Image of students working at computers during Genomics and Epidemiological Surveillance of Bacterial Pathogens Course 2017

New leadership roles in our Learning and Training team

Date: 10 November 2022

Dr Michelle Bishop, Associate Director, Learning and Training, shares details about role developments within her leadership team.

Dr Michelle Bishop, Associate Director, Learning and Training, shares details about role developments within her leadership team.

As a programme Wellcome Connecting Science has a reputation for providing a learning and training offer that is at the cutting-edge of genomic science. Over the next five years, we are looking to build on that reputation by implementing new ways in which to deliver our events, activities, and resources, and build lasting relationships with our participants.

An important part of realising these objectives are our people. Two key figures in the Learning and Training leadership team are Dr Treasa Creavin and Dr Alice Matimba. Treasa has been managing many aspects of our conferences programme for over ten years and – following the move to virtual implemented by her team during the pandemic – has expanded the scope of her role to include leading on digital learning. Alice, who joined Learning and Training in 2017, has been central to expanding our global offer and now formally leads all our training activities.

Connecting Science has clear ambitions in relation to professional audiences, and our Learning and Training team focuses on creating and delivering evidence-based activities for people who are, or will be, using genomic technologies and knowledge as part of their roles. Our target audiences are researchers, as well as healthcare professionals, and those working in public health agencies, and we have extended our remit to include those tasked with educating and training these professional groups.

As the new Head of Training and Global Capacity I am looking forward to developing strategies that expand the impact of genomics training and build sustainable solutions for capacity building, through training trainers and developing global networks. The rate at which new skills are needed requires a critical mass of expert scientists and practitioners who are well equipped to communicate their knowledge and skills to others, and to keep up with rapidly changing technologies and approaches.

 

Dr Alice Matimba, Head of Training and Global Capacity

 

The learning and training landscape has changed significantly over the past few years with the move to online participation. I’m looking forward to developing our strategy further to reduce barriers and increase access to our genomics programme, to enable researchers, educators and those working in healthcare or public health to share their knowledge and skills as we focus on the next stages of implementing genomic medicine.

 

Dr Treasa Creavin, Head of Scientific Meetings and Digital Learning

 

I am delighted that Alice and Treasa will continue to contribute their expertise to our programme in their newly defined roles. We have a great opportunity to make a real difference to how research and healthcare professionals experience learning around genomics, and I’m looking forward to working with Alice, Treasa, and the wider Learning and Training team on ensuring we can make an effective contribution in this area.