FLSC Newsletter - March 2016 - London Metropolitan University

Faculty of Life Sciences and Computing
Issue 33
March 2016
Edited Priya Desai
The Informatics of Extreme Weather
For your calendar
Climate change is giving rise to an increase in the unpredictability of weather,
especially potentially harmful extreme events in urban environments. At the same
time rural-urban migration and the rapid growth of cities is leading to an increase in
populations living on marginal urban lands, often in risky flood plains, with little or no
access to formal governmental disaster preparedness support. In this context there is
clearly need for better predictive systems of flooding, heat stress and air pollution
events, delivered directly to at-risk populations.
Research Horizon
Friday 8th April
10-4pm in BPLG-02
Free Admission
Register at
Eventbrite
Professor Yong Xue, the Director of Informatics Research Centre, has been awarded
a project by UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) starting from 1
January 2016. The project, U-Alert, is jointly with Universities of Sussex, York, Leeds
and Anglia Ruskin and two companies. This project aims to scope and assess the
feasibility of bringing together these technologies to create a system that collects
rainfall, temperature and aerosol data, analyses it to produce hazard warnings and
delivers it directly to mobile phones, in areas affected, in an easy-to-action message.
The main outputs of the research are a feasibility report on the development of a
prototype system, and a project team to deliver it. This team will comprise a
telecoms company, humanitarian decision makers, community representatives and
researchers.
The Infinity Lecture
Series... Britain’s
Obesity Crisis: Is it
time to consider
more radical
solutions?
Wednesday 20 April
6-7pm TG-30, Henry
Thomas Room
Register here on
Eventbrite
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Student Horizon
Conference 13th April
More information
and registration at
Eventbrite
Editor’s Note
Contributions are welcome from all areas of the Faculty please send to me by the middle of the month.
Priya Desai
p.desai@londonmet.ac.uk
Faculty of Life Sciences and Computing
Zero-emissions taxi firm driving growth through crowdfunding
A London Met student supported eConnect Cars Ltd by developing a crowdfunding campaign and
completed his coursework at the same time
Ernest Mugadza from the School of Computing began the crowdfunding campaign as an assignment for his Research
and Development Skills module.
From January 2018, when London is to become an Ultra-Low Emissions Zone, all private hire cars (taxis) less than 18
months old must be zero emissions capable in order to get a license. This means they will need to be able to have a
range of at least 30 miles in zero emission mode.
eConnect cars goes one step further by having a fleet consisting entirely of 100% electric vehicles, the Nissan Leaf
and Tesla Model S. This eliminates completely particulate matter from exhaust pipes that contributes to the death of
approximately 9,000 people per year in London.
London Met is currently working with eConnect cars on a KTP joint project to develop a unique intelligent dispatch
system to support the expansion of the eco-friendly company enabling them to scale up their operations efficiently
and effectively. The project is led by Professor Hassan Kazemian and Professor Karim Ouazzane.
eConnect Cars has successfully raised all its £400,000 crowdfunding target using the crowdcube website. This
demonstrates the significant level of interest in the campaign and its championing a greener environment for
everyone to enjoy.
Prof Kazemian from London Metropolitan University said: “It is very rewarding to see that one of our students from
Research and Development Skills module has contributed to the crowdfunding campaign as part his coursework and
finally all our hard work has paid off”.
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School of Human Sciences Enhancing Student Experience
John Dawson, a licensed Speaking Circles®
facilitator, delivered a guest lecture to Sport Science
and Sports Therapy students on Public Speaking.
This was part of the Business Developments in Sport
module, designed to embed employability into the
curriculum.
Speaking Circles® is an innovative programme for
people at all levels of speaking experience who want
to be more comfortable, more themselves and more
effective in front of others. John Dawson, a highly
experienced licensed facilitator, has been delivering
courses on public speaking since 2000.
Many students fear public speaking and get anxious prior to presenting in front of an audience. However,
the ability to express ideas clearly and convincingly and to deliver presentations are integral to
employment. Therefore, one of the main aims of the workshop was to change the students’ perception of
public speaking and help them overcome their fear of standing up and speaking through underpinning the
proposed theories with evolutionary reasons. The session also aimed to improve the students’
understanding on self-confidence and improve their personal and professional communication skills to
ultimately result in improved employability.
In addition, to enhance the student
experience, final year Sports Science and
Therapy students went on tour to Arsenal’s
world-class facilities at the Emirates
Stadium. The extra-curricular activity was
organised by Academic Mentor, Aldo Lena,
to tie the academic and ‘real-world’
contexts together and to make
employability interesting and relevant.
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Bioscience Career Conference
On February the 10th, a Career Conference for Bioscience students was held in the School of Human Sciences. The
conference, organised by academic mentor Lorenza Giannella provided students with an overview on career
opportunities for graduates and tips for a successful job application.
Speakers included:
- Alison Street, career consultant at London Metropolitan University
- Mustafa Nur, recent Biomedical Science graduate, now intern at the Science Centre and soon-to-be
Medical Laboratory Assistant in the NHS
- Marjan Jeddi, PhD student at London Metropolitan University
- Stephen Jones, Science PGCE course leader with extensive experience in secondary school education
- Nymeth Ali, Senior Biomedical Scientist at Imperial College NHS Trust
The speakers clarified the requirements for their role and their job responsibilities, but also talked about their typical
day and the pros and cons of their profession. Towards the end of the event academics from the School of Human
Sciences Dr Sheelagh Heugh, Dr Simon Dryden, Dr Sarah Atchia and Juli Le Page-Pezet joined the conference for an
informal Q&A with students.
"I attended the career conference and it was very useful. It indeed opened my eyes to the many opportunities
available. I strongly recommend that this conference continues as this will lead many to achieve their goal. "
Gbemi Adeagbo, 3rd year Biomedical Science student
PhD award in Nutrition group
In February, VC Scholar Jabeen Shah, in the Public Health Nutrition Research Group, successfully defended her PhD
thesis titled: “An assessment of the impact of south Asian ethnicity on body composition, dimensions and proportions
in children and adolescents”. Jabeen’s PhD supervisor, Professor David McCarthy, commented that the examiners
were very impressed with the work that had gone into the thesis and the innovative assessment tools that were
generated for use in the south Asian childhood population.
Jabeen gratefully acknowledged the receipt of the VC scholarship, without which she could not have undertaken PhD
research. Jabeen also recognised the high quality and dedicated supervision she received across the course of her
studies.
Jabeen is currently preparing a manuscript on waist circumference percentile curves for south Asian children as well
as part-time lecturing at Kingston University. Congratulations Jabeen!
Left to right: Dr. Chris Bax (independent chair), Dr.
Lynne Boddy (external examiner, Liverpool John
Moore’s University), Jabeen Shah (PhD candidate),
Dr. Simon Dryden (internal examiner), Professor
David McCarthy (supervisor).
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LondonMet Students Attend Cyber Security Challenge Camp at Greenwich
University
By Terry Williams
Three LondonMet students participated in the Cyber Security Challenge UK Insight Camp at the University of
Greenwich for three days of competitions, lectures, and recruitment activities from 6-8 February 2016. Organizations
such as GCHQ, the National Crime Agency, BAE Systems, Raytheon, the UK National Computer Emergency Response
Team and many others gave lectures and vied to recruit students over the three days.
Nigel Harrison, the founder of Cyber Security Challenge UK spoke with the students and told them about his efforts
to recruit the top problem solving talent for the UK Cyber Security Industry and to encourage passion for the Cyber
Security Profession. His organization is funded half by government and half by private corporations.
The camp was attended by about 45 students from all over the country including Coventry University and the
University of Cambridge. The camp was a great success and more than 17 organizations had booths set up on the
third day and had lots of interaction with the students. Photos of the event are available on Facebook that anyone
can request to join at:
www.facebook.com/groups/CyberGreenwich2016
The event was very enjoyable and all the students have agreed to complete a Cyber Security certification exam
within six months of the camp. The funding for the certification is paid for by the sponsoring organisation, Cyber
Security Challenge UK.
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How to spot a Psychopath?
TV shows and movies tell us to fear rampaging criminal psychopaths, websites offer online quizzes to tell if your new
boyfriend or girlfriend is a remorseless sociopath, and self-help books warn us to beware of ‘snakes in suits’ at work.
What are the truths behind the popular image of the remorseless, cold-blooded psychopath – and why do we
sometimes find them so attractive?
Wendy Morgan and Joanna Pashdag from the School of
Psychology, recently gave a talk at St Bartholomew’s Hospital on
24th February 2016 on, “How to Spot a Psychopath”. The tickets
sold out in less than 48 hours and had a wide range of audience
members including fellow academics, practitioners and
members of the general public. Steve Moore (School of
Medicine and Dentistry) thanked the forensic team for an
“informative and entertaining talk”.
This talk was about looking at the history of the concept of
psychopathy, the differences between public perception/media
portrayals and the reality, and why British psychopaths are more
polite than American psychopaths. Discussion included the skull
of John Bellingham to the use of MRI scans in murder trials and
introduce the listener to the hidden psychopaths in the coffee
shop and in the workplace.
Wendy Morgan is a Forensic psychologist who started her career working with high risk prisoners. Over the last 20
years she has worked with a range of legal and criminal justice organisations. She currently trains practitioners in risk
management, assessment, and organisational interventions. While her current contact with psychopaths is greatly
reduced, she does have a wealth of clinical experience upon which to draw. Joanna Pashdag is a Clinical and Forensic
psychologist whose work in the USA and the UK has encompassed staffing the admissions unit of a secure forensic
hospital and conducting violent offender risk assessments in several states and Washington, DC. Her current areas of
interest include trauma, sexual paraphilia’s and the study of psychopaths in the workplace.
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VFX Festival 2016: London Met at The 02
On 24th and 25th February, a group of BSc Games Modelling, Animation and Effects students visited the VFX Festival
at the O2 Arena to gain an insight into the latest tools and techniques being used by modellers, animators and VFX
artists from major concerns such as Aardman, Double Negative, Rushes and MPC; as well find out how the studios do
things professionally.
Dr Nigel Medhurst, Course Leader said:
"The show provided an excellent opportunity to network with industry insiders, as well as see behind the scenes on
how major games and films such as Assassins Creed, The Martian, Spectre and Pan were made. Some interesting
panel sessions (including Women in Industry, Careers and Recruitment, and an insight into the growth of Virtual
Reality) ensured that everyone who visited was entertained and inspired."
BSc Games Modelling, Animation and Effects students found it really useful to attend events like this to learn about
life after university.
3rd year student Hayley Slaytor commented:
"I thought it was great, I spoke with loads of people and made valuable contacts within the industry, I've an
appointment to show one developing company my portfolio in April. There were some great talks and a lot revolved
around visual effects. If anyone is looking to work in that industry the festival is a must!"
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Academic Mentors
Faculty of Life Sciences and Computing now has seven full-time academic mentors in place. The mentors see
students in one to one sessions and drop-ins. The focus is on level 4 retention and level 6 satisfaction; but students
at other levels often seek advice. It helps if module leaders invite the mentors in to say hello to their students; and
brief them on upcoming coursework’s and tests so they can help prepare the students.
(From L-R James Davis, Lorenza Giannella, Cecilia Oyugi, Bernard Aidoo and Gabin Kayumbi)
One example of what academic mentors do is hold Employability events as
Afshan Aghili did for the Human Nutrition and Dietetics group. These events
include talks such as becoming a registered nutritionist, having guest lectures
and panel discussions.
In the School of Human Sciences, Afshan helps students in Nutrition and
Dietetics; James in Sports and Lorenza in Biosciences. In Psychology, Bernard is
mentoring. In School of Computing, Jo Gill, Cecilia and Gabin are working with
students on the Computing and BIT degrees.
Student Horizon Conference 13th April
Students in FLSC have organised a conference on the student experience, reflections on their
course, volunteering & placements, study support and career development. More information and
registration at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/student-horizon-conference-tickets-21302522418
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Research Horizon Conference Friday 8th April
Research Students in FLSC have organised a conference on Friday 8th April where they will
present the impact of their research on society. Please join them! Register at:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/research-horizon-tickets-21446578293
Presenters with Titles include:
Pedro Santos (SoC) and Roberta Freezor (SHS) - Choosing the best statistical techniques for your research.
DProf Helena Wehling and Natasha Anastasi (SoP) - Research: Beyond your idea
Zainab Rassoul (SHS) and Uruthiran Sritharan (SoC) - Visual data analysis for cell models of dementia and object
tracking
Abu Hossain (SoC) and Sony Chandi Shrestha (SHS) - Statistics for quality control of pharmaceutical drugs
Maren Hentschel and Grazia Ragone (SoP) - Challenges in research involving children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Mohammadhossein Amirhosseini and Asif Nawaz (SoC) - Artificial intelligence for identity resolution and neuro
linguistic programming
Sarah Azam and Binta Sambo Abdullahi (SHS) - Beneficial breast milk bacteria in the fight against prostate cancer
Edward Kasonde and Dona Mannaperuma (SHS) - Protein identification and compound synthesis in drug discovery
Promiselynda Obioha and Uchini Kosgodage (SHS) - Molecular Identification as a Bridge between Food Microbiology
and Cancer Immunotherapy
Roham Sadeghimakki and Sanjida Haque Rema (SHS) - Security and quality of data handling and analysis in nutrition
Nada Abuknesha and Josephine Rennie (SoP) - Improving the quality of life for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder and Epileptic patients
Erum Moqueem and Ranjana Babber (SHS) - Polymers in Fibre Optic and Drug Delivery
Sohail Mushtaq and Muhammad Riaz (SoC) - Sharp Filters for Wireless Technology
Melissa Jamie Reidelberger and Ray Millican (SoP) - The psychology of supply chain relationships: Collaborating for
the common good
Please note:
SHS - School of Human Sciences
SoP - School of Psychology
SoC - School of Computing
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