Dr Emma Yhnellis a senior lecturer at Cardiff University . With a PhD in neuroscience , she is an expert on all thing nerve cell and adopt great pride in sharing this knowledge with her students . There are many string to Yhnell ’s bow : when not busy teaching , she is a passionate skill communicator , writing and talking about neuroscience in entertaining , approachable , and , most importantly , fun ways .
She can be found nattering about neuron at various public troth and outreach events and in 2018 delivered a TEDx talking on the honorable challenges associated with research into brainpower disease titled “ The ethics behind your neurogenetics ” .
We entrance up with Yhnell to find out more about her life history so far , her desire to inspire the next genesis of neuroscientists , and the innovative – and sometimes a little bizarre – ways in which she start about achieving this .
Nelly, the cuddly neuron used by Yhnell in talks and lectures to help engage her audience. Image courtesy of Dr Emma Yhnell
There ’s talk of “ cuddly neurons ” , bubble gun mishaps , and the joys of netball and undefendable - water swim thrown in for good bill .
What do you do ?
I ’m a aged lecturer at Cardiff University , and I specialise in neuroscience . I ’m also a science communicator .
What scene of your problem do you recover the most fulfilling ?
I love helping people to find and light upon new thing , whether that ’s the student that I ’m teaching or different public audiences . I find it really fulfilling to be able to communicate a message to people or a new kind of theory or any sort of information that they have to get word as part of their form , and doing that in unique and novel ways . I eff to use props in my teaching and music just to make things more engaging and entertaining .
Any career highlights ?
Yes , destiny of calling high spot . MyTEDx peach , I think was a good one for me . I spoke in that about my family history of Alzheimer ’s disease and mental capacity disease and how they can impact all of us , so that was a really prissy career highlighting . And then more recently , being shortlisted for Biosciences teacher of the yr , that was really nice as well .
What did it take to get here ?
I would say in terms of what it takes to get here , I did an undergraduate level and then a PhD. I ’m a bit foreign in that my undergraduate degree was in biochemistry and my PhD was in neuroscience , so I made a bit of a transition there . And then I ’ve done teaching qualifications as well through the Higher Education Academy , and a postgraduate certificate in clinical trials .
I think in term of what it takes to get here just experience , specially in teaching and bawl out large telephone number of students . But also in terms of hobbies and thing . I conceive it ’s passing authoritative to try and exert pursuit because academic workload can be quite overwhelming . I love playing netball , that ’s my go - to at the moment . And a turn of open water system swimming as well .
envisage you ’ve touch yourself as a teenager at a careers fair : How would you depict what you do to your former self ?
I love this question . in the main because I think my days are so varied , which is why I screw what I do . So it can pasture from teaching students to giving public talks to doing paperwork to fixing a computer . In terms of career fair and meeting my youthful ego I remember it ’s crucial to give things a go and just try dissimilar thing . Often , I think we call up we make out what our career might look like , but we do n’t really know until we experience it . And I think there will always be parts of a career or any job that you like more than others as well . So it ’s about balance those . And also I would say I ’d care to hope that I ’m making a difference . That ’s one of my cardinal drivers really .
What ’s the most common misconception about your production line of piece of work ?
I would say that lecturers know everything . It ’s not reliable . That is n’t a arcanum , it ’s a fact of spirit . I call up sometimes there is this perception that lector just know everything and we do n’t . And I ’m really comfortable and well-chosen to say to students : “ I actually do n’t know the answer to that ” and go and research it and number back with an answer . I think it ’s really important that we recognise that we do n’t know everything . And , you know , you’re able to only ever know so much so acknowledging when you do n’t know rather than bluffing is definitely a good thing to do .
comic moment on the task ?
I ’m start to show you a property . So , fit my friend :
I get it on a airscrew . In my teaching , I love creating prop or any unique ways to get people to understand things . So I [ use this when I instruct ] negatron neurotransmission – and he lights up !
I think the odd moment for me is when I come up to lecture and diddle music , or come in with property , and when I turn these lights on , and there ’s like a coinciding “ ooo ” from the audience . I really love that . It ’s funny , but it ’s also really endearing to get that feedback as well from the learners that I ’m teaching .
Memorable trip / hairiest moment on the problem ?
I think you have to groom when you ’re using things like props for thing to go wrong . So I also use a house of cards gas pedal to certify neurotransmission that sometimes break wrong if the battery run out or if your prop breaks or all of these things . I think particularly in teaching , you have to be prepared for things to go wrong . So , you know , the computer might break down or , especially if you ’re try out to use advanced methods , you are lay on the line that it might go incorrect , and that ’s kind of part of the fun , but also can be a bite hairy . So always have a backup plan of what to do if it conk a bit pear - shaped .
What ’s one piece of advice you ’d give to someone wanting to embark on the same calling ?
My number one is in all probability surround yourself with people who abide you and champion you and back you . That ’s really , really important . And then second , I ’d say believe in yourself . I call up lots of us do n’t do that and it ’s a fine personal line of credit but utterly you should back yourself and know that your views and sentiment are just as valid as anyone else ’s .
rent me also say that it ’s okay to change careers as well . That ’s of import . I intend very often we think that just because we ’re doing something we ’ll be stuck in it forever . But that ’s not dead on target . you could always exchange , you could always do different things .
