Anna Sharman
@annasharmanrd.bsky.social
Researcher developer at a UK independent research organisation. Former director of Cofactor. Interested in #ResearcherDevelopment #ResearchCulture #AcademicCareers #Inclusion #Conferencing #Biology #OpenScience #Neurodiversity
It's now forecast to be 40 degrees here on Thursday. Our average daily high temperature for this time of year is 18. So angry for all of the people who're going to be unnecessarily harmed by this. So angry for our ecosystems that have not remotely evolved for this.
"Research reported by the Guardian in 2025 shows that government ministers met representatives from the fossil fuel industry more than 500 times during Labour’s first year in power." Until our politicians get out of the pockets of dirty energy, it doesn't matter who the fuck is PM.
Science peeps, particularly trainees: When reviewing grants, it really, really helps if you have a Google Scholar page, an ORCID account, or a website that makes getting information about you, easy. Some sort of web presence. I'm begging you. Make it easier for study sections to give you money.
If you’re a researcher of Black, Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage in the UK, our Accelerator Awards might be for you. It offers flexible grants for research or research-adjacent activities, such as training, secondments and networking. (1/2)
It's always worth pausing on Map Men videos to read any text, which usually has extra hidden jokes. Pausing right at the end of those one revealed that Jay is on BlueSky, yippee! #MapMen
Jay Foreman@jayforeman.bsky.social · 2mo agoNew episode of #MapMen! 🗺️ The two most famous voyages around the world go head to head (58 years apart) to find out whose went worse. Share and enjoy! www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mQK...
NEW EPISODE OF #MAPMEN!!! 🗺️ Is this the world’s most annoying road? Come with Mark and me on what turns out was an impossible road trip. 🇺🇸🚗🇦🇷 Share and enjoy! youtu.be/knCojy_3bmk Also, can you work out how we did The Special Effect?
The world's most annoying road
YouTube video by Jay and Mark
youtu.be
Double-take detail in this interview with Edith Heard, head of the Crick Her French husband decided against getting a spouse visa because of the UK's "intrusive" immigration rules If that's happening with one of the UK's most senior scientists, how many others are being put off completely?
Research Professional News@resprofnews.bsky.social · 4mo agoHead of @crick.ac.uk worries about ‘shift from funding basic research’ Edith Heard tells @francesjones.bsky.social scientists have “duty to speak up” as discovery research comes under pressure www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-c...
POSTDOC OPPORTUNITY 🌍 Are you an early-career researcher interested in working at the interface of climate science, law, and policy? A new opportunity at @granthamicl.bsky.social at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social 👇
The first publication from the Dallaire and Kameoka labs is out! A forward-looking review on the status of mycorrhiza research in 2026, with emphasis on AM fungi doi.org/10.1111/nph.... @newphyt.bsky.social @ulaval.ca 🇨🇦
Status of mycorrhiza research in 2026
Mycorrhizal symbiosis improves the nutrition of most land plants and plays key roles in nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. To understand and leverage the biology of mycorrhizal symbioses for su...
doi.org
Ahead of International Women’s Day, we asked our colleagues to share what has helped them in their careers. Scroll through to see what they said ⤵️
Interesting editorial on the mixed bag of using AI in research and scientific communication. Nice touch to launch on a turgid AI summary of the theme for illustrative purposes. 😉 #MicroSky #AcademicSky
Nature Microbiology@natmicrobiol.nature.com · 5mo agoOut Now! Navigating the promise and pitfalls of artificial intelligence #MicroSky
Among the plant pathogens, there are just so many rusts! 85% of plant diseases caused by fungi are rusts, 200 genera, 18 families, 7000-8000 species astounding stats from Cathie Aime. #Fungal26 11/15
The rise of resistance to anti-fungals was highlighted in new Fungal Spore Lecture, given with great style by Matt Fisher. Use of the same fungicide MoA's in agriculture and medicine is causing massive clinical problems with complexity highlighted Eveline Snelders. #Fungal26 9/15
The approach, focus and content of the REDS Conference is quality assured by working with a REDS Advisory Group of up to 20 members. For the 2026/28 period (a two-year term), we are recruiting 5 new members, to join the experienced team. Read more and apply: redsconference.co.uk/2026/03/09/c...
Call for 2026-2028 REDS Conference Advisory Group
Dr Kay Guccione, REDS Conference Director The Researcher Education and Development Scholarship (REDS) Conference is an annual, free, online, international conference focusing on the scholarship (ev…
redsconference.co.uk
Just spotted this in a paper. First time I've seen something like this.
On 24 March, @ukrio.bsky.social will host a public webinar exploring the role of supervisors in shaping positive research culture – including what effective and supportive supervision looks like and how it can be sustained over time. 🔗 Learn more and register: ukrio.org/the-role-of-...
The role of supervisors in fostering positive research culture - UK Research Integrity Office
On 24 March 2026, UKRIO will host an expert webinar on the role of supervisors in fostering a positive research culture. The session will examine how supervisory practice directly shapes research inte...
ukrio.org
Great article. Another issue I've seen among friends is an unwillingness to treat themselves (e.g. going on holiday) because they believe that they should minimise their own impact. The ascetic approach is no good for long-term mental health.
Yann Bigant@yannbigant.com · 5mo agoThis is such a good article for anyone working in conservation. One thing overlooked imo is how the size of organizations play a role, with people in small NGOs working twice as much for twice as less with little protections. First hand experience here 😉 news.mongabay.com/2026/03/an-e... 🌏
"“The sector was never designed with the well-being of the workforce in mind,” Mohan says, noting that many conservation leaders, often from a scientific background, haven’t had training in how to run an organization or how to help maintain staff well-being."
Yann Bigant@yannbigant.com · 5mo agoThis is such a good article for anyone working in conservation. One thing overlooked imo is how the size of organizations play a role, with people in small NGOs working twice as much for twice as less with little protections. First hand experience here 😉 news.mongabay.com/2026/03/an-e... 🌏
Webinar Today! Negotiating Your First Group Leader Position Join us today to hear from three group leaders — including a co-author of a BMC Proceedings article on this topic — about their experiences and practical tips for negotiating your first group leader role. 👉 www.embl.org/about/info/e...
Rachel Coulthard-Graf@rachelcg.bsky.social · 5mo agoOur first @embl.org Skills and Careers Webinars of 2026 kick off in March. 🗓 4 March: Negotiating your first group leader position, with three speakers sharing their experience. 🗓 27 March: Careers in core facilities & scientific services. Find out more & register: www.embl.org/about/info/e...
This is one of the most reasoned & persuasive arguments for not allowing LLMs anywhere near reading & writing intensive classrooms. We can 100% choose not to outsource our reading & writing labor to a bot, and model for our students why they should do the same. #EduSky www.tue.nl/en/our-unive...
Are AI-generated summaries suitable for studying and research?
Despite didactic, ethical, and environmental concerns, the use of GenAI is on the rise in academia. For most applications, the jury is still out on whether and how they will benefit education and rese...
tue.nl
ChatGPT training data is 93% English language says Nikesh Gosalia. Is AI democratising access to scholarly publishing or encoding colonialism at scale? The evidence suggests we are heading down a dangerous path #R2RConf
Our AI only "sees" Western, English speakers. 93% of training data for #GPT is in English. Is AI democratizing access to scholcomm OR encoding colonialism at scale. (SR NOTE: TLDR - my vote is the latter). #NikeshGosalia #R2RConf
"Everyone deserves to be seen" re: AI. Commerce or equity? Efficiency or justice? AI that only works for 20% of researchers is NOT neutral. You have choices around HOW you use it. How YOU use it matters: #NikeshGosalia #R2RConf
A brilliant presentation by @nikeshgo.bsky.social from @cactusglobal.bsky.social #r2rconf Outlining the many ways in which AI amplifies the biases built into scholarly publishing.
This is not a metaphor for #colonialism. It is colonialism. #NikeshGosalia #R2RConf And every minute it gets worse. Compounding with each new training instance. AI is being optimized for specific user base. Non-english speakers not "seen" in these tools. #academicsky #AI #sciencesky
#NikeshGosalia kicking off #R2RConf session on #AI impact on global south - fascinating story of "Shirley cards" used by Kodak to calibrate for color of their printers. They KNEW the whole time that it didn't work on brown/black ppl. Techonly changed when chocolate makers didn't like how it looked.
The “Shirley Card” Legacy: Artists Correcting for Photography’s Racial Bias | National Gallery of Art
Whiteness has been the default in color photographs, but artists like John Akomfrah work toward a “uniquely Black image.”
nga.gov
Care work doesn’t wait. Parenting. School calendars. Aging parents. It doesn’t replace work. It runs in parallel. And yet academia is designed for uninterrupted lives Read more about this in my latest post on @scholarlykitchen.bsky.social blog scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2026/02/09/d...
Designed for Someone Else’s Life: Balancing Academic Careers with Caregiving Responsibilities - The Scholarly Kitchen
Most people in academic careers will at some point be faced with parenting and/or caregiving responsibilities. But is academia designed to support caregivers and parents?
scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org
![4-panel comic: Astronomers asking researchers from different departments to help them identify the “little red dots” in JWST images: (1) Entomologists [Person 1 behind easel that is black with red dots on it, looked at by Person 2 with shoulder-length hair.] PERSON 2: Clover mites. (2) Computer Scientists [Person 1 behind easel that is black with red dots on it, looked at by Person 3 with beanie.] PERSON 3: Stuck pixels. (3) Dermatologists [Person 1 behind easel that is black with red dots on it, looked at by Person 4 with ponytail.] PERSON 4: Cherry angiomas. (4) Graphic designers [Person 1 behind easel that is black with red dots on it, looked at by Person 5 with short hair.] PERSON 5: No, those are vermillion, or maybe jasper. Can I see your color settings?](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreibrbvioeobwphczl4xzdck62bsx6gzi3hhjfbqwup2vyzhxerjnay)
