New Generation
In May, emerging analytical professionals gathered at a UK conference of the same name to present and network – and to compete for The Analytical Scientist’s first ever prize.
With topics including equine medicine, airport security, and illegal drug precursor trends, a clear aim of Emerging Analytical Professionals was to explore diverse analytical fields. The event, held in Leeds, UK, featured ‘Bright Sparks’ presentations and poster pitches that offered early career delegates the chance to shine. The stand-out Bright Sparks presentation, “Keep off the Grass”, focused on the extraction and detection of synthetic cannabinoids – look out for an upcoming Solutions article in the near future.
Congratulations go to Ásta Pétursdóttir, from the University of Aberdeen, who won The Analytical Scientist Poster Pitch Prize. She says of her efforts: “To make a poster pitch memorable, it needs to stand out. My way is to weave in a little humor; I had to convince people that arsenic and seaweed are exciting enough to leave the delicious cakes and coffee for.” Ásta is currently trying to understand how arsenosugars and arsenolipids are produced in seaweed. “There is a relatively high concentration of total arsenic in seaweed, and that’s what awakened my interest. Seaweed takes up toxic arsenate (structurally similar to phosphate) via membrane transporters,” she explains. “I use a novel combination of HPLC coupled to simultaneous online detection by ICP-MS and ESI-MS, which gives both quantitative and structural information.”
If you’re an ‘emerging analytical professional’ and interested in becoming a committee member, email: [email protected]
For updates on Emerging Analytical Professionals 2014, visit www.mmsconferencing.com
Rich Whitworth completed his studies in medical biochemistry at the University of Leicester, UK, in 1998. To cut a long story short, he escaped to Tokyo to spend five years working for the largest English language publisher in Japan. "Carving out a career in the megalopolis that is Tokyo changed my outlook forever. When seeing life through such a kaleidoscopic lens, it's hard not to get truly caught up in the moment." On returning to the UK, after a few false starts with grey, corporate publishers, Rich was snapped up by Texere Publishing, where he spearheaded the editorial development of The Analytical Scientist. "I feel honored to be part of the close-knit team that forged The Analytical Scientist – we've created a very fresh and forward-thinking publication." Rich is now also Content Director of Texere Publishing, the company behind The Analytical Scientist.
