Engaging and enjoyable event

The BPS Psychobiology Section annual scientific meeting took place on 7-8 September 2023 and was held at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, with an excursion to the nearby picturesque coastal town of Whitley Bay. 

After a few unusual years of cancelled in-person events and meetings held online, we were super happy to welcome back our members to a two-day in-person event in a casual setting with lots of opportunities for networking and chatting all things 'psychobiology'.

The meeting welcomed around 40 delegates from across the UK, to present and learn about recent research and catch up with friends old and new.

To kick things off, Dr Philippa Jackson (Northumbria University), the outgoing section chair, introduced the programme of events, leading to a morning filled with interesting talks and open communications from a selection of our delegates, including the very talented undergraduate prize winner, Lovell Jones (Anglia Ruskin University) telling us about her final year project exploring ASMR and stress reactivity.

As always, the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed, enabling engaging discussions, and excitement to build regarding future ideas and collaborations.

Coastal trip

The afternoon took a refreshing turn as delegates enjoyed some free time with a coastal trip to Whitley Bay. After hopping on the Northeast metro, we stopped for a bite to eat at a local fish and chip restaurant and then enjoyed a scenic walk to St. Mary's Lighthouse.

We managed to do a bit of seal spotting, just before the infamous North Sea Fret descended, and cast a gloom that did little to dampen our moods and conversation on the walk back to town.

The day concluded with a memorable 'keynote in the pub' by Professor Mark Wetherell (Northumbria University), reflecting on his illustrious career in psychobiological stress research, at Laurels, a theatre and comedy venue in the centre of Whitley Bay.

The evening continued with an enjoyable yet unconventional conference dinner at a local Whitley Bay curry house.

Annual General Meeting

The second day carried on the good vibes with an informal poster session complemented by coffee and good conversation. The section's Annual General Meeting in the afternoon saw Dr Philippa Jackson gracefully step down as chair after six years, passing the torch to our new section chair, Dr Kyla Pennington (University of Lincoln).

Dr Richard Stephens (Keele University) took over as section treasurer and Dr James Jackson (Leeds Trinity) as events coordinator. Both are existing committee members. We also welcomed new members to the committee, including myself (Dr Sarah Allen, Northumbria University) as our new digital media lead, and Lovell Jones as our student representative, and welcomed back Dr Eimear Lee (Anglia Ruskin) as EDI lead. The day concluded with a final set of interesting and engaging talks and spot of lunch before we all said our goodbyes.

Overall, the event successfully brought together psychobiology colleagues from across the country for a couple of days of networking, dissemination and development coupled with some super social activities.

Pictured in the image above are committee members with the outgoing section chair, from left to right: Sarah Allen, Lovell Jones, Kyla Pennington (new section chair) , James Jackson, Philippa Jackson (outgoing section chair), Michael Smith, Richard Stephens, Eimear Lee. Philippa was presented with the flowers and thanked for her 'brilliant work chairing the committee'.

Committee members Professor Philip Murphy and Catherine Loveday were unable to be there for the photo opportunity.