Dr Gemma Wattret PhD, SFHEA

Personal Statement

I am interested in microbiology, the development of transferrable skills and employability, widening participation, inclusivity and student success. I work in the School of Life Sciences as a Senior Lecturer and the Programme Director for BSc Microbiology. I am also one of the School of Life Sciences Senior Academic Advisors (SAAs) and Departmental Disability Contacts (DDCs). I am also Deputy Director of Widening Participation for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences.

I teach Microbiology and Skills at undergraduate levels. My excellence in teaching has been recognised by three Teaching Awards: : 2022/23 Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Award, 2021/22 Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Award and the 2021/22 Sir Alistair Pilkington. The latter is related to Developing Life Sciences Students’ Digital Fluency and Employability at scale through authentic assessment

I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA, and a member of the Microbiology Society. I have an MA in Academic Practice and PGCert in Learning & Teaching in Higher Education.

I am an alumna of the University of Liverpool having graduated in 2006 with a BSc Hons in Zoology. I then went on to complete a PhD in 2011 which involved using microbiological and genomic approaches to study the population structure of arthropod-borne bacteria, Bartonella henselae, in the Department of Veterinary Pathology at the University of Liverpool. Following on from my PhD, I worked in the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool, working on the infection biology of Campylobacter in the chicken and also the population biology of Campylobacter from humans and different livestock value chains in Nairobi, Kenya.

Prizes or Honours

• Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Award (Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, 2023)
• Sir Alastair Pilkington Award (University of Liverpool, 2022)
• Learning, Teaching and Student Experience Award (Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, 2022)
• Senior Fellow of Higher Education Academy (Advance HE, 2022)
• Fellow of Higher Education Academy (Advance HE, 2019)
• Allan Downie Prize (University of Liverpool, 2011)