As part of our 60 second interview series, we spoke with Dr Angharad de Cates, who recently joined our BRC as OH BRC Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Academic Lead.
In this article, Angharad shares a little about her career, recent appointment and vision for the role.
Tell us a little about yourself, and what attracted you to working at OH BRC?
I’m a clinical lecturer at the University of Birmingham, where I’ve worked since February 2024. Before that, I was a PhD student and post doc at the University of Oxford’s Department of Psychiatry (DoP). During this time, I saw first-hand all the support that the OH BRC offers early career researchers, both financial and practical. As the University of Birmingham is one of the OH BRC’s national partners, I’ve been able to remain involved with the Depression Therapeutics and Molecular Targets themes, as well as the Mental Health Mission, which is delivered by the NIHR Mental Health Translational Research Collaboration.
In terms of Equality, Diveristy and Inclusion (EDI) specifically, it has always been a passion of mine – I was part of the Athena Swan and later the People and Culture Committee in the DoP, co-chairing the Family Friendly and Part Time Working Group for 3 years. As someone with a specific learning need I also mentor and support others in a similar position. For me, it’s an honour to now lead on EDI work for the OH BRC.
What is your vision for the team you work with? What are you currently working on?
Prof Kam Bhui and Dr Pamela Reid among others have been doing fantastic work on EDI for the BRC, together forging and driving the BRC’s EDI strategy. But we’re now really lucky to be developing a specific resource to take EDI forward from here – I started this month and we’re currently recruiting for a EDI specific Project Manager ( please do consider applying before 3 February).
The first part of my job is to get our team set up and meet all those who are already doing great EDI work within the BRC, including our partners, and see how we can best support them going forwards. We can then decide on our new initiatives from now until the BRC renewal in 2028. But a key part of this should also be celebrating and promoting all the outstanding things we’re already doing.
What is currently at the top of your To-Do List?
Contacting everyone I haven’t already (but would like to) to chat to about EDI.
How did you get to where you are today?
With lots of help, although I hope I still have a long way to go in my career. I suppose I only realised recently how instrumental all the support I’ve received has been. We know that careers are harder for those with protected characteristics (like me, and many others), and this multiplies as they intersect. Nonetheless, I consider myself a privileged person for many reasons, and someone who has been lucky enough to have the best mentors and supervisors.
Who or what inspires you?
I have lots of different people who inspire me in different facets of my life. What I find most amazing is people who are completely unique in what they’re doing or have done things against the odds.
If you were not in your job currently, what would you like to be doing?
I had two other careers I thought about instead of medicine: being a primary school teacher or a music teacher. Music is also how I met my other half, and although I don’t practice enough now to be much good, I get to enjoy helping my children with their music instead.