Young Scientist Day
Wednesday 3rd February 2016
On Wednesday 3rd February the Department of Medicine hosted Young
Scientist Day 2016. This annual event, designed to benefit both PhD students and
Postdocs, saw a full programme of activities which included a PhD poster competition,
a Departmental ‘3-minute thesis’ competition, guest speakers and a networking
drinks event for all attendees.
The event was hugely popular and welcomed a large number of research students
and a handful of MRes and MSc students who joined in the day’s events.
The morning was dedicated to poster presentations where research students from all
five divisions had the opportunity to display their recent work to their colleagues and
the judges who circulated throughout the morning.
Judges and students mingle
during the poster competition
The standard of posters was very high and after careful deliberation the three winners
selected were:
First Prize: Vera Pader, (Microbiology) ‘Characterisation of a cryptic
daptomycin-resistance mechanism in Staphylococcus aureus’
Second Prize: Alan Liu, (Clinical Neuroscience) ‘Clarifying the human brain’
Third Prize: Miles Priestman, (Microbiology) ‘Drug-Tolerance in Mycobacteria’
Vera Pader accepting first prize
from Dr Kevin Murphy
Alan Liu and Miles Priestman accepting their second and third prizes for the PhD
Poster Competition from Dr Kevin Murphy
The afternoon was dedicated to
the Department’s ‘3-Minute
Thesis’ competition which saw one
PhD student from each Section
Cohort present their thesis
research to a judging panel in only
three minutes. The challenge
included twelve students from
different divisions who
communicated their research to
the judges and answered
questions from the audience.
After a series of entertaining presentations,
the prizes were awarded to Iris Scherwitzl for
her presentation ‘The role of Mucosal-
Associated Invariant T (MAIT) cells during
dengue infection’ and Leor Roseman who
spoke about ‘Reconstructing eyes-closed
psychedelic imagery’.
Both Iris and Leor will progress to the
College’s ‘3-Minute Thesis’ competition
hosted by the Graduate School and we wish
them the best of luck.
Leor Roseman giving his three minute presentation
PhD students watch the ‘3-minute thesis’
presentations
We also enjoyed two entertaining talks from Postdoc Laura Nellums and Research
Fellow Bryn Owen who provided some useful and good-humoured advice about life
after a PhD and their experiences in further research, both of which included
international career paths. PhD students had the opportunity to ask Laura and Bryn
questions about their respective careers in research before the evening was rounded
off by a networking drinks session which provided a more relaxed setting for students,
judges and speakers to socialise and muse over the day’s activities.
Young Scientist Day 2016 would not have been possible without the generous support
of the Graduate School, who provided funding for refreshments and prizes in support
of the day’s cohort building activities. We also express our thanks to Dr Kevin Murphy,
and to a number of other academics and Postdocs, who gave up their time to act as
judges for the poster and presentation sessions.
We look forward to making Young Scientist Day 2017 even bigger and better.
Katie Kissick, Department of Medicine [email protected]
Iris accepts first prize
from Higher Degrees
Manager Hayley Kendall-
Berry
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