USW expert hailed by Deputy Minister during International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Dr Emma Hayhurst

As part of International Day of Women and Girls in Science, University of South Wales (USW) lecturer Dr Emma Hayhurst has been highlighted as one of the amazing women who are leading the fight against Covid in Wales.

Welsh Government Deputy Minister and Chief Whip Jane Hutt highlighted the work of Dr Hayhurst, a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology, alongside Consultant Clinical Scientist Dr Catherine Moore.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vital role science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) play in the world today. Never before have STEM professionals been more in the public eye,” the Deputy Minister said.

“It’s vitally important that on International Day of Women and Girls in Science we increase the visibility, importance and appeal of science for all.

“By sharing stories of STEM female role models during the pandemic, we can hopefully inspire and motivate more girls and women to study STEM, setting them on a path to a rewarding career.”

Focusing on the work Dr Hayhurst and Dr Moore have undertaken, Jane Hutt added: “Dr Hayhurst is a lead scientist on a project at USW to develop a rapid test for COVID-19. The test is quick and portable, it doesn’t need to be processed in a lab, and the results can be available in less than 30 minutes.

“Dr Moore is a Consultant Clinical Scientist, who led the effort to establish COVID-19 testing in Wales within a month of it being recognised as a new coronavirus. This resulted in the Public Health Wales microbiology laboratory at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff becoming the second in the UK to be able to test for the virus.

“There are numerous examples of STEM female role models in Wales who have come to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic and I want to pay tribute to all their amazing work.

“What better day than International Day of Women and Girls in Science, to show how important it is to study a STEM subject but more importantly to showcase to the world that these are some of the amazing women leading the fight against Covid-19 in Wales.”

Dr Hayhurst said: “Any young women who want to go into STEM, I would say please do. I think we’re facing so many challenges in the world and many of them could be solved, at least in part, by using STEM subjects.

“In order to do that we really need a creative, diverse workforce – so the more people we have from all sorts of different backgrounds, the more chance we have of solving the problems we face.”