Dr Emma Watson of the NHLI has received a Julia Higgins Award

A Julia Higgins Award has been presented to Dr Emma Watson, to recognise her significant contribution to the support of academic women.

The Julia Higgins Medal and Awards are awarded annually to recognise individuals and departments that have made a significant contribution to the support of academic women at the College, and are selected by the Academic Gender Strategy Committee. The Medal and Awards are named in honour of Professor Dame Julia Higgins, who has made an outstanding contribution to improving the standing of female academics at Imperial.

Dr Emma Watson (Education Manager) was nominated for her efforts in championing female trainees and early career academics, and driving forward wide-ranging changes in culture and transparency which have especially benefited women at all levels.  Emma has introduced many new ideas to help further support academic women within the National Heart & Lung Institute.

In 2008 she proposed to the head of NHLI that they apply for an Athena Swan Silver Award.  She took the responsibility for the organisation and writing of a successful application in 2009 (the first in the Faculty of Medicine), which has since been renewed until 2017.

On hearing of her award Emma said ‘I am thrilled to be conferred such an honour and to be among such a list of accomplished individuals who have contributed so significantly towards supporting women, and others, at Imperial.  Having been at NHLI for nearly ten years, I am delighted to see the commitment towards this work and the positive changes that have come out of it’.

Emma initiated the NHLI Post-Doctoral Research Day in which post-docs have the opportunity to present their work to an audience of senior Faculty academics in NHLI, and also started and compiled the NHLI newsletter sent out monthly. She has also introduced a New Scientist Day for new post-graduate arrivals to present their work to their peers to provide feedback and to enable collaborations.  In addition she instigated and organised the first NHLI ‘Bring Your Child To Work Day’, which has now taken place in 2 successive years to considerable Faculty and College acclaim.

Professor Sian Harding, who is Professor of Cardiac Pharmacology and Institute Lead for Women at NHLI, commented, “We are delighted that Emma’s hard work and creative ideas to improve the culture of the NHLI, which brought us our two successful Athena Silver awards, have been recognised in this way”.