Wanelik, K. M. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2019

Decomposing variation in immune response in a wild rodent population

Individuals vary in their immune response and, as a result, some are more susceptible to infectious disease than others. Little is known about which components of immune pathways are responsible for this variation, but understanding these underlying processes could allow us to predict the outcome of infection for an individual, and to manage their health more effectively. In this study, we describe transcriptome-wide variation in immune response (to a standardised challenge) in a wild population of field voles (Microtus agrestis). We find that this variation can be categorised into three main types. We also identify markers, across these three categories, which display particularly strong individual variation in response. This work shows how a simple standardised challenge performed on a natural population can reveal complex patterns of natural variation in immune response.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2019

Breaking barriers: The effect of protected characteristics and their intersectionality on career transition in academics

Lay summaryIn the past decade the scientific community has been trying to tackle the historical underrepresentation of women in science and the fact that gender can constitute a barrier to career success. However, other characteristics, such as being of an ethnic minority or coming from an under-privileged background, have received less attention. In this study we find that ethnicity and socioeconomic status impact detrimentally on career progression in early career scientists, despite the fact that gender is more likely to be reported as a barrier. Our data suggest we need to widen the discussion regarding diversity and equality in science to incorporate potential barriers to career success in addition to gender.\n\nAbstractThe academic disciplines of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) have long suffered from a lack of diversity. While in recent years there has been some progress in addressing the underrepresentation of women in STEM subjects, other protected characteristics have received less attention. In this study, we survey early career scientists in the fields of ecology, evolutionary biology, behaviour, and related disciplines. We (i) quantitatively examine the effect of protected characteristics and their intersectionality on career transition, and (ii) provide practical suggestions, based on the qualitative responses of those surveyed, for overcoming some of the barriers we identified. We found that socioeconomic background and ethnicity impacted negatively on the quantitative measures of career progression we examined. Respondents that were female, LGBT, and from a lower socioeconomic background were more likely to report having faced a barrier, and the most frequent barrier named was related to gender. Our results suggest that respondents may have felt more confident discussing the experiences they have had related to their gender, potentially because there is now widespread discourse on this subject. However, respondents were less likely to discuss barriers they have faced in relation to ethnicity and socioeconomic status, despite the fact that the data indicates these are more detrimental to career progression. This may reflect the fact that these characteristics have received less attention, and are therefore deemed more sensitive. We hope that this study will stimulate wider discussion, and help to inform strategies to address the underrepresentation of minority groups in STEM subjects.

scientific communication and education↗