Emma Yhnell

Emma Yhnell is a British scientist, science communicator and senior lecturer based at Cardiff University.[1] She has previously conducted research on computerised cognitive training and Huntington's disease. An advocate for public engagement and science communication, and a STEM ambassador, Yhnell won the British Science Association's Charles Darwin Award Lecture for Agricultural, Biological and Medical Sciences and the British Neuroscience Association's Public Engagement Award.

Emma Yhnell
Dr Emma Yhnell 2020
Dr Emma Yhnell, 2020
CitizenshipBritish
Alma materCardiff University
Scientific career
FieldsBehavioural neuroscience
InstitutionsCardiff University
ThesisA phenotypic characterisation of the HdhQ111 mouse model of Huntington’s disease (2015)
Doctoral advisorStephen Dunnett
Simon Brooks
Websiteemmayhnell.com

She currently serves as Equal Opportunities & Diversity Representative on the British Neuroscience Association Committee.[2]

Early life and education

Yhnell attended Chosen Hill School in Gloucestershire (2001-2009). Yhnell then went to Cardiff University for undergraduate study and graduated with a First Class BSc Hons in Biochemistry in 2012. She completed her PhD in 2015, which was funded by an MRC studentship,[3] on Behavioural Neuroscience and Huntington's disease.[4]

Yhnell also completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Clinical Trials via distance learning through the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.[5]

Research and career

Following her doctoral studies, Yhnell worked as a post-doctoral researcher for the Brain Repair Group, then the Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute, at Cardiff University.[1] She was named a Research Fellow in 2016, and briefly worked as a consultant for Neem Biotechnology.[1]

Yhnell currently works as a Lecturer in the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University.[3][4] Her research is on Huntington's disease, a rare genetic brain disorder which causes cognitive, motor, and psychiatric problems.[3] She held a Health and Care Research Wales Fellowship to investigate the potential of computerised cognitive training for people with Huntington's disease,[4] translating her findings from her PhD into the clinical setting with patients.[6]

She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy,[7] a British Neuroscience Association Local Group Representative,[8] and a member of the FENS Communication Committee.[1]

Science communication and public engagement

Yhnell's public engagement work has included speaking at the Hay Festival of Literature & Arts (2018), Soapbox Science (a series of events promoting women working in science) (2018), Cheltenham Science Festival (2019), and Pint of Science (2018) (a festival communicating scientific developments to the general public).[7] In March 2016, Yhnell attended the Westiminster Parliament of the United Kingdom to present on the potential of using games to train the brain, to improve cognition and movement, as part of the national competition SET for Britain.[9][10] She took part in the Royal Society's Pairing Scheme which aims to bring science to the attention of Parliamentarians and civil servants, she was paired with Kevin Brennan MP.[11] She was a speaker at TEDx Cardiff University in 2017.[12]

She contributed to the book How the Brain Works: The Facts Visually Explained for the publisher Dorling Kindersley (DK), published in March 2020.[13][14]

Honours and awards

Yhnell won the Biochemical Society's Science Communication Competition in the Written category in 2015.[15] In 2017 she won the Young Investigator Award from the Cardiff Institute of Tissue Engineering and Repair.[16] In the same year she was a finalist for the Womenspire Chwarae Teg Rising Star award.[17]

In 2018, Yhnell was awarded the British Science Association's Charles Darwin Award Lecture for Agricultural, Biological and Medical Sciences. Yhnell gave her award lecture at the British Science Festival in Hull in September 2018,[18] in which she discussed her cutting edge research in Huntington's disease and its challenges, and public and patient involvement in research in using brain-training.[8] She was awarded the British Neuroscience Association's Public Engagement Award in 2018.[19]

In 2019, Yhnell won the Welsh round of the UK Science Communication Competition Famelab[20] and went on to compete at the UK Finals during Cheltenham Science Festival.[21]

References
  1. Office, FENS. "Emma Yhnell". FENS.org. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. "New BNA Equality and Diversity Representative Announced | News | The British Neuroscience Association". www.bna.org.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  3. "Emma Yhnell". Cardiff University. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  4. "Emma Yhnell". The Conversation. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  5. "Meet Emma Yhnell | Wonk! Magazine". Wonkmagazine. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  6. Smith, Mark (11 February 2017). "These Welsh women are at the forefront of scientific innovation". walesonline. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  7. "Emma Yhnell". Welsh Crucible. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  8. "Top researchers recognised ahead of British Science Festival". British Science Association. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  9. "Huntington's Patients May Find Computer Games Help Improve Thinking and Movement - Huntington's Disease News". Huntington's Disease News. 16 March 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  10. "Brain-training computer games to combat Huntington's disease". Cardiff University. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  11. "Royal Society Pairing Scheme MP visit". Cardiff University.
  12. "Meet Dr Emma Yhnell, neuroscientist and the new friendly face of science". InterCardiff. 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  13. "Dr Emma Yhnell". Neuro Central. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  14. How the brain works : the facts visually explained. DK Publishing, Inc. (First American ed.). New York, NY. 10 March 2020. ISBN 978-1-4654-8979-1. OCLC 1105149578.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  15. Bioscience, Biochemical Society | Advancing Molecular. "Previous Science Communication Competition winners". www.biochemistry.org. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  16. "CITER Annual Scientific Meeting 2017". Cardiff University. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  17. "Womenspire 2017 Finalists - Chwarae Teg". Chwarae Teg. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  18. "Cardiff neuroscience researcher wins BSA Award Lecture | News | The British Neuroscience Association". www.bna.org.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2018.
  19. "BNA Prize Winners 2018 Announced! | News | The British Neuroscience Association". www.bna.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  20. "FameLab". Cheltenham Festivals.
  21. "FameLab UK Final 2019". Cheltenham Festivals.
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