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Mel Thomson

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For the New Hampshire governor, see Meldrim Thomson Jr.
Dr. Mel Thomson
Alma materUniversity of Melbourne
University of York
Scientific career
InstitutionsDeakin University

Dr. Melanie Thomson is a microbiologist and science communicator based in Victoria (Australia). She is the General Manager of Education, Skills and Events at the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Growth Centre.

Early life and education

Thomson went to Macclesfield Primary School and Caulfield Grammar School.[1] She earned an Honours degree in Microbiology at the University of Melbourne in 1998.[2] She worked as a research assistant at Great Ormond Street Hospital, developing treatments for life-threatening peanut allergies.[3] She completed a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council funded PhD at the University of York in 2009, working on the neisseria species.[2]

Career

She worked at the Leeds Institute of Molecular Medicine between 2009 and 2011, working with Jean Crabtree.[3] She set up her own lab in the Deakin University and Geelong Centre for Emerging Infectious Diseases in 2011.[2] Thomson began to crowdfund for academic research, leading two successful campaigns Mighty Maggots and Hips for Hipsters.[4][5][6][7][8] She took part in "I'm A Scientist, Get Me Out of Here!" in 2013.[1] She joined the Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Growth Centre (MTPConnect) in 2016 as General Manager for education.[2] MTPConnect is a med-tech and pharma growth centre.[9]

Activism

In 2014 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and has since become an advocate for patients.[10] She won the Leadership Award at the 2017 Geelong Awards for People with a Disability.[10]

She is a founding steering member of Women in Science Australia.[11]

She was a finalist for the Telstra Victorian Public Sector and Academia Award in 2017.[12]

She accused prominent astrophysicist and skeptic Lawrence Krauss of grabbing a woman's breast during a skeptic's conference event at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia,[13] and filed a sexual harassment complaint against his employer Arizona State University that was ultimately upheld.[14] In combination with multiple other harassment allegations, this resulted in his removal from the directorship of the Origins Institute and retirement from the University.[15]

In September 2018 she sparked controversy by referring to Qantas staff as "trolly dollys" in a tweet, after they referred to her as "Miss" rather than "Doctor".[16]

References

  1. ^ a b "Profile – Micro Life Zone". microa13.imascientist.org.au. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  2. ^ a b c d "Board and Executive : MTPConnect". www.mtpconnect.org.au. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  3. ^ a b "2014-05-25: Dr Mel Thomson, Microbiologist (@Dr_Mel_Thomson) | RealScientists". realscientists.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  4. ^ Thomson, Mel. "Mighty Maggots". www.pozible.com. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  5. ^ Thomson, Mel. "Hips 4 Hipsters". www.pozible.com. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  6. ^ Victorian Skeptics (2017-01-17), No More Poo Woo - Melanie Thomson, retrieved 2018-08-04
  7. ^ Hawkes, David; Thomson, Melanie (2015-12-16). "Clinical trials: Crowdfunded trials doubly scrutinized". Nature. 528 (7582): 333. Bibcode:2015Natur.528R.333H. doi:10.1038/528333e. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 26672542.
  8. ^ christiane-oelrich (2015-04-27). "The Culture of Crowd Funding". Forbes Middle East. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  9. ^ "Melanie Thomson". www.franklinwomen.com.au. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  10. ^ a b "Awards recognise inspirational locals | genU Karingal St Laurence". genU Karingal St Laurence. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  11. ^ "Women In STEMM by Angry Beanie on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  12. ^ "2017 finalists - Telstra Business Women's Awards". Telstra Business Women’s Awards. Archived from the original on 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-08-04.
  13. ^ Aldhous, Peter; Ghorayshi, Azeen; Hughes, Virginia (2018-02-22). "He Became A Celebrity For Putting Science Before God. Now Lawrence Krauss Faces Allegations Of Sexual Misconduct". Buzzfeed.News. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  14. ^ Wadman, Meredith (2018-08-03). "University finds prominent astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss grabbed a woman's breast". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aav0010. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  15. ^ Leingang, Rachel (2018-10-21). "Lawrence Krauss to retire from ASU after investigation into sexual misconduct allegations". Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
  16. ^ "Doctor calls out airline for calling her 'Miss'". 2018-09-06. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
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