Self-Assessment Team
The Division of Biosciences Athena SWAN Self-Assessment Team was established in January 2013 and meets monthly, with the aims of promoting equality and creating a supportive working environment for all staff and students in the Division of Biosciences.
We aim to promote good practice across the Division and strive to ensure a positive work/life balance for all, with clear and transparent career progression pathways and everyone feeling safe to be their true selves at work.
We were first awarded a Bronze Athena SWAN Award in 2015, which was renewed in 2018. We are delighted to confirm we were awarded Silver in 2023 but the work continues!
The staff and students involved in our Silver submission were:
Current SAT members (July 2025)
Co-Chairs
Arantza Barrios, Associate Professor (CDB)
Tim Newbold, Professor (GEE)
SAT Members
Nadia Ali, FLS Staffing
Aida Andres, Professor, GEE
Alice Balard, Post Doc, GEE
Wendy Birch, Anatomy Lab Manager, CDB
Nancy Bird, Post Doc, GEE
Fabian Blombach, Post Doc, SMB
Pip Coen, Principal Research Fellow, CDB
Phil Cox, Associate Professor, CDB
Snezana Djordjević, Professor, SMB
Ryan Felice, Professor, CDB
Sandrine Geranton, Associate Professor, CDB
Matt Gold, Professor, NPP
Stuart Harrison, Post Doc, GEE
Atalanta Hersey, Deputy Manager, Teaching and Learning Team
Fahmida Khatun, Teaching and Learning Team
Stephanie Koch, Senior Research Fellow, NPP
Guillermo Lopez Domenech, Post Doc, NPP
Amandine Maréchal, Professor, SMB
Alessandro Mongera, Lecturer, CDB
Gemma Murray, Senior Research Fellow, GEE
Orla O’Donnell, Divisional Manager
Tabitha Owen, Executive Assistant, SMB
Eleni Petridou, Post Doc, NPP
Dorota Studniarczyk, Technician, NPP
Chris Thompson, Professor, GEE
Maria Tossounian, Post Doc, SMB
Jo Trafford, Post Doc, GEE
Paola Vergani, Professor, NPP
If you have any feedback or queries relating to Athena SWAN please contact Tabitha Owen, tabitha.owen@ucl.ac.uk.
About Athena SWAN
The Silver application was submitted by the Division’s Athena Swan Self-Assessment Team (SAT) in August 2023 and was a huge collaborative effort across the whole Division. Enormous gratitude is extended to the SAT members as well as thanks to all other staff and students who contributed via the multiple questionnaires and focus groups that took place in order to gather data and feedback for the application.
The Athena Swan Charter is a framework across the globe set up to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research, encompassing representation, progression and success for all. It encourages institutions to meet equality legislation requirements, as well as the requirements and expectations of some funders and research councils.
However, Athena Swan is no longer just about gender. It is about ensuring a positive working environment for ALL staff and students.
The work of the Athena Swan SAT at Biosciences revolves around a number of themes, organized into Task Forces. Currently, these are:
Anti-Bullying and Harassment/ Mental Health and Wellbeing
Career Development and Promotions
Disability and Neurodiversity
LGBTQIA+
Grant Applications
Racial Equity
Recruitment & Inductions
Mentoring
Parental Leave
Workload Allocation
Division of Biosciences Silver Athena Swan Application - 2023
The Division has several mentoring schemes, designed to support the development of academic and professional staff and students at various stages of their careers.
PhD/ Post Doc Mentoring Scheme1st and 2nd year PhD students are mentored by 3rd and 4th year PhD students. 3rd and 4th year students are mentored by Post Docs.
Academic and Research Staff Mentoring SchemePost Docs, Lecturers and Professors are mentored by Lecturers and Professors.
Professional Services Mentoring SchemeTechnical and Administrative staff are mentored by colleagues at the same grade or higher.
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Inclusion Leads - support for staff and PhD students
An Inclusion Lead is a member of staff that acts as a source of advice and informal support to staff and students. Students and staff are welcome to contact them, in confidence, with any problems or concerns they may have. They are all trained Mental Health First Aiders.
The Inclusion Leads for the Division are:
- Atalanta Hersey, Teaching Office, Room G11A, Medawar Building (a.hersey@ucl.ac.uk)
- Stavroula Lialiou, Finance Office, Room 128, Medical Sciences Building (s.lialiou@ucl.ac.uk)
- Tabitha Owen, Room 111, Darwin Building (tabitha.owen@ucl.ac.uk)
- Adolfo Quinones Lombrana, Darwin Research Facility (a.quinones@ucl.ac.uk)
Funding for Women in Science
- L’Oréal-UNESCO’s For Women in Science programme recognises the achievements and contributions of exceptional females across the globe, by awarding promising scientists with Fellowships (currently up to £15k) to help further their research.
- British Federation of Women Graduates
Scholarships and grants for women graduates
- Wellcome Trust Career re-entry fellowship scheme for scientists who have taken a career break of at least 2 years.
- The Royal Society: Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship - scheme for excellent scientists in the UK at an early stage of their research career who require a flexible working pattern due to personal circumstances such as parenting or caring responsibilities or health issues. Female candidates are particularly invited to apply.