December saw our Summer placement poster presentation event with research presented from across the Faculty of Medical Sciences.
First of all, let me thank all of you who presented/provided posters for the event, it was fantastic to see your hard work up on those poster boards in our swanky new lab! Secondly, I’d like to thank all of you who attended, asked questions and engaged with the event (not just for the mince pies). Finally I’d like to thank our judges who did a sterling job deciding our prize winners!
Our summer research students did an excellent job of creating visually stimulating posters and concisely presenting their data. There was a wide range of work presented including research on the effects of E-cigarettes on airway epithelial cells, Dementia with Lewy Bodies, bacterial urinary tract infections, T-cell function in rheumatoid arthritis, and cancer.
We had students presenting research performed in Newcastle and our NUMed campus in Malaysia . The NUMed research included determining the antimicrobial property of local plants and the antimicrobial resistance of bacteria.
We also had work showcased by students from Sport and Exercise Science and from Food and Nutrition Science, providing the event with a well rounded view of SMBS research.
The poster session was a fantastic opportunity for our students to communicate their research and build confidence in defending their work – a skill vital for their final year project. The session also provided a chance for our current SBMS second year students, who are seeking summer placements, to ask their peers how they found their placements and gain any tips about potential supervisors and applying for funding.
And the winners are….
The posters were judged on the clarity and logical format of each section, overall design, presentation of research, and ability to answer questions. It was an extremely well contended and close decision for the top 3.
In 3rd place
Sam Murray – 3rd year Biomedical Sciences
In vitro models of Complement dysregulation
Supervisor – Professor Clare Harris (Institute of Cellular Medicine)
Funding – Wellcome Trust
You can read about Sam’s placement experience here
In 2nd place
Willhelmina Lucinescu – 3rd year MSci Biomedical Sciences
The impact of patient mutations in Na/phosphate cotransporters to function and trafficking of the protein
Supervisor – Dr Andreas Werner (Institute of Cell and Molecular Biosciences)
Funding – Wellcome Trust
In 1st place, the winner of the SBMS Summer Placement Research Poster Award 2018
Phumrapee Boonklang – 3rd year Biomedical Sciences
Trying to Solve the Organ Shortage Crisis: The Role of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate in Endothelial Integrity
Supervisor – Professor Simi Ali (Institute of Cellular Medicine)
Funding – Wellcome Trust
Phum gave an excellent presentation describing his research into restoring the integrity of blood vessels in donor organs before transplantation. The goal of this research is to increase the number of available organs that are suitable for transplantation and help to solve the organ shortage crisis. Phum answered the questions from the judges well and defended his research with detail and passion.
Well done everyone and congratulations Phum!