Merton College Biomedical and Life Sciences Network
The Merton College Biomedical and Life Sciences Network is a LinkedIn group of over 170 past and present Mertonians working or carrying out research in the biomedical and life sciences sector. One of the aims of the network is to provide an easy way for current students to find alumni to contact for advice or help, e.g., when looking for internships, jobs or academic posts. As an additional benefit, the network enables Mertonians engaged in research or work in similar fields to find out about and get in touch with each other – virtual and in-person events are organised to facilitate these interactions.
The first in-person event organised by the network took place on 22 February 2023 and was held in the TS Eliot Theatre in College. About 40 students from Merton and elsewhere gathered to hear talks by David Clark (1984) who spoke about the founding of the Network and then about working life in a contract research organisation (exemplified by Charles River, his employer) and also about his specialist discipline of computer-aided drug design. Jonathan Kwok then took the floor and gave an overview of the exciting developments at Infinitopes, a spin-out company from the University of which he is CEO.
Mertonians working in a relevant field iare welcome to join the network – please get in touch via the Development Office on development@merton.ox.ac.uk.
[Photo from left to right: Orion, Infinitopes Chief-of-Staff; Jenny, 4th year Medical Student; David, Charles River Research Leader; Masy, Infinitopes Associate Scientist; Joana, Infinitopes Operations Manager; Jonathan, Merton DPhil student; David, Merton Biomedical and Life Sciences Network; Ava, Infinitopes Data Scientist; Salmana, President of Oxford Society for Ageing & Longevity; Ethan, Merton Biomedical and Life Sciences Network, courtesy of Jonathan Kwok]