Survey results out recently reflect very positively on the School of Life Sciences. These surveys reveal student perception of study here in Life Sciences and also what graduates go on to achieve. We are pleased to see the satisfaction our students show with their education at Warwick. We greatly value their feedback and respect their judgement.

Our 2018 NSS (National Student Survey) results are excellent with a score of 93% for overall student satisfaction. This is a survey of all undergraduate finalists at UK universities and colleges to understand and improve students’ experience of higher education. Staff and students are working very closely on developing new ways to extend and enhance their learning and the NSS is a key element of our collaborative approach to overall enhancement at Warwick. PTES (Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey) results are also excellent with a score of 89% for overall student satisfaction, which is above the Russell Group and Sector average.

DLHE (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education) surveys graduates 6 months after graduation to find out whether they are in work or further study. The recent 2017 results are excellent for Life Sciences with 96% of UG graduates in work or further study (up from 94% in 2015) and 88% in graduate level work or study (up from 79% in 2015). The Government’s 2018 Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) show that Warwick's Life Sciences graduates are ranked in the top 10 in the UK for high earnings five years after their graduation.

It is great to see the work that goes into planning and delivering these degrees by so many people in the School, has such a positive impact on students.

Future outbreaks of foot-and-mouth (FMD) disease can be combatted quickly and efficiently from early on – when authorities have minimal information – thanks to a new real-time strategy, developed by researchers in the School of Life Sciences.

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Congratulations to Deputy Pro-Vice-Chancellor (interdisciplinary research and impact) and former Head of the School of Life Sciences, Professor Laura Green, who has been appointed to the role of Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Birmingham. She will take up her new role on 1 October 2018.

This week the School of Life Sciences is welcoming students from across the UK as part of the 2018 Headstart Programme.

Taking place at the Gibbet Hill campus 15-19 July, the Headstart course provides a university taster course for 16-17 year olds with the opportunity to explore the different biological disciplines taught within the School of Life Sciences. The Life Sciences course enables students to gain experience at a prestigious university prior to making UCAS applications, showing them the different courses and career paths available.

Across the week, students will take part in a wide range of hands-on laboratory experiments and lectures including physiology, microbiology, cell biology and molecular biology.

Organised by the EDT (Engineering Development Trust), Headstart has been established for more than 18 years as a charitable trust providing hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) activities and taster courses to encourage young people into technology-based careers.

On Tuesday 17 July graduands from the School of Life Sciences attended the Summer Graduation Ceremony held in Butterworth Hall, Warwick Arts Centre. The Head of School, Professor Lorenzo Frigerio, academic tutors and other staff also attended the ceremony.

THE (the Times Higher Education) have announced in their Thursday 12 July 2018 edition, that the University of Warwick has been ranked 4^th in Europe in their new Times Higher Education (THE) Europe Teaching Rankings 2018 and is the 3^rd placed University in Europe offering Biological Sciences.

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An enzyme structure discovery made by scientists at the University of Warwick could help to eradicate tuberculosis (TB).

Research by a team led by Dr Elizabeth Fullam, has revealed new findings about an enzyme found in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) the bacterium that causes TB. TB causes more deaths than any other infectious disease, including from HIV and malaria.

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The 5th M4 meeting will be held at the University of Warwick on 13-14 September, 2018.

The Conference will present cutting-edge research on molecular and cellular microbiology. A wide range of topics will be covered, ranging from biofilms, quorum sensing, pathogenicity islands, host-pathogen interactions and antimicrobials.

The goal of this conference is to act as a conduit for fostering collaboration across Midlands and nationally among leading scientists and to promote the exchange of ideas between the next generation of molecular microbiologists. The conference will offer early career researchers an opportunity to present their research and connect with other scientists.

Registration open until 31 August

The University of Warwick has been awarded £2 million to tackle the spread of viruses in East Africa.

The award has been made to the NIHR Global Health Research Group on the Application of Genomics and Modelling to the Control of Virus Pathogens (GeMVi) in East Africa at the University of Warwick. GeMVi brings together expertise in pathogen sequencing and predicative modelling. Life Sciences academics Professor James Nokes and Professor Matt Keeling are co-investigators.

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Dr Smith is currently Chief Scientific Officer at Cobra Biologics Ltd., but he started his scientific career here at Warwick, with a BSc in Biochemistry then a PhD on the mechanism of action at the cellular level of cytotoxic proteins such as ricin.

By becoming an honorary Industrial Professor in our School, Dr. Smith will bring widespread experience in both the workings of a multi-million budget R&D company in a sector at the forefront of biomedical products and also in academic research. His specific expertise in knowledge transfer and experience in developing successful collaborations between regional development agencies, industry and academics will be enormously useful.

Dr Smith will bring many links with industries that we do not yet interact with, both in the UK and internationally. He will contribute ideas and contacts to help our undergraduate students secure industrial placements, a key strategic development area for the School.

Dr Smith will also aid our technology transfer to support start-ups with commercial promise. His past work is highly interdisciplinary in both the academic and industrial sides in chemistry and biology, knowledge of which can massively impact startup success.

We welcome him to the School.

New funding to develop scientific breakthroughs in crop research and innovation

The University of Warwick is set to receive £1.2 million in funding to support its pioneering research in improving the resilience, sustainability and productivity of UK crops, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has announced today.

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Members of the School of Life Sciences and Warwick Crop Centre are looking forward to being part of the Kenilworth Show on Saturday 9 June. We'll be demonstrating some of our research and teaching activities related to food production and hoping for visitor participation! Come and see us in the Educational Area.

Professor Laura Green OBE, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Research) at the University of Warwick, has been appointed to the Council of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

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Scientists from the University of Warwick will be helping to promote an important public health message about tuberculosis (TB) this weekend in Coventry.

On World TB Day (Saturday 24 March) researchers from the Fullam lab at the University of Warwick will be running a public information stand at the Herbert Museum and Art Gallery to help raise awareness of TB and what they are trying to do to combat this deadly disease. They will also be at Coventry Library on Tuesday 27 March.

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The University plans to invest £54.3M in a new state-of-the-art research building on the Gibbet Hill campus that will bring together up to 300 biomedical researchers from across the School of Life Sciences and Warwick Medical School to fight human diseases.

In a recent paper published in Current Biology, Dr Andre Pires da Silva and colleagues describe a species of nematode that has three sexes - male, female and hermaphrodite. Auanema rhodensis, the worm featured in the study, uses an unusual reproductive strategy with only one sex chromosome (X). Hermaphrodites and female worms have two X chromosomes; males have just one X chromosome. Researchers found that some hermaphroditic worms will produce sperm with two X chromosomes and eggs with no chromosomes. When the hermaphroditic worms and male worms mate, only more male worms are produced. One possible explanation is that male worms may be important for the species' genetic diversity, providing A. rhodensis with the ability to adapt to changing conditions more efficiently than other species.

• Read paper: Sex- and Gamete-Specific Patterns of X Chromosome Segregation in a Trioecious Nematode Current Biology, Vol 28, Issue 1 p93-99e
• Interview in Newsweek

Tuberculosis, and other life-threatening microbial diseases, could be more effectively tackled with future drugs, thanks to new research into an old antibiotic led by Professor David Roper at Warwick’s School of Life Sciences and Dr Luiz Pedro Carvalho from The Francis Crick Institute.

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The 28^th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) took place at the University of Warwick between 23 – 30 July 2017 with 264 international competitors (aged 14 – 18) competing in a series of practical and theoretical exams devised by School of Life Sciences staff and colleagues from the Royal Society of Biology.

Branagh Crealock-Ashurst, our Student Experience and Outreach Assistant, has written a critical reflection on the IBO from how the event was logistically organised to a semi-statistical analysis of the overall results of the competition and what they meant in terms of the pedagogical approach to examination. The paper entitled 'A Critical Reflection on the 28^th International Biology Olympiad' was published in the October issue of Exchanges: the Warwick Research Journal (available at http://exchanges.warwick.ac.uk/article/view/221).

Colon cancer, Crohn’s, and other diseases of the gut could be better treated – or even prevented – thanks to a new link between inflammation and a common cellular process, established by Dr Ioannis Nezis and colleagues.

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Ancient hunter-gatherers began to systemically affect the evolution of crops up to thirty thousand years ago – around ten millennia before experts previously thought – according to new research by Professor Robin Allaby.

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