The Stempra Committee is made up of professionals who work for a variety of organisations including, but not limited to universities, learned societies, and research councils. Our goal is to support members, arrange events, and offer opportunities for training so that we, as a member organisation, can discuss the current challenges and best practice in the sector.
Our Committee
Shane Canning - Co-Chair
Head of Corporate Communications at the University of Edinburgh.
Shane has previously worked in media and communications roles at the National Institute for Health Research, F1000, the Medical Research Council and BioMed Central. Prior to working in communications, Shane worked for many years in editorial roles in STEM publishing for BioMed Central and Future Science Group.
Ruth Francis - Co-Chair
Freelance Communications Consultant.
After many years building and developing communications teams at Springer, BioMed Central and Nature, Ruth now runs her own business, providing communications support and advice for clients from individual scientists to world leading research institutions and NGOs. She has also worked in press offices in the higher education and charity sectors.
Kathryn Ingham - Stempra Secretary
Research Communications and Public Affairs Lead at the Francis Crick Institue.
Kathryn leads a team of media and public affairs specialists at the Francis Crick Institute and was previously Senior Science Media Manager for Cancer Research UK. As Stempra Secretary, she keeps the committee meeting regularly and also organises our AGM.
Ed Day - Treasurer
Press Officer at Science Media Centre
Ed joined the Science Media Centre in August 2022 as a press officer. He graduated University College London with a degree in Natural Sciences, and was also an intern at the SMC in 2019, and then worked for a few years in scientific publishing before making the transition to science communications.
Inês Crespo - Events Coordinator
Communications Manager at ClimateXChange.
Inês leads the communications team at ClimateXChange, Scotland’s centre of expertise on climate change. She has over 17 years of experience, mostly in research communications across fields such as environment, physics and biology.
Deborah Kendall-Cheeseman - Membership Coordinator
Communications Manager at Springer Nature.
Deborah promotes research published in the BMC and Springer journals, as well as the Communications journals and Scientific Reports. Before this, she worked for two years in the editorial departments of Scientific Reports, the BMC journal Trials and the clinical trial registry ISRCTN. She has an MSci in Cell Biology from UCL.
Freya Robb - Newsletter Co-ordinator
Senior Press Officer at the Science Media Centre.
Freya works at the Science Media Centre, an independent press office helping to ensure that the public have access to the best scientific evidence and expertise through the news media when science hits the headlines. She have a particular focus and interest in neuroscience and mental health in the news.
Paula Geanau - Social Media Coordinator
Marketing and Communications Officer at British Association of Dermatologists.
Paula has been working in science communications since joining the British Association of Dermatologists in 2022, having previously worked in communications for an advocacy and immigration rights charity. She also has a Master’s degree in Conference Interpreting.
Freya Gadsden-Bolton - Website Officer
Communications Officer at the UK Health Security Agency.
Freya works in the Communications team for the London region of UKHSA. Previously, she worked for the Royal Society of Biology, where she carried out press work and created a podcast called Biosphere to promote biological research.
Jodie Bell - Committee Member
Senior Media Relations Manager at Taylor & Francis.
Jodie is Senior Media Relations Manager at Taylor & Francis, a global publisher of scientific research. She leads a team of media relations specialists to publicise breaking journal research, book publications and publishing industry corporate news.
Michelle Ferguson - Committee Member
Communications Manager at National Institute of Health and Care Research.
Michelle currently manages press and comms for Be Part of Research – a UK-wide volunteer registry for research into all health conditions. She has a background in journalism, and has experience both as a health reporter (back home in Canada) and a press officer – selling into national health editors here in the UK.
Nicola Frost – Committee Member
Communications Manager for the University of Liverpool’s Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.
Nicola worked in the University’s press office, leading media relations and PR activities for health and life sciences research, and also as a public engagement officer for infection and global health research. She has worked at the Science and Industry Museum, supporting the organisation and delivery of the award-winning Manchester Science Festival, and the environmental organisation Groundwork UK.
Clare Bebb - Committee Member
Head of Corporate Communications at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Clare has been working in communications for over 30 years with the last 10 being in science communications. As a non-scientist, she works in a small specialist organisation where she adds value to the work of the academics by providing support and advice on how best to communicate their work.
Dr Maria Tennant - Committee Member
Maria Tennant is a senior communications professional and chartered PR practitioner with many years’ experience working in PR and communications across many sectors, including charities, universities, local government and healthcare. Previously she has worked as Head of Media at the Royal College of Nursing, run her own writing and communications consultancy and been Head of PR and Digital at the medical research charity LifeArc, where she managed all external communications.