The Edinburgh Scientific Research Association (ESRA), is a university-affiliated society, aiming to advance undergraduate research projects by creating connections with postgraduate and post-doctorate academics, providing members with the opportunity to experience new scientific developments and undertake first-hand research. In this interview, Will Green (ESRA’s head of research) details examples of ESRA’s projects and their management, as well as the many opportunities that ESRA has to offer.
I asked Will to recount an example of a successful research project, to which he described an assessment of the validity of loch signposting.
Will described the various signposts around the lochs in Arthur’s Seat that read “Danger: Cyanobacteria! Don’t swim!”
“Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous single-celled photosynthetic bacteria that grow into big algal blooms in the right conditions, some of which are toxic,” he explained. “We were curious as to whether there were detectable levels of cyanobacteria in the water and devised an experimental strategy, working alongside the biology teaching organisation to secure lab space and consumable equipment for our experiment.”
“We had a full day of fieldwork followed by an afternoon of lab-based experiments.” Will’s team collected the lake water, took it back to the lab and analysed it with specialist equipment.
“Unfortunately (or fortunately for swimmers!) we were unable to detect any cyanobacteria. Despite not finding some cool bugs, it was a great opportunity to plan and devise a fully-fledged experiment as well as to present our results at the yearly conference.”
ESRA is a society for undergraduate students, by undergraduate students
When prompted to discuss the networking opportunities provided by ESRA, Will emphasised the central focus on undergraduate opportunities.
“ESRA is a society for undergraduate students, by undergraduate students. We organise academic events, our most popular are academic talks by lecturers and established researchers from all the departments. I was the Academic Secretary for ESRA last year and helped organise talks by research investigators like Dr Amanda Jarvis who talked about artificial metalloenzymes. These events are also ideal opportunities to partner with other academic societies. I remember in my first year at ESRA attending a talk by Dr Lynne Regan in partnership with BioSoc and having an informative discussion with her about PhDs.” Will recounts that the three members who spoke to her after the talk ended up discussing summer internships with her! “Chi Ho, the society secretary at the time, ended up doing that internship.”
“Daniel, one of our current Academic Secretaries, has done an excellent job in arranging interesting talks and boosting engagement by partnering with other societies, so be sure to check out the upcoming ESRA newsletters and Instagram for event updates.” Will recognises the advantage of working in a society with others interested in a scientific career – “peers in the departments are ideal platforms for network building,” he emphasises. “ESRA’s structure also fosters interdisciplinary alignments with the interactions of the different departments and that can lead to some engaging emergent outcomes.”
An integral part of ESRA for undergraduate students is the opportunity to formulate a project on an investigation area of their choice. I asked Will what a good project proposal looks like.
“My main role as Head of Research is to look through the projects and vet them for safety and feasibility. The main thing we want to see is safety, be it in the form of not using carcinogenic chemicals without protection to ensuring proper data protection and participant consent for social science projects. It has been really lovely to see this year that all the project forms have cited studies and protocols. A lot of care and effort has gone into writing them!”
“I also meet with the Committee President, Treasurer and Secretary to discuss project funding – with a limited pool, we like to approve projects which are feasible in this dimension.” Apart from those factors, Will highlights that “[the society] wants to make sure that everyone has a chance to do a project and I’m really happy to say that all the projects proposed were given the green light and lots of groups are making good headway. I know one in the biology department which is working on directly evolving heavy metal resistance for asteroid biomining!”
I wanted to find out more about the social side of ESRA, so I asked Will to provide examples of less academic events hosted by the society.
“We run socials usually twice a month such as our ‘Beer and Breakthrough’ pub nights.” Will stresses that these socials are “very informal”, encouraging members to chat with each other and “get away from the more academic side of the society.” The departments also have weekly meetings run by department heads to devise projects. “These meetings are the bread and butter of ESRA, serving as a weekly contact hour between the more experienced department leads and the more inexperienced members.”
As with any university society, there are opportunities to get involved with the committee. I questioned Will about the skills gained from these roles and asked him how they might relate to the world of scientific research.
“We will be having our AGM in April and all positions will be up for grabs! Myself, along with the president, academic secretary, chemistry heads [and many more] will all be graduating this year – I recommend applying!”
ESRA is in many senses so much more than a university society
Will emphasises that ESRA is a great experience: “It fosters a great skillset for project development, independent research and team building. I’ve loved my time in the society and highly recommend it to any interested.”
“ESRA is in many senses so much more than a university society.” Members gain “invaluable insight into scientific research projects,” and “the networking opportunities available mean that members can further their interests through internships and discussions that may not be ordinarily available to them.” Will also stresses the importance of research conferences, explaining that attending these allows members to further their interest in the society and to gain inspiration for projects based on those being presented.
The Student would like to thank Will Green for his time and these insightful answers. For more information about ESRA and their upcoming events, look to their Instagram – @esra.soc
Image via ESRA