Your Expert Guide: Biology for Young Scientists

Tom Jackson has written more than 80 books and contributed to hundreds more. His specialties are natural history, technology and all things scientific. Tom spends his days finding fun ways of communicating facts, new and old, to all age groups and reading abilities. Tom lives in Bristol, England, with his wife and three children. He studied zoology at Bristol University and has had spells working at zoos. Tom has also worked as a conservationist, which saw him planting trees in Somerset, surveying Vietnamese jungle and rescuing wildlife from drought-ridden Zimbabwe. Writing has also taken him to the Galápagos Islands, Amazon rainforest, coral reefs of Indonesia and Sahara Desert. Nowadays, he can be found mainly in the attic. Dr Helen Watson, Associate Professor of Bioscience Education, has a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry, and now works at the University of Plymouth where she leads teaching and learning in the Peninsula Medical School. Helen is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA), and recently chaired the QAA's review of the Subject Benchmark Statement for Biosciences. Helen's research focuses on embedding effective transferable skills training into higher education curricula and promoting positive culture change to further equality, diversity and inclusion. Helen is a Trustee and member of the Curriculum Committee at the Royal Society of Biology. Ola Szpunar is an illustrator based in Gdańsk, Poland. In addition to graduating with master's degree from Art Academy in Gdańsk, she attended Karel de Grote University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Antwerp and studied book design in Warsaw, Poland. Ola has run an independent illustration studio since 2017, focusing on children's books, editorial illustrations and textile design. Ola's work is colourful, full of light, detailed and atmospheric. Ola also makes playful and delicate ceramics under her brand, Clai.