First, an apology. Having moaned about the lack of interest in the SET for Britain event in March, Matt now has to eat his words. Our workplace MP Simon Hughes, a rather busy man, found time this month to have a chat with Matt at the House of Commons about our work, the MRC Centre, and student fees, and has provisionally arranged a lab visit in August! Great to know someone’s listening.
Earlier this month the Wellcome Trust, who fund our research but also put a lot of money into public science communication, invited Matt and a group of other scientists to take part in DocFest, a documentary film festival/conference up in Sheffield. A really different and fascinating couple of days – not only some great films, but also an opportunity to interact with filmmakers and commissioners about how to tell factual stories well, and how to fund your project. Matt now has a new-found respect for anyone brave/mad enough to launch an independent documentary film-making career!
And finally, not content with getting a first in his finals, Tom rounded off an excellent week by securing funding from Dravet Syndrome UK for a two-month summer studentship. Now he just needs to learn how to patch…
