Members of the BiPS committee co-authored a commentary published in Nature Plants examining the underrepresentation of Black and Asian students in UK plant science.

We discuss ethnicity data from the UK Higher Education Statistics Authority, which shows that UK plant science students are disproportionately white. We explore possible reasons for this and offer recommendations for action.

Hubbard, K., Patron, N.J., Bleau, J., Benitez-Alfonso, Y. Underrepresentation of Black and Asian students in UK plant science. Nat. Plants 10, 1272–1275 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-024-01778-w

We are excited to introduce you to Poppy Cann our BiPS Summer Studentship candidate for 2024. This placement has been made possible thanks to the support of the The Plant Journal and the Gastby Foundation. 

Poppy Isabella-Nana Akua Sarpong Cann  

My name is Poppy Isabella-Nana Akua Sarpong Cann and I study Plant Sciences BSc at the University of Bristol. I first got into studying plant sciences due to an interest in ethnobotany, where traditional knowledge and modern science overlap. I’m inspired by the vast potential of plants to solve global challenges, from medicine to sustainable agriculture, and the complex relationships they form with other kingdoms. The intricate ways plants adapt and evolve has driven my curiosity to uncover more, with seemingly insignificant plants like the ivy-leaved toadflax thriving in urban environments, showcasing nature’s resilience and adaptability. Outside of my studies, I love to immerse myself in anything creative. From poetry and textiles, to meditation and cooking, I love to try anything to increase self-expression and mindfulness. In the future, I would love to merge my interest in plant science with these hobbies to further explore methods of science communication.  

Poppy will be supervised by Dr Natasha Yelina, Head of Crop Breeding Technologies Group at the University of Cambridge.  

While we were not able to offer studentships to all our outstanding candidates, thanks to the support and resources of other host labs we have been to offer Summer Studentships to the top remaining candidates that we’d like to introduce you to below.  

Brandon Hinds 

I currently study Biotechnology with Enterprise at the University of Leeds, and I am extremely excited and grateful to be undertaking a studentship with BiPS. What really inspires me about plant sciences is the scope within them for discovering creative solutions to several of the challenges we currently face and will face in the future. Whether it’s engineering extreme-climate-resilient cereals, disease-resistant plants, cereals with increased nutritional value, potatoes specialised for use as biofuels, or culturing exotic plants and seeds ex situ to aid conservation efforts, there is so much potential for advancements to be made across agriculture, energy, and health/wellbeing through plant science. 

 Outside of biotechnology, I enjoy making and performing music with my friends in our band, watching live gigs, graphic design, and skating.   

Brandon will be supervised by Dr Carmen Sánchez Cañizares at the University of Oxford.  

Lyea Rivers 

I am studying BSc Earth & Environmental Studies at Lancaster University. I watched documentaries as a child with my twin sister and this sparked my interests in life & nature including plants and the ecosystems they live in. Learning the biology of plant growth and the ecosystem services they provide inspires me the most! Outside of plant science, I enjoy spending time around pets & wildlife, hiking & swimming in the ocean in my free time.  

Lyea will also be supervised by Dr Carmen Sánchez Cañizares at the University of Oxford.  

Damilare Shodeinde 

Hi, my name is Damilare Shodeinde. I’m a student at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, studying for my bachelor’s in molecular biology and genetics. Plant science and genetics has always appealed to me since I began to pursue a scientific career. 

I believe the science of plants provides vital support to deficient areas of the world such as those undergoing droughts or flooding and also areas experiencing nutrient deficiencies. Plant science is viewed as a smaller area of research in the scientific community, and I hope to not only provide my knowledge to the field but one day inspire others to uptake plant science in their careers. 

Outside of science, my favourite activity is cooking (especially desserts), before I began to study science I originally went to culinary school and still love to improve my skills, although I’ve decided to pursue a career in science, cooking will always provide me with a fun and interesting hobby to be improved on. 

Damilare will be supervised by Professor Francesco Licausi at the University of Oxford.  

We would like to thank everyone that applied to this year’s studentship and all the labs that were willing to take part and host a student.  

Keep your eyes peeled on our website to stay up to date with our students. They will also presenting at the inaugural Black in Plant Science Conference so make sure to save the date – Tuesday 22 October 2024.  

Thank you to our supporters The Plant Journal and The Gatsby Foundation.

Charlene’s Journey So Far

Charlene’s academic journey commenced at the University of Fort Hare, South Africa where she graduated with BSc Hons Cum Laude in Microbiology. She then went on to graduate with a MSc Cum Laude in Zoology, specialising in Evolutionary Genomics at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Building on this knowledge, she proceeded to work as a Senior Research Technician in Professor Michael Holdsworth’s lab at the University of Nottingham. 

Charlene was drawn to research in plant sciences “by my deep-rooted desire to focus on improving food security in Africa.” Due to the increasing effects of climate change, there is a great deal of urgency to find resilient crop varieties that are resistant to drought, disease, and flooding “especially in some impoverished regions in Zimbabwe where I was born”.  

With all of this in mind, she decided to enrol in a part time distance learning Doctorate in Agriculture with Aberystwyth University. During this time, she was supervised by both Professor Holdsworth and Dr Maurice Bosch of Aberystwyth University.  

“This intensive program equipped me with advanced knowledge and skills in Plant sciences research.” 

After four years of intensive learning and contributing to ground-breaking research Charlene now continues to work in Professor Michael Holdsworth’s lab as a research fellow.  She is particularly interested in a process called N-degron pathways, which regulates the lifespan of proteins depending on the specific amino acid at their start. Her project aims to identify proteins regulated by the N-degron pathways in plants and why their conditional stability is important for plant biology and their overall function. 

The Importance of Mentors

Charlene’s first mentor was Professor Savel Daniels during her time at Stellenbosch University. Under the mentorship of Professor Daniels, “I transitioned from a student with limited research experience to a proficient researcher in evolutionary genomics”. This was instrumental in honing her skills and understanding of complex research concepts. During her tenure at University of Nottingham, Professor Holdsworth “recognized my potential and offered me opportunities to conduct independent research projects. His belief in my abilities and support for my research endeavours greatly boosted my confidence and motivation”. With Professor Holdsworth’s encouragement, Charlene was able to explore her research interests further by studying towards a Doctorate degree, gaining invaluable experience and paving the way for her development into a skilled and passionate researcher in plant proteolysis.  

Based on her own experiences in academia as a Black woman, Charlene recognises the importance of being a mentor for those starting out “I am passionate about providing guidance, support, and encouragement to aspiring young black women, particularly those from Zimbabwe where I was born and here in the United Kingdom.”  

Putting her passion into practice, in 2022, Charlene spearheaded the establishment of the Ideas 2 Careers platform, a mentorship initiative aimed at young Zimbabwean women.  

“Through this platform, we provide STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) career guidance and practical advice to students, particularly those from less-visible schools facing socio-economic challenges. Our efforts have resulted in numerous success stories, including aiding students in securing university offers and fundraising for educational resources, such as book awards and laboratory refurbishments.”  

Future of Plant Science

Whether it is collaboration, mentorship or food security Charlene believes that it is ultimately about “paving the way for a sustainable future for generations to come.” 

Her aspirations are clear and her hopes for plant science are the same “driving innovation in developing stress tolerant crop varieties, and making tangible impacts that transcend disciplinary boundaries.” 

The Black in Plant Science (BiPS) network aims to connect, celebrate, and cultivate existing and aspiring UK-based Black researchers working with plants. The goal is to promote the creation of inclusive environments where everyone can participate equally, where everyone’s voice matters and where everyone benefits. 

Supported by the Gatsby Foundation and The Plant Journal, we are inviting applications for the Black in Plant Science (BiPS) Summer Studentship.  

The Plant Journal  

The Plant Journal (TPJ) provides a dynamic forum for the ever-growing international plant sciences research community and publishes in all key areas of plant biology. The Plant Journal is published in association with the Society for Experimental Biology. 

The Gatsby Foundation 

The Gatsby Foundation aims to support the best fundamental plant science research in the UK, particularly in the areas of pathology and development.  

About the studentships 

The BiPS Summer Studentship aims to encourage students to consider a career in plant sciences by providing funding to support paid summer placements for Black undergraduate students. 

These Studentships will address the lack of Black and Black heritage researchers in the UK plant science community.  

Successful students will be supported by the BiPS committee to identify and connect with a host laboratory and supervisor. It is therefore essential that you include areas of research in which you are interested within your application.  

Students can also apply to work with a selected supervisor, who has already agreed to host them. However, this is not required to be successful.

The award provides support for the student at a rate of £380 per week for a studentship period of 6 weeks. Each award includes £400 for costs to run the research; further research expenses are not offered under this scheme. 

It is anticipated that all placements will run in summer 2024, culminating with a written report on the student experience, which will be published on the Black in Plant Science website. The successful student will also be invited to attend and present at the first Black in Plant Science Conference. 

Eligibility 

To be eligible for a placement, you should: 

• Self-identify as Black or Black heritage 
• Be in the middle years of your first degree; 
• Be registered for a science degree at a UK university; 
• Either have home status or be an EU/international applicant with evidence of the right to work in the UK; 

Preference will be given to students who wish to use the placement to find out more about their suitability and aptitude for postgraduate plant science research. 

How to apply 

You can apply for this role online by filling out the application form, including an attachment of your CV and covering letter.  

If you have planned to undertake the placement in a research laboratory, please provide a letter of support from the head of the lab. Otherwise, you’ll be offered alternative options with trusted plant researchers in the UK. 

You can also download the form here:

Please send a completed version along with a CV and covering letter to blackinplantsci@gmail.com 

Deadline: 31 May 2024  

Supported by

Contact us 

Any queries can be sent to the following email address:

Email: blackinplantsci@gmail.com 

Mikhaela’s plant science journey so far 

Mikhaela was born in Ghana and moved to the UK as a child. She completed her undergraduate degree in Genetics at the University of Leicester, before moving to Norwich to complete her PhD co-supervised by Professor Richard Mithen – then based at the Quadram Institute and Professor Lars Østergaard – then based at the John Innes Centre. During this time, she studied the genetic regulation of accumulation of phytonutrients in broccoli, part of this work led to Mikhaela receiving the Rosalind Franklin Society Award for her work coordinating the UKs first regulated CRISPR field trial in collaboration with colleagues at the John Innes Centre. 

Mikhaela has been on a dynamic journey since finishing her PhD. After passing her viva in 2020, she was ready to set off to start a postdoc aboard, but the COVID-19 pandemic led to a change of plans. Mikhaela describes this as “the catalyst for a career re-calibration, in which I took odd jobs in everything the from high-throughput genotyping and cleaning toilets to dipping a toe into industry through my role at 2Blades.” Towards the end of 2020, Mikhaela landed her current role helping Dr Kelsey Byers establish their new lab and, in her words, has been “thriving ever since.”  

In her role as a Research Assistant, her role requires her to cover a range of tasks including training and mentoring new lab members, managing her own projects, keeping the lab running smoothly “and everything in-between”. She also prepares manuscripts, contributes to grant proposals and presents her work. Mikhaela says her work “requires a broad skillset and the trade-off is never having the same day twice. I love it”.   

The importance of mentors 

Mikhaela highlights the importance of having mentors, and says that for her, a good mentor “does not have to be more “senior” or of the same background to provide great mentorship. Some of the best mentorship I have received has been from my peers, particularly the women around me as we have taken on our journeys alongside each other. A good mentor is empathetic, encouraging, and honest”.   

Praising her PhD supervisor Professor Lars Østergaard. She credits him for the confidence she has now as a scientist. She notes that “it can be very easy to slip into the imposter syndrome, for all of us, let alone those of us from historically marginalised backgrounds” and particularly recognises her current mentor, Dr Kelsey Byers who “has put a tremendous amount of faith in me and I strive every day to do justice to that”. 

The future of plant science  

Mikhaela emphasises the importance of positive representation and the role it plays in shaping the future of plant sciences. She highlights the Black in Plant Science UK network as an organisation tht gives her hope for the future of the field. She says “I feel honoured to be a part of this remarkable ensemble of plant scientists from across the field as well as the country”. 

 Date: 21 MAY 2024  Location: Nexus, Discovery Way, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 3AA Time: 9 AM to 5 PM

The conference aims to celebrate the achievements, address the challenges, and amplify the aspirations of Black females and underrepresented groups in academia worldwide. Through engaging sessions, thought-provoking discussions, and networking opportunities, we aspire to foster a supportive and inclusive environment where experiences are shared, voices are heard, and meaningful connections are made.

The Black Female Academics’ Network are seeking individuals who are passionate about promoting diversity, equity, and excellence in academia to join us in this important endeavour. Whether you are attending as an engaged participant, they welcome your involvement and contribution.

Further details regarding the agenda, session formats, and any other information you may require are provided shortly after registration.

 Details and Registration: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=qO3qvR3IzkWGPlIypTW3y71gnKCyQflOot3yM06YOOhUNUdWWkZWUzRDWlhKRkpaVjk3SUJJVTdTOS4u

Don’t miss out on this invitation and opportunity to collaborate with BFAN as well as taking part in this historic event.

 Key Themes:

1⃣    Progression: Explore strategies and initiatives to navigate academic,  education, and professional services pathways, overcoming obstacles, and achieving career progression.

2⃣    Promotion: Discuss the challenges, and solutions spaces, Black females encounter in seeking recognition, advancement, and leadership roles within academia.

3⃣   Reward: Examine equitable practices for acknowledging and rewarding the contributions of Black female professional services staff, scholars, researchers, and educators.

This event is led by Professor Lisa-Dionne Morris along with Black Female Academics’ Network members UK, and internationally and is part of a wider EDI and Research Culture programme led by the Black Female Academics’ Network, Leeds University, and Research England.

 Date: 21 MAY 2024  Location: Nexus, Discovery Way, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 3AA Time: 9 AM to 5 PM

60 places ONLY- The closing date for registration is 10 May 2024. Delegates will be given a freebie on writing for promotion.

 Join us for empowering discussions, insightful presentations, and meaningful connections with fellow Black female professional services staff, educators, and academics. Together, let’s pave the way for a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable academic landscape.

The award aims to promote early career Black or Black heritage researchers working with plants in UK institutions, who are currently involved in or have recently completed a significant research project. Evidence of commitment to a positive research culture and the development of the diversity and inclusion strategy within their research community will be recognized. 

Each of our winners is an Early-Career Researcher and have demonstrated that they are carrying out research in Plant Sciences and that they have completed a research project to present at the ICAR conference as well as an outstanding commitment to social equity, diversity and inclusion in UK academia. 

The Winners

Bernice Waweru

Bernice Waweru is a PhD student at John Innes Centre (University of East Anglia), she is originally from Kenya where she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She has already established a long track record of research excellence – studying a variety of different genomes, assembling those genomes and annotating them.

She has been a winner of several awards, including the Borlaug-LEAP fellowship. Additionally, she was part of a select team of fellows awarded a USAID grant to collate, manage reviews and publish a collection of research articles from across various cohorts of Borlaug-LEAP fellows. This work was published in 2019 as a special issue in the African Journal of Food, Agriculture Nutrition and Development. 

Bernice has been involved in numerous EDI activities throughout her career, being a voice for gender equality in recruitment. She is currently at the John Innes Centre as part of the Rosalind Franklin Women in Wheat Champions programme as a mentee and is an active member of the Women in Crop Science network.  

Jade Bleau

Jade Bleau, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the University of Dundee/James Hutton Institute. After finishing her BSc at the University of Leeds, she completed her MRes in Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of Sheffield (UK), working with the vegetable breeding company Enza Zaden (Netherlands). She completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh and is currently at the University of Dundee, researching the molecular mechanisms behind plant-aphid interactions.  

Jade is one of the founding members of Black Botanists Week, a campaign first organised in 2020 to promote, encourage, create a safe space for, and find more Black people who love plants across the globe. In partnership with Holden Arboretum the Black Botanist Week network produced a seminar series called Growing Black Roots: The Black Botanical Legacy which consists of eleven lectures, one of which is presented by Jade.

As well as this, Jade contributed significantly to the inception of the Black in Plant Science Network and continues to serve as a valued member of the committee.  

The Runners-up

We would also like to give a special mention to our runners up who also demonstrated notable achievements in research.  

Sibongile Zimba is a final year PhD student in Plant Science at the University of Leeds. Her PhD project is interdisciplinary research on understanding the plant architectural traits and molecular developmental pathways underlying drought tolerance in nutritious, climate-smart crops. As an Early Career Researcher, she has collaborated with multiple excellent leaders in the field and co-authored several relevant published papers.  

Charlene Dambire, PhD is a research fellow at the University of Nottingham working on defining a new realm of proteolysis activated protein function. In 2022, Charlene established the Ideas 2 Careers platform, a mentorship initiative for young Zimbabwean women, hosted on Facebook in collaboration with professionals across various fields in Zimbabwe. She continues to be a mentor and trains research staff at the University of Nottingham.  

This was the first ever networking event organised by the Black in Plant Science (BiPS) team, and it was uplifting to see how much support the network already has.

In our community voice section of the event, we got to hear from people across plant science in response to the following questions:

• How would you like to connect with people in the network?
• What is the best way to celebrate talent in the community?
• Aside from mentorship what opportunities would you like from the network?
• What kind of activities would you like to see put on the network?
• What kind of resources would you like the network to provide?
• Now, we have our work cut out and we’re already getting started.

Over the next few weeks, you will see some additions to the website, these will include a list of upcoming opportunities that we intend to update regularly. If you have any upcoming opportunities, please send these to info@blackinplantscience.org. Please include any social media handles so that we can post on our platforms as well as the website.

We also are in the process of preparing a literature section of the website for listed authors of Black heritage, if you or anyone that you know – that is of Black heritage – has published a paper, please forward that information along to info@blackinplantscience.org.

The BiPS committee will continue to think about the ways in which we can bring the community together and the ways in which can highlight the success of Black people in plant science.

If you haven’t already, please consider filling out our survey to help inform the future decisions of the BiPS committee. Fill out survey here.

We would like to give a special thank you to our partners and sponsors The North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee (NAASC) and The Plant Journal and for your continued support of current and upcoming opportunities respectively.

Thank you to the Gatsby Foundation whose core funding supports the ongoing work of the Black in Plant Science network.

Whether you’re a student, researcher, or industry professional, this event offers a supportive space to discuss challenges, opportunities, and the future of equity, diversity and inclusion in plant science. Get to know our committee members, help us shape the future of this initiative, and expand your network.  

During this lunch hour (and a half), we will also announce the Black in Plant Science Research Excellence Award winners.   

We welcome all plant science enthusiasts to meet the Black community to network and share knowledge.  

To contribute to the discussion before the event, comment on our Padlet which you will access upon registering.   

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-in-plant-science-community-network-lunch-tickets-828418711667?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete  

We are proud to announce that two of our founding members, Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso and John Baison have been awarded by the UKRI, The Advancing Culture Award.

As Future Leader Fellows of the UKRI they have been recognised for the cultural change that they have acheieved in thier respective organisations.

Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso and John Baison win the Advancing Culture Award. They co-founded the ‘Black in Plant Science’ (BiPS) initiative, to create resources and opportunities to connect, celebrate and cultivate UK-based Black plant scientists.

Through the success of the network to date, over £75,000 in additional funding has been secured to support the continued development and delivery of the planned events and training.