Improbable Research

Lindsay Porter has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). She says:

I am a scientist at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland but spend most of my time with mammalian species who are defined by their lack of hair. Well nearly.  As a cetacean ecologist with a particular interest in skin condition and how its condition can be used as a remote indicator of health, I am more concerned with the water that flows across the dermis rather than the locks which flow from it.  Nonetheless, a specialist club which combines both hair and science has a tremendous appeal.

Dr Lindsay Porter, LFHCfS
Senior Research Scientist
SMRUL Asia Pacific
The University of St. Andrews
Lippo Centre, Queensway
Admiralty
HONG KONG SAR

Katriona (Tiger) Bradley has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). She says:

I am a veterinary scientist who has a passion for long haired mammals.  My luxuriantly coiffed clients include Angoras, both French and English, American Fuzzy Tops, Jersey Woolys and, of course, the Lionheads;  all are long-haired rabbit breeds which are one of my specialist fields.  Rabbits are popular pets here in Hong Kong and over the years I have seen many species, both long and short haired.  I am a wearer of long hair and a carer of other long hairs.

Dr Katriona (Tiger) Bradley, LFHCfS
Veterinary Surgeon
Tai Wai Small Animal and Exotic Hospital
69-75 Chik Shun Street
HONG KONG SAR

Nadia Anastasia Saif has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). She says:

I am a undergraduate at The University of Surrey, which I will graduate from with a degree in Medical Microbiology in June. I have already spent a year working in a lab during my placement year, last year and my current dissertation is to Develop An In Vitro Model of The Chicken Caecum; which if I achieve it, should get me published. I was interviewed for my university to demonstrate biosciences at surrey to prospective students, if you follow the link, me and my luxuriant/flowing hair appear at around 1.40; which should prove my science credentials in a less dry manner than sending in my CV.

Nadia Anastasia Saif, LFHCfS
Undergraduate, medical biology
University of Surrey
Guildford, Surrey, UK

We received this inquiry about the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS):

Are members monitored for continued luxuriance and effusiveness ?

Should  a Hall of Fame be established for those with historical hirsuteness but who have now retired from the club due to reasons either within or without their control.

Yours recedingly (and never previously luxuriant or flowing),

Dr. Simon Gibbons [pictured here]
Mayo Clinic

The answer is no. Membership is permanent (though any member is of course always free to resign and presumably go off to a monastery).

Bob Fitzmorris has joined the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists (LFHCfS). Staci Adams, who nominated him, says:

It is with great excitement that I and the other members of the Zhang Lab at the University of California Santa Cruz nominate our fellow lab mate Bob to the prestigious Luxuriant and Flowing Hair Club for Scientists. Bob’s girlfriend Sarah has also been pivotal in assisting with the nomination process. Bob started to grow his hair out just before he started graduate school during the summer of 2008, proclaiming he wouldn’t cut it off until he received his Ph.D. His luxuriant and flowing locks represent nearly five years of growth and are evidence of his dedication to their cultivation and beauty. Bob often comments on the quality time he spends caring for his hair, particularly brushing it. Although it cannot be measured scientifically, Bob’s luxuriant and flowing hair has inspired him greatly in his quest to successfully synthesize quantum dots for solid state applications.

Robert “Bob” Carl Fitzmorris, LFHCfS
Ph.D. Candidate, Physical Chemistry
University of California, Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California USA