Researcher to give lectures in United Kingdom
Dr Bridget Stocker, a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences, will present a two-week sponsored lecture tour in the United Kingdom next month.
Dr Stocker received the 2011 Easterfield Medal, given in honour of the late Sir Thomas Hill Easterfield, in recognition of significant research by an emerging chemist. As part of the award, Dr Stocker is being sponsored to visit Oxford, York, Edinburgh, St Andrews and Cambridge Universities to talk about how glycolipids can help in understanding and treating disease.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to not only visit such prestigious universities in the United Kingdom, but also to showcase what we do here in Wellington," says Dr Stocker.
"It's important to get your name out there and to meet like-minded people in your field. The advantage of a trip like this, over say a conference, is that you really get to have more one-on-one time with very intelligent and inspiring people. Enthusiasm is infectious and lends itself to the generation of a lot of new ideas."
Dr Stocker was the top graduating Victoria University Bachelor of Science (Hons) student in 2000. She went on to complete a PhD that focussed on the total synthesis of several anticancer agents. Following a brief period as a lecturer, Dr Stocker was awarded a fellowship to spend two years at the prestigious Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.
In 2006, Dr Stocker returned to New Zealand and established an immunoglycomics research programme at the Malaghan Institute in collaboration with partner Dr Mattie Timmer, a senior lecturer in the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences. She is currently a Health Research Council Sir Charles Hercus Research Fellow.
The focus of Dr Stocker’s research involves understanding the role of carbohydrates in immunology. Key highlights include the development of new ‘green chemistry’ methodologies and the synthesis of carbohydrate ‘probes’ to study diseases, such as cancer.