Winners of the six CSAR 2015 Student Awards
The Vice Chancellor, Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, entertained some of the students short listed for the 2015 awards in his office together with representatives of the CSAR council, and benefactors.
The following six persons were awarded a 2015 CSAR Student Award
Jenny Ashworth is working on the X-ray microtomography characterisation of collagen scaffold materials for soft tissue regeneration. Her primary focus is the development of novel techniques for the study and control of pore interconnectivity, and of its effect on cell behaviour.
Vaibhav Bhardwaj is researching algal-bacteria interactions with the goal of growing algae at a large scale for bio-fuels. Understanding the genetic and physiological changes of algae-bacteria interactions is vital for the rational design of synthetic microbial communities that can be used to mass produce algae at low cost.
Laura Burzynski is a Year 3 PhD student with the Department of Medicine and has identified a novel direct link between thrombin, the enzyme responsible for blood clotting, and Interleukin-1 Alpha, a highly inflammatory protein found in vascular plaques.
Siang Boon Koh is investigating the synergistic mechanism of drug combinations against pancreatic cancer, with the ultimate aim of informing drug dosing and scheduling in the clinics. The updated report can be viewed here.
Olivia Macleod is a Year 3 PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry who is investigating surface receptors of trypanosomes, the parasites that cause African sleeping sickness, and is currently in the process of developing a targeted treatment against the disease
Jan Mertens is exploring new routes towards the fabrication of stretch tuneable plasmonic and electronic devices. In particular, combining stretch induced and electronically driven tuneabiltiy with sub-nanometre plasmonic cavities to develop sensors and new material colouration.