Miep Helfrich
Miep Helfrich is professor (emeritus) of bone cell biology at the University of Aberdeen. Her research interests are the understanding of the etiology of osteoclast diseases and improving ultrastructural imaging of bone cells and bone tissue. She has a strong interest in researcher training and career mentoring.
She was board member of European Calcified Tissue Society from 2009-2012 and during that time organised their international PhD training courses. She has since attended many of the ECTS PhD training events as tutor.
Miep was lead for the mentoring scheme in the College of Life Sciences and Medicine in Aberdeen from 2011-2016 and Athena SWAN lead for the School of Medicine in 2014-2016. She helped set up and run the Esslemont Group in 2002, a network for gender balance and diversity at the University of Aberdeen, which continues to organise events and strongly promotes mentoring.
She was vice chair of the local branch of the UCU and in that role involved in negotiations on many local policies and procedures, such as promotion, probation and issues around research staff contracts. She is a trained mediator. At present, she is training coordinator of the Marie Curie “Euroclast” consortium that trains 11 PhD students in osteoclast biology and she is president-elect of the Bone Research Society in the UK.
Now retired from her full time academic position, Miep is developing ideas about public engagement activities related to bone biology combining art, craft and science.
