Siobhán Dorai-Raj

I am the Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality and Accessibility (IDEA) Manager at the Earlham Institute.  

I started working in Norwich Research Park in 2015, at the John Innes Centre initially, where I was a Daphne Jackson Fellow and then a postdoctoral research scientist in the Molecular Microbiology Department.  While working as a postdoc I founded the NBI’s Parent and Carer Group and joined the Inclusivity & Diversity (I&D) committee as the Postdoc representative. 

I was so inspired by the work of the I&D committee that I decided on a complete career change and left research in 2018 to work in UEA’s Science Faculty as their Athena Swan and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) project coordinator. I returned to the John Innes Centre in 2022 as their new EDI Advisor and lead on the renewal of their Athena Swan Gold award in June 2023.  

There are many aspects to my work in the Earlham Institute, including managing and supporting the work of the IDEA committee, liaising with our staff and student support networks, analysing data, implementing and monitoring the impact of our Athena Swan and Technician Commitment action plans and driving or championing new EDI initiatives.