Eleanor Furness MPhil Biological Sciences, Aberystwyth University; BSc Hons Microbiology, Aberystwyth University.

Eleanor is finishing up her PhD in Biological Sciences whilst working part-time as a Teaching, Human Health and Exercise Science Laboratory Technician. 

Her PhD focuses on cold adaption in microbial communities in the Arctic. She uses both wet-lab and dry-lab (bioinformatic) approaches in her research. Eleanor completed her MPhil "The response of the cryoconite microbial community to cryospheric stresses" in 2020 and her BSc Hons in Microbiology in 2018, both at Aberystwyth University. 

Eleanor is a Microbiology Society Champion and a STEM Ambassador. She has previously worked for the Office for Students as a TEF Natural Sciences and Engineering & Technology panellist.

 

Eleanor was a peer mentor in the department for a number of years and was shortlisted for Mentor of the Year in 2022. During her BSc, she was an Undergraduate IBERS Institute Representative, an Academic Representative and a Mature Students Officer. She won the inaugural James Nicholson Memorial Award in 2018 for her role in supporting students.

She has volunteered for British Science Week, Antibiotics Unearthed and a number of other outreach activities as a STEM ambassador. Most recently, she gave a talk at the Science and the Senedd Conference in Cardiff in 2022.

She has also been involved with the Microbiology Society for a number of years. Last year she joined the panel session as an invited speaker at the Get Involved: Our Policy and Engagement Work 2022 event. 
 

As a Senior Demonstrator, Eleanor has demonstrated in practical classes to undergraduates for a number of years during both her MPhil and PhD. She has also worked as an Associate Lecturer and is currently working as a Teaching Laboratory Technician. These roles have given her a broad range of teaching experience across many modules. She has lectured, marked work and assessed presentations, as well as led a number of undergraduate practical classes. 

During both her MPhil and PhD research projects, Eleanor focused on the microbial ecology of psychrophiles. Additionally, between her second and third years of her BSc, she completed two funded summer studentship research projects. She has presented her research in a number of conferences, winning poster prizes on two occasions (2018 and 2022).