Poppy Isabella Nana-Akua Sarpong Cann (she/her) is a master’s student at The University of Bristol studying Abiotic Plant Signalling. She was part of the first cohort of BiPS Summer Studentship Awardees in 2024.
We caught up with our Summer Studentship alumni, to check on how they’re doing, asked them why BiPS is important to them and what advice they have for students in a similar position to them when we first met them.
Poppy’s Journey So Far
Like all the best journeys, Poppy’s hasn’t been the most straightforward path, but she wasn’t that far off finding her way to plant science. She always knew that she wanted to study some sort of environmental science which is how she found herself on an undergraduate course studying Environmental Geoscience.
“After a challenging, but equally insightful, year of studying, I made the difficult choice to drop out to make the switch to Plant Sciences, which was the best choice I could’ve made.”
Whilst learning about abiotic signalling pathways, Poppy was able to find what she was passionate about and thus be more open in her choices. Though she felt behind in terminating the other course, she was still able to see the relevance of the subject content in her Plant Sciences course pushing her even further forward to embark on research Masters.
In and amongst the repetition of keeping an eye on what might be growing in the greenhouse, completing experiments and reading relevant literature, Poppy likes to spend a lot of time outside.
“Especially if it’s a sunny day, and during lunch breaks love to walk around campus, the university gardens and local parks with peers to identify plants and potentially forage things to eat later that day!”
I also love to hear what my peers are researching/reading into and how it links to my interests. Ultimately, any gaps in work allow for a lot of reading, learning and connecting!
“I always love to find links in what I’m doing to ethnobotany and how we can translate this knowledge to lab contexts.”
With support from The Plant Journal, in 2024 Poppy joined the first ever Black in Plant Science Summer Studentship cohort, a significant moment of pride for her – “to apply for something, move to a new place for 2 months by myself to work in a lab and then give a talk at the BiPS inaugural conference were all firsts for me!”
Out of the four members of our cohort, she was the only one to take part in the studentship programme at the University of Cambridge. Under the supervision of Dr Natasha Yelina, Poppy focussed on developing virus-mediated GM-free technologies to enhance trait reassortment in peas, an important legume crop in the UK and worldwide.
“I stepped out of my comfort zone every week, and to come out the other side having learnt new things, holding new experiences and having met new people made me feel proud of the path I am on and aided tremendously in developing future career prospects.”
While the journey has had its detours, there is nothing that Poppy would like to change as it has successfully got her to studying a Master’s degree at the University of Bristol where she hopes to grow in confidence, connect with more people and learn more out of curiosity rather than the pressure to pass exams.
The Importance of Representation
“My main discontent lies within the lack of Black/biracial lecturers and role models within my academic spaces, although this does not mean that this is not changing!”
While being only one of two girls of African heritage in her year Poppy has always felt there has been space for her to explore feelings of “otherness” amongst her peer.
“Ultimately, I believe all scientists, regardless of ethnic background, should be supported and honoured equally for their contributions, but being Black in plant science to me means embracing inclusivity and representation, supporting divergent thinking, and embracing heritage and science as one to tackle global issues.”
“Organisations like BiPS make me hopeful for the future of Black plant scientists by spotlighting their – equally important – work and creating a community to appreciate others. This is especially valuable when hearing about the barriers and increased workload that many Black scientists have had to endure to get to where they are today.”
Advice for Budding Plant Scientists
Are you currently at crossroads in your career path and think that Plant Science might be for you? Poppy’s final words are, “Connect with others! Scientists love forming connections and seeing what other researchers are up to, plus you never know who you might end up working with in the future.“
To learn more about upcoming opportunities, head over to the opportunities section of our website.