for the overall aims and objectives of the symposium by the RSC and senior management across the chemical industry.

I would strongly urge (for what it is worth!) all early-career chemists, from any discipline and background, to join us in Nottingham for a single day to savour the success’ and sample the potential of their peers and their profession.
Posted by David Foley on Jan 29, 2012 3:48 PM GMT
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