News › Local MP becomes a scientist for a day at Rothamsted Research

Dr Lin Field with Kerry Pollard MP

11 January 2005

St Albans MP Kerry Pollard tried his hand at molecular biology when he visited the laboratory of Dr Lin Field at Rothamsted Research on Friday 7th January. He conducted a chemical assay to determine whether aphids have high levels of an enzyme that makes them resistant to insecticides. The assay, developed at Rothamsted, is an important tool for scientists in diagnosing problems with insect resistance to pesticides.

Kerry Pollard and Lin field were participating in an MP-scientist 'pairing' scheme run by the Royal Society - the UK national academy of science. Kerry Pollard said: "I found the whole visit absolutely fascinating. The scientists at Rothamsted are carrying out ground-breaking work on insect molecular biology."

Lin Field has already spent a week at the House of Commons as part of the pairing scheme's 'Westminster Week'. This provided her with a 'behind the scenes' insight into how science policy is formed as well as an understanding of the working life of an MP. Following her visit Lin said that she felt much more aware of how Westminster works and how scientists like her can get involved if they want to. She was also impressed by how hard Kerry Pollard worked, something that she felt could only be appreciated by having a chance to actually 'shadow' him for a day.

The Royal Society's MP-Scientist pairing scheme aims to build bridges between parliamentarians and some of the best scientists in the UK. It is an opportunity for MPs to become better informed about science issues and for scientists to understand how they can influence science policy.

Contacts

› Linda Field

Notes to Editors

The Royal Society is an independent academy promoting the natural and applied sciences. Founded in 1660, the Society has three roles, as the UK academy of science, as a learned Society, and as a funding agency.

Rothamsted Research Press Office

For further information, please contact Darren Hughes, Head of Communications, on +44 (0) 1582 763 133 ext 2673, email darren.hughes@rothamsted.ac.uk

Rothamsted is the longest running agricultural research station in the world, providing cutting-edge science and innovation for nearly 170 years. Our mission is to deliver the knowledge and new practices to increase crop productivity and quality and to develop environmentally sustainable solutions for food and energy production. Our strength lies in our integrated, multidisciplinary approach to research in plant and soil science.

Rothamsted Research receives strategic funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) . It is the longest running agricultural research station in the world, developing environmentally sustainable solutions for food and energy production through science and innovation for nearly 170 years.

About BBSRC

BBSRC is the UK funding agency for research in the life sciences and the largest single public funder of agriculture and food-related research.

Sponsored by Government, BBSRC's budget for 2011-12 is around £445M which it is investing in a wide range of research that makes a significant contribution to the quality of life in the UK and beyond and supports a number of important industrial stakeholders, including the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.

BBSRC provides institute strategic research grants to the following:

The Babraham Institute, Institute for Animal Health, Institute for Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (Aberystwyth University), Institute of Food Research, John Innes Centre, The Genome Analysis Centre, The Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh) and Rothamsted Research.

The Institutes conduct long-term, mission-oriented research using specialist facilities. They have strong interactions with industry, Government departments and other end-users of their research.

For more information see: www.bbsrc.ac.uk