Last week, Year 9 students enjoyed a talk by Dr Benjamin Hunt from the College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Exeter.

Dr Hunt spoke about the day-to-day work of a biology researcher in academia, and the opportunities open to those who consider such a career.

He provided an overview of his current work studying aphids – insects that cause major crop damage worldwide – and how they develop insecticide resistance through genetic change, as well as previous projects involving animals such as bumblebees, parasitic worms and Antarctic krill.

This is the first in a series of STEM talks for Year 9 students in the coming weeks, to expand students’ knowledge of wide-ranging scientific areas of research.