Rebecca Dumbell, BSN Michael Harbuz Prize winner, gets promotion to Associate Professor
The BSN congratulate Dr Rebecca Dumbell on her promotion to Associate Professor (equivalent to Reader or Senior Lecturer) at Nottingham Trent University. Rebecca is the BSN Communications Secretary, has previously been the BSN ECR Representative and recently won the BSN Michael Harbuz Prize.
How does it feel to get your promotion?
I am delighted to have been promoted to Associate Professor of Molecular Neuroendocrionology, starting next month. This has been a long process which involved a 50 page document and a “short 6-page CV” evidencing my work across 7 different categories, it then went to several internal panels and external review before final panel at the University where I work. It was especially nice to get the news two days after presenting my Michael Harbuz prize talk at the BSN annual meeting.
What role did the BSN play in your promotion?
The BSN has been important in my career development, from funding projects that have driven my independent research theme, giving me opportunities to present, and especially allowing me to develop my professional network. I was early career rep and then re-elected as a trustee and I was able to use the achievements and initiatives I enacted in this role as evidence for multiple parts of my application. There are other soft skills too that I’ve gained from being an active member and trustee of the BSN. I gained confidence and valuable experience in assessing grants, organising and planning events, communicating with people across different institutes and time zones, and the inevitable politics that comes with being on any committee.
On Rebecca's promotion, BSN President, Professor Neil Evans said:
"The BSN wishes to congratulate Rebecca Dumbell, who recently delivered the Mick Harbuz award lecture, on her promotion to Associate Professor at Nottingham Trent University. This promotion recognises Rebecca’s research on the regulation of energy balance – appetite, growth and energy expenditure, her teaching and her work promoting science and neuroendocrinology."
What's next for your research?
Since I started my group at Nottingham Trent University in May 2020 (not recommended to do this during a pandemic!) I’ve been recruiting and developing my team to work on hypothalamic regulation of energy balance, as well as adipose tissue physiology and the genetics underlying these. We’re really lucky here to have some really nice facilities for spatial transcriptomics and metabolic phenotyping, from cell to whole animal level, so I’m looking forward to taking advantage of these. In particular I co-led a bid that was recently been awarded for a light sheet microscope facility which will allow us to use tissue clearing and investigate the 3D network of many different processes in the brain.
Congratulations Rebecca! We wish you all the best in this next chapter of your professional career.
