Stephen Merry

Contact Details

email:     s.merry@staffs.ac.uk
phone:    01782 294692 (+44 1782 294692 outside UK)
fax:         01782 294986 (+44 1782 294986 outside UK)
post:       Dr. Stephen Merry,
Faculty of Sciences,
Staffordshire University,
College Road,
Stoke-on-Trent ST4 2DE,
United Kingdom

Expertise and Interests

• Animal cell culture
• Tumour biology and therapy
• Using assessment practices to enhance student learning

Current Research

• Collaboration with Arthur Callaghan, Paul Orsmond, Kevin Reiling and David Skingsley (Biology), and with David Sheffield (University of Derby) on the effects of assessment practices on students’ learning.

Refereed Publications

Orsmond, P., Merry, S & Callaghan, A.A. (in press). Studies In Higher Education (iFirst). Communities of Practice and Ways to Learning: Charting the Progress of Biology Undergraduates.

Merry, S. & Orsmond, P. (2011). In: Self and Peer Assessment, Maw, S. (ed) pp 40-43. Centre for Biosciences: Leeds. ISBN 978-0-9569288-3-2. The Effect of Marking Criteria and Exemplars on Students' Learning during Peer- and Self-Assessment of Scientific Posters.

Orsmond, P. & Merry, S. (2011). Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 36, 125-136. Feedback Alignment: Effective and Ineffective Links Between Tutors’ and Students’ Understanding of Coursework Feedback.

Merry, S., Skingsley, D.R. & Orsmond, P. (2010) In: Improving Student Learning for the Twenty-First Century Learner, Rust C. (ed) pp 168-180. OCSLD: Oxford. ISBN 978-1-873576-79-3. Fostering Lifelong Learning within a Social Constructivist Environment.

Merry, S. & Orsmond, P. (2008) Bioscience Education e-journal 11-3. Students' Attitudes to and Usage of Academic Feedback Provided via Audio Files.

Merry, S. & Orsmond, P. (2007) In: Proceedings of the Science Teaching and Learning Conference 2007, Chin, P., Clark, K., Doyle, S., Goodhew, P., Madden, T., Meskin, S., Overton, T. & Wilson, J. (eds) pp 100-104. The Higher Education Academy: York. ISBN 978-1-905788-39-2. Students' Responses to Academic Feedback Provided via mp3 Audio Files.

Orsmond, P. & Merry, S. (2007) In: Improving Student Learning Through Teaching, Rust, C. (ed) pp 255-266. OCSLD: Oxford. ISBN 978-1-873567-75-5. Considering Biology Students' Approaches to Assessment: Some Lessons for Teaching Strategies.

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Sheffield, D. (2006). Studies in Educational Evaluation 32, 262-287. A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Changes in the Use of Learning Outcomes and Distractions by students and Tutors During a Biology Poster Assessment.

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (2005). Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 30, 369-386. Biology Students' Utilisation of Tutors' Formative Feedback: A Qualitative Interview Study.

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Callaghan, A. (2004) Innovations in Education and Teaching International 41, 273-290. Implementation of a Formative Assessment Model Incorporating Peer and Self Assessment.

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (2004) Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 29, 625-642. Undergraduate Project Work: Can Directed Tutor Support Enhance Skills Development?

Wedgwood, J.L., Kresinski, R.A., Merry, S. & Platt, A.W.G. (2003) Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry 95, 149-156, The Preparation, Characterisation and In Vitro Cytotoxicity of Potentially Chemotherapeutic Heterobimetallic Complexes containing Early and Late Transition Metals

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (2002) Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 27, 309-323, The Use of Examplars and Formative Feedback when using Student Derived Marking criteria in Peer and Self-assessment

Merry, S., Orsmond, P. & Reiling K. (2000) In: Improving Student Learning Through the Disciplines, Rust, C. (ed) pp 483-489. OCSLD: Oxford. ISBN 1-873576-64-1. Biological Essays: How do Students Use Feedback?

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (2000) Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 25, 23-38, The Use of student Derived Marking Criteria in Peer and Self-Assessment

Merry, S., Orsmond, P. & Reiling, K. (1998) In: Improving Students as Learners, Rust, C. (ed) pp 202-205.OCSLD: Oxford. ISBN: 1-873576-59-5. Biology Students’ and Tutors’ Understanding of ‘A Good Essay’

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (1997) Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 22, 357-369, A Study in Self-assessment:Tutor and Students’ Perceptions of Performance Criteria

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (1997) Research in Education 58, 81-83, Students’ and Tutors’ Perceptions of ‘A Good Essay’

Orsmond, P., Merry, S. & Reiling, K. (1996) Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 21, 239-250, The Importance of Marking Criteria in the Use of Peer Assessment

Khan, M.Z., Freshney, R.I., Murray, A.M.B., Merry, S., Plumb, J.A. & McNicol, A.M. (1991) Anticancer Research 11, 1687-1696, Identification and Characterisation of in vitro of Cells with a Non-SCLC Cell-like Phenotype derived from a continuous SCLC Cell Line

Merry, S. Hamilton, T.G. Flanigan, P., Freshney, R.I. & Kaye S.B. (1991) European Journal of Cancer 27, 31-34, Circumvention of Pleiotropic Drug Resistance in Subcutaneous tumours in vivo with Verapamil  and Clomipramine

Merry, S., Burt, A.M. & Graham, G.C. (1990) In: Trends in Animal Cell Culture Technology, Murakami, H. (ed) pp 313-318. Kodansha: Tokyo. ISBN: 4-06-205060-9. Selection of materials for Use in Tissue culture media: How Do We Define Non-toxicity?

Merry, S. Flanigan, P., Schlick, E., Freshney, R.I. & Kaye S.B. (1989) British Journal of Cancer 59, 895-897, Inherent Adriamycin Resistance in a Murine Tumour Line: Circumvention with Verapamil and Norverapamil

Smith M.A., Merry, S., Smith, J.G. & Kaye, S.B. (1988) British Journal of Cancer 57, 576-578, Clinically Relevant Concentrations of Verapamil do not Enhance the Sensitivity of Human Bone marrow CFU-GM to Adriamycin and VP16

Merry, S., Cunningham, D., Courtney, E.R., Hamilton, T., Kaye, S.B. & Freshney R.I. (1988) In: Human Tumour Xenografts in Anticancer Drug Development, Winograd, B, Peckham, M.J. & Pinedo, H.M. (eds) pp 127-130. Springer-Verlag: Berlin. ISBN: 3-540-18638-7. Circumvention of Inherent Resistance with Verapamil in a Human Tumour Xenograft

Kamal, H.M.H., Merry, S. & Tonor, P. (1988) Journal of Submicroscopic Cytology & Pathology 20, 225-235, Mechanism of Actinomycin D-induced Resistance in Ridgway Osteogenic  Sarcoma: An Ultrastructural Study

Merry, S., Courtney, E.R., Fetherston, C.A., Kaye, S.B. & Freshney, R.I. (1987) British Journal of Cancer 56, 401-405, Circumvention of Drug Resistance in Human Non-small Cell Lung Cancer in vitro by Verapamil

Cummings, J., Merry, S. & Wilmott, N. (1986) European Journal of Cancer and Clinical Oncology, 22, 451-460, Disposition Kinetics of Adriamycin and their 7-Deoxyaglycones in AKR Mice Bearing Sub-cutaneously Growing Ridgway Osteogenic Sarcoma (ROS)

Merry, S., Fetherston, C.A., Kaye, S.B., Freshney, R.I. & Plumb, J.A. (1986) British Journal of Cancer 53, 129-135, Resistance of Human Glioma to Adriamycin in vitro: The Role of Membrane Transport and its Circumvention with Verapamil

Merry, S. & Britton, H.G. (1985) Biochemical Journal 226, 13-28, The mechanisms of Rabbit Muscle Phosphofructokinase at pH 8

Kaye, S. & Merry, S. (1985) Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology 14, 96-103, Tumour Cell Resistance to Anthracyclines – A Review

Merry, S. Kaye, S.B. & Freshney, R.I. (1984) British Journal of Cancer 50, 831-835, Cross-resistance to Cytotoxic Drugs in Human Glioma Cell Lines in Culture

Academic Background

• Staffordshire University Teaching Excellence Fellow 2010-present
• Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Sciences, Staffordshire University, 1993-present
• Staffordshire University Learning and Teaching Fellow 2005-2007
• Research and Development Manager, Imperial Laboratories (Europe) Ltd, 1988-1993, Imperial Laboratories is a manufacturer of tissue culture media and reagents
• Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Clinical Oncology, University of Glasgow, 1982-1988, studying mechanisms by which tumour cells become resistant to cytotoxic drugs
• Computer Programming Course, Control Data Institute, Manchester, 1981
• Postdoctoral research Assistant, Physiology, St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School, London, 1977-1980, studying enzyme kinetics
• PhD, University of Hertfordshire, 1978, Chemical Synthesis and Biological Screening of Some Novel Anticancer Agents
• BA Biology, upper second class honours, University of York, 1974

• Undergraduate Biology and MSc Molecular Biology Projects Co-ordinator
• Teaching responsibilities include cell biology, immunology, tumour biology, microscopy and research skills for undergraduate and MSc students.
• Co-chair of the Biology and Forensic Ethics Committee.
• Maintenance of Biology Webpages.