Praise bee

24 May 2013

Academic dedicates paper to hospital staff

Dr David Penney’s latest paper has turned into a real family affair.

The Honorary Lecturer in the Faculty of Life Sciences has named his most recent find, a new species of stingless bee preserved in Colombian copal, after his daughter Amelia who was born in January. He also took the opportunity in the Acknowledgements to dedicate the paper to “all the hard working staff of the Oldham Royal Hospital Maternity Services Department”.

Dr Penney explains why: “My wife had a really difficult time during the birth of Amelia, but all the staff on the maternity ward were brilliant. I couldn’t thank them enough for how they supported us so dedicating the paper to them seemed appropriate.”

Joanne Moore, the Divisional Director for the Women and Children’s Division at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said the maternity team were delighted by the dedication: “All the staff on the maternity ward are absolutely thrilled to be acknowledged in Dr Penney’s academic paper. It is an unexpected surprise and honour. We would like to thank Dr Penney for acknowledging the work of our staff. It really does mean a great deal to them.”