Stoke-on-Trent Local Group leads on Credibility while hosting Mercia Stem Cell Alliance meeting
Postgraduates and Early Career Researchers gather around stalls at the 2025 Mercia Stem Cell Alliance meeting held at Keele University
The Mercia Stem Cell Alliance is made up of members of the stem cell research communities across the Midlands and Northwest. The main objective of the alliance is to harness the expertise of its members to develop and promote stem cell research in the UK, and the highlight of the organisation is its annual scientific meeting. With several Alliance members also being BNA members based at Keele University, and with Keele due to host the meeting in 2025, the Stoke-on-Trent area BNA Local Group was able to make the most of this opportunity to co-design the event programme in line with BNA member interests, promote the Local Group's work, and bring the BNA's achievements to a wider regional audience.
The Stoke-on-Trent area BNA Local Group was able to secure BNA funding to support the conference, which took place in December 2025. One of the local Reps – Dr Chris Adams – also delivered a session in the day's programme showcasing the BNA's Credibility in Neuroscience campaign. This policy campaign's central aim is to shift the current research culture away from the ‘publish or perish’ environment which is a driving force behind the reproducibility crisis. The session sparked a lively discussion concerning the current research landscape, during which the value and challenges of in vitro models was also raised. The point was made that it is important for the wider research community to understand and promote the efforts that have been made to eliminate variability, increase physiological fidelity and make in vitro models more reliable and reproducible.
Dr Chris Adams – one of the Stoke-on-Trent area BNA Local Group's Reps – presents the BNA's Credibility in Neuroscience campaign
The Mercia Stem Cell Alliance Meeting is known for providing postgraduate researchers the opportunity to present a podium talk (indeed this is reflected in the make-up of the attendees, with the 110-attendance figure skewing in favour of postgraduates and early career researchers). Local Reps recognised that though there is huge appetite among these young researchers to carry out credible research, the logistical, technical and financial support that is needed is often lacking. Dr Adams therefore ensured that attendees were signposted to the BNA's expansive set of resources aiming to equip researchers with the skills and knowledge needed to conduct research that is as robust, reliable, replicable and reproducible as possible, as well as the range of BNA membership benefits (e.g. BNA Credibility Bursaries) aimed at supporting BNA members committed to credible research.
The event was received very positively, with attendees highlighting both the networking opportunities and the quality of discussion. As Dr Adams noted, “This was an excellent event for networking and I met several people in my area of neural disease modelling, who I will follow up with. I also had the opportunity to highlight the BNA's work on credibility, which sparked some good debate in the questions and is clearly a topic people are passionate about.” This reflects the strong engagement and enthusiasm generated throughout the event. Stoke-on-Trent area BNA Local Group members hope to help run similar events in the future, making sure that they can influence the wider research policy environment that they work in in as helpful a way as possible.
Attendees listen attentively to a presentation at the 2025 Mercia Stem Cell Alliance meeting
If you could change one thing about neuroscience in your local area, what would it be? Do your peers and others across the different institutions in your area feel similarly? By joining your BNA Local Group and working with your Local Group Representatives to devise a strategy and secure project funding, together you can drive local change, and take collective ownership over the future of neuroscience where you are.
