Graduate Research Showcase Day
15 Jul 2008
The inaugural Graduate Research Showcase Day took place yesterday, highlighting the best of the work of the graduate students based in the Schools of Medicine and Biomedical & Health Sciences.
In his introduction Professor Robert Lechler, Vice-Principal (Health), said to an audience of 500, which included College staff and students, together with representatives from NHS Trust partners, industry, funding bodies and other universities: ‘This day exemplifies the dynamism that characterises our vibrant graduate research community. It gives us the opportunity to celebrate the work of all our graduate students and their supervisors.’
During the event, which took place at the Guy’s Campus, the best final year graduate research student, from each of the 15 research divisions which make up the two Schools, presented their final PhD projects – all of which Professor Lechler described as ‘outstanding’. Each presentee spoke for 15 minutes and took questions after their talk.
A further highlight of the day was a keynote lecture by Professor Sir John Savill, Head of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine and Vice-Principal of the University of Edinburgh, who spoke on Clearance of cells dying by apoptosis and regulation of inflammation.
The graduate presentations were given in four sessions which were chaired by: Professor Ajay Shah, Head, Cardiovascular Division; Professor Gillian Bates FRS, Division of Genetics & Molecular Medicine; Professor Ellen Solomon, Head, Division of Medical and Molecular Genetics; and Professor Malcolm Irving FRS, Director, Randall Division of Cell & Molecular Biophysics, respectively.
Graduate projects
The students and their projects are listed below
Karin Wahlberg – Division of Gene & Cell Based Therapy
Characterisation of a MYB-HBS1L intergenic region controlling foetal haemoglobin levels in adults
Joseph Burgoyne – Cardiovascular Division
Novel mechanism for lowering blood pressure by oxidative activation of protein kinase G
Steven Wyman – Nutritional Sciences Division
Dcytb (Cybrd1) functions as both a ferric and a cupric reductase in vitro
Laura McCallum – Division of Reproduction & Endocrinology
Kv7 Channels: novel targets for the treatment of preterm and dysfunctional labour?
Ashley Mays – Division of Genetics & Molecular Medicine
Molecular mechanisms underlying the formation of balanced chromosomal rearrangements in therapy-related acute myeloid leukaemia
Seema Patel – Pharmaceutical Science Division
Macromolecular interactions between p53 family of proteins and ASPP1 and ASPP2: implications for cancer therapy
Muireann Kelleher – Division of Cancer Studies
Optical proteomics can profile breast cancer specimens, potentially personalizing prognosis and treatment for individual patients
Nina Fudge – Division of Health & Social Care Research
The involvement of people with stroke in health service development and health research: an ethnographic study
Simon Broughton – Division of Asthma, Allergy & Lung Biology
The impact of viral lower respiratory tract infection on respiratory morbidity, healthcare utilisation and lung function in prematurely born infants
Sara Geraldo – MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology
The link between actin and dynamic microtubules in neuronal growth cones
James Minchin – Randall Division of Cell & Molecular Biophysics
Pax3 genes drive cell fate choice in tissue-restricted stem cells
Philipp Suetterlin – Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases
A DAG lipase-mediated cannabinoid tone is important for neural stem cell Proliferation
Tomasz George – Division of Applied Biomedical Research
Effects of serum and cell age on proliferation and differentiation in human primary skeletal muscle cell cultures.
Hayley Evans – Division of Immunology, Infection & Inflammatory Disease
Potent induction of Th17 cells by synovial monocytes from active rheumatoid arthritis patients
Sergio Uribe-Arancibia – Division of Imaging Sciences
Magnetic resonance imaging of the whole heart
Earlier this year, King’s announced its largest ever funding scheme of almost 100 new studentships and bursaries to help recruit the most talented students globally. The College is firmly committed to enhancing the student experience within a supportive environment and, last year, the Higher Education Funding Council for England released figures which showed that King’s is the most successful university in the country for PhD completion rates.
Notes to editors
King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher 2007) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King’s has 19,700 students from more than 140 countries, and 5,400 employees. King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an annual income of approximately £400 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.
King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres - more than any other university.
King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are working together to create the UK's largest Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC). The AHSC will bring together the widest range of clinical and research expertise in the UK – strengths that will be used to drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity. For further information visit: http://www.londonsahsc.org
Further information
Melanie Gardner
Senior Public Relations Officer
Public Relations Department
King’s College London
Tel: 020 7848 3073
Email
melanie.gardner@kcl.ac.uk