A shining example for future STEM pupils in secondary schools looking forward to a career in research, Dr Maelíosa McCrudden from Newry in County Down is attending Parliament to present her biomedical research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of SET for Britain on Monday 7 March.
Maelíosa, now a post-doctoral research fellow at Queen’s University, Belfast, was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to present in Parliament.
Her poster on research about microneedle technologies will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.
Microneedles are tiny projections on a plaster that take the sting out of injections as they can be used to painlessly deliver medications.
On presenting her research in Parliament, she said: “I’m delighted to have been afforded this opportunity to present some of the innovative research I’m involved in at such a prestigious event and venue.
“I study microneedle devices, novel alternatives to regular hypodermic needle injections. As an early career researcher, I feel passionately about communicating my work to politicians and the public to make the work more accessible and to fully exploit its potential. I look forward to meeting politicians, judges and other scientists and telling them about the exciting work we are carrying out at Queen’s University Belfast.”
Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said:
“This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MP’s an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.
“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and SET for Britain is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”
Maelíosa’s research has been entered into the Biological and Biomedical Sciences session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.
Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.
The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with the Royal Society of Biology, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society and the Council for Mathematical Sciences, with financial support from Essar, the Clay Mathematics Institute, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the Institute of Biomedical Science, the Bank of England and the Society of Chemical Industry.
