SCI Scholar, Amy Newell, presents her final report

For forty years, SCI has supported and recognised the excellence of early career scientists, by aiding their studies in the form of an SCI Scholarship.

Since 1985 over 80 scholarships have been awarded which have not only given the recipients financial assistance, but have enabled them to broaden their network, and strengthen their skills and knowledge. SCI Scholars receive access to publishing and mentoring opportunities and are given a platform to present their work amongst esteemed scientists and industrialists, raising their profile within the scientific community.

Amy was awarded an SCI Scholarship in 2023. At the end of their final year, SCI Scholars present a final report to SCI. Read on to find out more about what she has done in her final year as an SCI Scholar.

"My PhD focuses on how changes in light conditions affect protein production in plants.  I started the second year of my SCI scholarship in July 2024. Utilising my scholarship, I was able to travel to the Netherlands to present a poster at the Young Researchers Symposium on Plant Photobiology (YRSPP). This was an amazing opportunity to meet other ECR plant photobiologists from across Europe and have some engaging discussions about my work. Further, I was awarded the second-place poster prize and I had the opportunity to join the organising committee for the next conference in Edinburgh in 2026, an experience that already has been incredibly rewarding. In July, I will be using my scholarship to support my attendance at Translation UK where I will be going a talk.

"The scholarship has also supported my continued involvement with the SCI Agri Food Early Career Committee. In September, I was able to present a poster to promote our committee and engage new potential members alongside Sophie, our committee secretary at the David Miller Awards event organised by SCI's Horticulture committee. Then in January, Camila, Anastasia and I presented a poster at the Plant Science Education Conference in Lancaster entitled Teaching the Future to Feed the Future, the start of our committees 5-year follow-up on our 2021 paper “Feeding the Future…”. This was an amazing opportunity to not only gain critical industry feedback on our preliminary data, but also a great networking opportunity and an opportunity to learn more about teaching pedagogy. We are hoping to write this piece up in the coming months into an opinion piece highlighting the trends in teaching provision in the Agri-Food sector. This conference also led to the opportunity to present our work to the Horticulture Committee which has enabled us to form stronger connections with the other Agri-related SCI committees. My work at the SCI, my work as an ECR representative for SULSA (The Scottish Universities Life Science Alliance) and my work organising YRSPP 2026 was recently recognised at the University of Edinburgh with a School of Biological Sciences External Engagement and Impact Award.

" I am incredibly grateful for all of the help and support that the SCI Scholarship has given me and I am looking forwards to continuing to engage with the SCI in the future."

Amy Newell, The University of Edinburgh

Related Links:

• SCI College of Scholars
• SCI Scholarships
• SCI Career Support
• SCI Awards