Chemistry World and the Inclusion and Diversity team at the Royal Society of Chemistry are proud to offer a monthly webinar series to support the chemical sciences community in response to and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic.

Throughout the Building a better chemistry culture series, we will illuminate the science behind the issues being experienced and provide support tailored to the needs of chemical scientists including sharing coping strategies and reducing stigma around mental health and wellbeing.

The fifth webinar in the Building a better chemistry culture series focuses on developing resilience to face change and uncertainty, which has been brought to the forefront for many in the chemical sciences as a result of the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Our speakers Boon Teo (early-career chemist, Varden Processing), Rehana Sidat (vice president of risk management, GSK) and Sam Thorogood (mindfulness expert, Tiny Pause) will discuss:

  • Uncertainty regarding job security and career progression, including the impact of Covid-19
  • Change management, particularly from a leadership perspective
  • The psychology behind facing uncertainty and coping mechanisms to overcome it

BSL interpretation will be provided for the live webinar by Rachael Dance, Cambridgeshire Deaf Association.

Boon Teo

Speaker:  Boon Teo

Boon Teo received her PhD in physical chemistry from the University of Melbourne and has held postdoctoral positions in Japan, Denmark and the United Kingdom. Her research interests span across fields relating to (bio)colloidal systems, with focused expertise in diagnostics and therapeutics. She is currently working as a consultant with Varden Processing.

Sam Thorogood, Tiny Pause

Speaker:  Sam Thorogood

Sam works with organisations, government and schools to help people improve their mental wellbeing. His niche area is converting improved awareness into effective behaviour change. Combining proven neuroscience and mindfulness based techniques into useful daily habits. Supporting you to enhance focus, reduce self criticism and create the space to cope effectively and feel better. Sam has also run an ultra marathon, designed a product for the governments change for life campaign, has four children and loves dark chocolate. His clients include NHS, Royal Society of Chemistry, Amnesty, Cambridge University & many more.

 

Rehana Sidat

Speaker: Rehana Sidat

Rehana Sidat (PhD, FRSC) has over 22 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, her current role is within GSK R&D Pharma as VP Risk Management.  Rehana takes pride in delivery with a focus on building capability through high performance teams.  Outside of GSK, Rehana is the elected Industry Rep and Chair of the RSC Eastern Region, giving her the opportunity to be on the RSC Member Networks Committee.  In 2020, Rehana was invited to be on the RSC Inclusion and Diversity Committee.  

 

Rachael Dance, BSL interpreter and advocate

Interpreter: Rachael Dance

Rachael Dance is training to be a fully qualified British Sign Language interpreter and graduated from Wolverhampton University with BA hons in interpreting English and BSL. Rachael is joining us to promote the accessibility of the webinars for Deaf people. Rachael also works as an advocate for Deaf people for Cambridgeshire Deaf Association.

 

Ben Valsler

Moderator: Benjamin Valsler, digital editor, Chemistry World magazine

Ben is the digital editor of Chemistry World magazine, producing video and podcasts to accompany the magazine and website. Prior to joining the Royal Society of Chemistry, he was the producer of the award-winning Naked Scientists, making local and national radio programmes for the BBC, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Primedia in South Africa.

Royal Society of Chemistry logo

The Inclusion and Diversity team drives and coordinates the strategy across all Royal Society of Chemistry activities to support a more inclusive and diverse chemical sciences community. Through research, advocacy and recognising success, we are working to make ‘chemistry for everyone’ a reality. Find out more about our work here.

Topics

Building a better chemistry culture