Associate Dean for Research shortlisted for prestigious Royal Society Pairing Scheme

Professor Maxine Lintern, Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Business Law and Social Sciences, has been shortlisted to take part in the Royal Society Pairing Scheme, overcoming stiff competition from a record number of applications.

The Pairing Scheme matches policymakers in Parliament with university researchers, providing both with the opportunity to experience each other’s worlds and encouraging future relationships between research and national policy. Those taking part gain an insight into how research findings can help inform policymaking, and come away with a better understanding of how they can get involved.

60 academics have been shortlisted from over 300 applications and the final 30 candidates will be announced in August. Successful candidates will spend a week in Parliament in November chaperoned by an MP who shares their research interests. Maxine, a biomedical scientist and neurophysiologist by training, conducts interdisciplinary research exploring neuroscience, health, law and teaching in HE. Her research projects include looking for specific brain markers to identify Alzheimer’s before symptoms show, use of brain science in legal interpretations of youth offending, the management of chronic patient’s entry into A&E, and creating an ‘intelligent’ walking stick to aid patient recovery. As an Associate Dean for Research, the opportunity to be one of the 30 researchers selected to participate in the scheme could have potential benefits for the Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences as a whole.

Maxine said:

"I hope this scheme will allow me to explore how access to research findings can be improved, leading to better impact of that research. As I have little real understanding of how government agencies engage and use research outcomes, I would hope to learn more about this process with a view to helping to educate my academic colleagues.”

This is the second time the university has engaged with the scheme. Back in 2018, Dr Ashok Patel, a researcher and Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences in the School of Health Sciences, was shortlisted and spent a week in Westminster learning the ins and outs of government policy-making. His success led to a reciprocal visit from his assigned MP, Steven McCabe, who was able to learn more about Birmingham City University’s research in the area of health sciences.

Those shortlisted candidates that are not paired this year will spend a Welcome Day in Parliament, and will automatically be placed on the shortlist for next year.

Find out more about the scheme here.