The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has selected a senior scientist at The Pirbright Institute as a 2017-2018 AAAS Alan I. Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellow.
Dr Anthony Wilson, Group Leader for Integrative Entomology (the study of insects) at Pirbright, was chosen from a large number of international applicants together with 14 other infectious disease researchers from prestigious scientific research institutes around the world. In selecting the new Public Engagement Fellows, the AAAS said they had demonstrated, “…leadership and excellence in their research careers and interest in promoting meaningful dialogue between science and society”.
The objective of the programme is to equip leading scientists with the knowledge, skills and connections to engage more effectively with the public about the relevance and importance of their science. It also aims to help them build capacity within their own institutions and encourage more of their colleagues to support engagement activities.
In June 2017 Dr Wilson will travel to Washington DC, to join the other AAAS Public Engagement Fellows for a week of public engagement and science communication training at the Association’s headquarters, where they will also be developing public engagement planning and networking skills. AAAS staff will provide ongoing support and continuing professional development throughout the rest of their fellowship year.
Dr Wilson said: “This is an exciting opportunity and a great honour, and I am very pleased to have been chosen. As a biologist who has spent over a decade studying the role of insects in transmitting disease and communicating developments in this area to the public, I believe that two-way dialogue about new technologies and approaches is essential in finding a way to use them that is acceptable to our communities.
“The current level of interest in diseases like Zika and chikungunya, (and the risk to the UK from bluetongue virus), is an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the reasoning behind public attitudes to issues such as vaccination, environmental change and the use of genetically modified (GM) insects for disease control.
“I believe the training and support I will receive through this fellowship will help me develop better ways of facilitating that debate and enabling those of all opinions to engage with researchers, policy-makers and industry in a constructive way about these crucial global issues”.
This is the second cohort of researchers selected to support public engagement with science since the launch of the Alan I. Leshner Leadership Institute in 2016. Each year the programme has a theme which is reflected in the specialism of the researchers chosen. This year’s theme was infectious disease.
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For more information please contact communications@pirbright.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1483 231417.
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Notes to Editors:
1) Dr Anthony Wilson, PhD leads the Integrative Entomology group at The Pirbright Institute, and studies the ability of insects and ticks to transmit viruses and how this is affected by the environment. He has contributed opinions as an expert on vector-borne disease emergence for the European Food Safety Authority and the Global Strategic Alliances for the Coordination of Research on the Major Infectious Diseases of Animals and Zoonoses (STAR-IDAZ), is a member of the MACSUR European network on the impacts of climate change on food production via disease ecology, is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and sits on the national assessment panel for the Equality Challenge Unit’s Athena SWAN charter awards. Dr Wilson gained his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2008.
2) The Leshner Leadership Institute was established wholly by philanthropic support in 2016, and is managed by the AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology, launched in 2004 by Alan I. Leshner, now Chief Executive Officer Emeritus of AAAS.
3) The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes nearly 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals: www.aaas.org.
About The Pirbright Institute
The Pirbright Institute is a world leading centre of excellence in research and surveillance of virus diseases of farm animals and viruses that spread from animals to humans. Based in the UK and receiving strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the Institute works to enhance capability to contain, control and eliminate these economically and medically important diseases through highly innovative fundamental and applied bioscience.
With an annual income of nearly £26.1 million from grants and commercial activity, and a total of £5 million strategic investment from BBSRC during 2016-2017, the Institute contributes to global food security and health, improving quality of life for animals and people.
About BBSRC
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) invests in world-class bioscience research and training on behalf of the UK public. Our aim is to further scientific knowledge, to promote economic growth, wealth and job creation and to improve quality of life in the UK and beyond.
Funded by Government, BBSRC invested £473 million in world leading bioscience, people and research infrastructure in 2015-16. We support research and training in universities and strategically funded institutes. BBSRC research and the people we fund are helping society to meet major challenges, including food security, green energy and healthier, longer lives. Our investments underpin important UK economic sectors, such as farming, food, industrial biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. For more information about BBSRC strategically funded institutes see: https://bbsrc.ukri.org/research/institutes/strategically-funded-institutes/