STEM for Britain Gold Medal Award
A Lancaster Medical School PhD student, funded by the Anatomical
Society presented her research at the Houses of Parliament on March 13.
Rebecca Shepherd was awarded the Gold Medal in the Biosciences
category at the STEM for Britain competition, which aims to raise the profile
of Britain's early-stage researchers at Westminster by engaging Members of both
Houses of Parliament with current science, engineering and mathematics
research.
The audience included MPs and members of the House of Lords,
policy makers and representatives from Learned and Professional Societies.
Rebecca’s project is looking at the anatomical role for fat
cells (adipocytes) in the bone marrow matrix and how these may contribute to
the formation and anatomical structure of bones.
On winning the award Rebecca stated “STEM for Britain was an
excellent event. I had the opportunity to discuss my work with MPs,
policymakers and leaders of scientific bodies. It was a fun challenge
explaining my work to those outside of biological sciences and I enjoyed
meeting other early career researchers from different fields”.
Dr Adam Taylor, Rebecca’s primary supervisor “this is a great
accolade for Rebecca, for Lancaster Medical School and for the Anatomical
Sciences. Rebecca is a bright and hardworking scientist who has made excellent
progress in her project to increase what we know about fat cells and their
anatomical role in bone. She has also taken a keen interest in communicating
science more widely. This award shows her excellence in scientific work and her
ability to communicate it to a wider audience.
The event gives researchers a broad audience to discuss their
research with as well as enabling them to understand how science, technology,
engineering and maths is discussed and dealt with in Parliament.
