Professor Jeanette Woolard

Dr Woolard is Professor of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pharmacology and Deputy Director of the COMPARE unit at the University of Nottingham. Her work has focussed on elucidating the molecular pharmacology of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) isoforms and VEGFR2 receptors, where she has been involved in developing novel NanoBRET approaches to monitor ligand/receptor interactions. Dr Woolard is lead of the Nottingham Haemodynamic Laboratories, where her expertise in cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology has facilitated an interrogation of the mechanisms underlying the hypertensive actions of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors, particularly those that inhibit VEGF. Her work has been supported by an MRC Programme grant, project grants from BBSRC, BHF and MRC, and collaborative grants with Heptares, Promega and AstraZeneca.

Jeanette Woolard has led the COMPARE and Nottingham activities aimed at promoting Team Science; an initiative that has focussed on promoting a culture of collaboration, developing cross-institutional interactions, recognising the contribution of early career researchers and developing the careers of those who may be considered ‘outside’ the PI track. This Team Science approach has been well received by the Academy of Medical Sciences, the European Laboratory Research and Innovation Group (ELRIG) and the Royal Society. Her talk will focus on the implementation of Team Science within a competitive academic environment, highlight some successes, and consider the future challenges associated with this change in culture.