Dr Louise MacBrayne

Professional biography

I graduated from the University of Surrey in 1999 with a Bsc (Hons) in Chemistry. I went onto undertake a Glaxo Wellcome funded PhD at the University of Reading (supervised by Prof. Wayne Hayes) investigating the molecular imprinting of steroidal drugs.

After completing my PhD I went to work for BP as a development chemist, working in their Castrol division looking at new production innovations and green technology for diesel fuels. In 2002 I retrained as an HCPC registered paramedic and became a lecturer in Paramedic Science. I moved to the West Coast of Scotland in 2008 to join a biotechnology start up company where my research returned to a more biological focus, investigating the use of novel marine microbial metabolites as potential oncology agents, together with use of molecular biology techniques such as PCR to develop FSA approved assays to monitor pancreatic viral infections within fish farmed salmon.

I joined the Open University in 2011, initially as an Associate Lecturer teaching on a new practial science module SXC288 - this ignited my interest in virtual and remote laboratory instrumentation and I remain interested in the teaching of practical science and associated skills online to this day. I went onto teach a range of other modules at stages1, 2 and 3 in chemistry, biology, health science, biomedical science and interdisciplinary science.

I became a staff tutor in Life, Health and Chemical sciences in 2018 working in the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2022. I worked on a wide range of modules within the School in both production and presentation. I have authored on the modules S290 and S285 and have previously chaired the interdisciplinary science module S112.

I still teach as an Associate Lecturer on the Biomedical and health sciences module SK190. I have been a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) since 2019.

From 2022-2025 I held the role of Qualification Director for Q64 BSc Natural Sciences and chair of the Undergraduate Science Group. I am a member of the Society for Natural Sciences, I am now co-chair of the Heads of Natural Sciences group and am Chair of the EDI committee for the society. In July 2026 I will take over as overall Chair for the Society.

In January 2025 I was appointed as the new Director of Tuition Resource for STEM and in August 2025 became the Director of Teaching in the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences.

Research interests

I have a strong interest in scholarship involving innovative pedagogical teaching practices within a digital setting. I have worked alongside teaching colleagues in the School of Life,Health and Chemical Science to consider differences between tutor and student expectations for synchronous online tuition. The project was noted for its strategic importance and impact on university policy within a complex and evolving environment.

​My previous research has involved a collaboration with colleages in learning innovation and learning design to investigate the relationship between learning design, learning behaviours and student outcomes on 4 x level 2 STEM modules, to establish any significant correlations.

Currently my scholarship is focused on investigating APP identified awarding gaps. I have completed a 3 year eSTEeM funded scholarship project to investigate the pass rate awarding gap for Black students vs White students on S112 and exploring the Black student experience both within this module and our other level one modules. My latest research has focused on the pass rate awarding gap across STEM for students residing in IMD Q1 postcode areas.

APP identified awarding gaps are of particular interest to myself as an academic who originally comes from an IMD Q1 postcode area and without a traditional academic background. I am passionate about supporting students from disadvantaged and/or marginalised backgrounds, showing students how the Open University is truly open to all people, places and ideas, regardless of priviledge or background.

Teaching interests

I am particularly interested in the use of virtual and remote instrumentation within module design to teach practical science in the distance learning setting and have utilised and developed OpenSTEM Lab Apps on several modules including S215, S315, SXHL288, SXC288, S285 and S112. I have written virual experiments on S285 and S315 demonstrating how practical science can still be taught within the online environment.

Impact and engagement

From 2018 - 2021 I was employability lead for the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences and as such am in regular communication with colleagues across other schools in STEM, working towards a common goal to incorporate and embed employability skills into our curriculum design. This role also involved working with colleagues in both the careers service directly, but more specifically the Enhancing Employability and Career Progression Programme.

From 2022 - 2025  I was Qualification Director for Q64 BSc Natural Sciences, having oversight of the broad interdisciplinary natural science degree pathway together with the subject specific natural sciences pathways.