Professor Joanna Verran
- Job title: Professor of Microbiology in the School of Health Care Science
- Organisation: Manchester Metropolitan University
- Email: J Verran
National Teaching Fellow 2011
Professor Joanna Verran’s research focuses on the interactions occurring between microorganisms and surfaces. She believes keenly in nurturing the personal and professional development of her postgraduates – an interest that resulted in her becoming Director of the Faculty of Science and Engineering Graduate School, responsible for developing and managing the training programme for over 200 students, rather than just her own.
Interdisciplinary research has meant that Jo is not fazed by talking across subject areas. Thus arose some fascinating collaborations with artists. Jo started to collect examples of links between microbiology and art – and then every other subject, even music! She used these associations to encourage first-year undergraduates to demonstrate their creativity by illustrating these links through whatever means they wished: textiles, photography, art, models, art, video etc. These collaborations are great fun, and Jo finds it heartening to see the ingenuity, talent and enthusiasm of science students as they create new ways of representing or communicating microbiology.
Jo’s commitment to microbiology education has been sustained over several years, evidenced by many publications and presentations, encompassing research-informed teaching, group work, ‘live’ projects and transferable skills. In 2009, she launched her website, In the Loop, which describes her activities in research and consultancy, education and public engagement, and through which resources including images, DVDs and case studies are available to download. The Bad Bugs Bookclub, also described on the website, has been a new venture, getting scientists and non-scientists together to discuss novels where microbiology forms part of the plot. The aim is to encourage science literacy and communication in an informal environment. Plans for wider dissemination are afoot, alongside some tentative steps into creative writing.
In 2005, Jo received the Society for General Microbiology Peter Wildy Prize for Innovation in Microbiology Education. She became a Fellow of the Society of Biology in 2009. In 2011 she was awarded the Communication Prize by the Society for Applied Microbiology. She is active in both of these societies as well as in the Federation of European Microbiology Societies.
