Rebecca Sumner
Current position: Lecturer within HE for the BSc Equine Science with Therapy degree
Dr. Rebecca Sumner graduated from Nottingham Trent university with a BSc (Hons) in Equine Sports Science in 2012. From here, due to her passion for reproductive science, she progressed on to a Master of Research project at the University of Nottingham, investigating the impact of environmental chemicals on male reproductive health, utilising the dog as a sentinel model for human exposure. This body of work proved to have a lot of scope and so her MRes was converted to a PhD where this project expanded for a further two years.
Throughout this time, Rebecca presented at multiple conferences, both nationally and internationally, and was fortunate to undertake initial teacher training to become an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. This, alongside networking, provided the opportunity to become a Teaching Associate at Manchester Metropolitan University, guest lecturing on the Andrology component of the NHS Science Training Programme.
Following the successful completion of her PhD in 2017, Rebecca relocated to the Royal Veterinary College, London, to pursue a Postdoctoral position assessing the co-regulation of growth factors and FoxL2 on ovarian follicle assembly. Throughout this period, she also became a representative for early career members of the Society for Reproduction and Fertility.
In the summer of 2018, the opportunity arose for a lecturing position at Hartpury College in Gloucester which enabled Rebecca to return to her equestrian routes. Rebecca is now employed as a Lecturer within HE for the BSc Equine Science with Therapy degree. From her passion of teaching, a lectureship was always the end career goal. Rebecca states that the skills and attributes attained throughout her education and research positions undoubtedly assisted in her securing her permanent position. Rebecca is always open to helping with any advice or recommendations that other researchers may have in securing their future roles and progressing in their academic or scientific careers.