Skip to main content
KBS_Icon_questionmark link-ico
School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences
Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine

Go to…

The Matt Wilson Scholarship

Matthew (“Matt”) Wilson studied at King’s College London and obtained an MSc in “Biomedical and Molecular Sciences Research” in October 2011. He graduated with Distinction, ranked 2nd of 33 students, notably whilst undergoing treatment for cancer throughout his studies. The picture on the right shows Matt at his graduation.

In memory of Matt’s exemplary contributions, we initially set up the Matt Wilson Prize, awarded annually to the “best overall performing” Biomedical and Molecular Sciences Research MSc student.

In addition, and thanks to a generous donation from Matt’s family, we were able to establish a scholarship scheme in 2018 to enhance one Biomedical and Molecular Sciences Research project. Valued at up to £5000 per annum, the award provides added-value to a research project by enabling costly experiments to be performed that otherwise would not be possible. The scholarship is a wonderful way to ensure that Matt’s legacy lives on!

 
 

 

Matt Wilson at his graduation

The Matt Wilson Prize Recipients

YearRecipientMSc Project
2018 Bethany  Sinclair The role of MITD1 in primary cilia formation
2017 Lauren  Dawson Therapeutic use of regulatory T cells in liver disease
2016 Julia  Taylor The impact of TP53 mutations on the cellular response to Nutlin-3a and chemotherapeutics
2015 Alexandra  Willis The influence of p53 status on chemotherapeutic drug-induced expression of CYP1A1
2014 Pascale  Eede The role of RANK, RANKL and OPG in perinatal brain injury

 

Noor Siksek, recipient of the 2018 Matt Wilson Scholarship

Noor Siksek graduated with a BSc in Chemistry from the University of Leicester. As an undergraduate, Noor specialised in biotechnology researching how molecular imprinted polymers can be used for drug delivery to cancer cells. Noor began her MSc at King’s College London in 2018, during which she had the opportunity to conduct a 6-month research project in the field of radiobiology. Her research aims to assess the safety of the imaging radiopharmaceutical 99mTcO4- for non-invasive SPECT imaging. Thanks to the scholarship, she was able to expand her project to include in-vivo imaging and radionuclide therapy and has submitted the work for presentation at the Auger Symposium in Oxford to be held in August 2019. Noor intends to start her PhD in the same field and pursue a career in academic research.

Noor Siksek recipient of the 2018 Matt Wilson Scholarship

Chien-Ting Feng, recipient of the 2019 Matt Wilson Scholarship

Chien-Ting Feng graduated with an MSc in Biomedical Sciences from National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan in 2019, then commenced with her MRes at King’s College London to pursue her interests in stem cell biology. She undertook an ambitious programme to create patient-derived Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) to model the rare Hajdu-Cheney Syndrome (HCS), characterized by excessive bone loss. KCL geneticists had previously identified activating mutations in NOTCH2 in HCS patients and Chien-Ting’ project involved the isolation and expansion of primary cells from a HCS patient. The Matt Wilson scholarship enabled Chien-Ting to perform proof-of-concept experiments which demonstrated that the inhibition of NOTCH2 signalling, via a DAPT inhibitor, blocks bone loss in vitro. This essential experiment was instrumental in moving the project forward and Chien-Ting now intends to pursue a PhD in disease modelling using iPSC technology.

Chien-Ting Feng hi-res

Gian Hobbs, recipient of the 2020 Matt Wilson Scholarship

Gian Hobbs graduated from Queen Mary University of London with a BSc in Pharmacology. As an undergraduate, Gian was able to fine tune his practical skills during his wet lab dissertation assessing reactivity of both mouse and human gastrointestinal tissues. This experience stimulated his interest in vivo experimentation which led him to join the Biomedical and Molecular Sciences Research MRes at King’s College London. Gian began his MRes in 2020, during which he had the opportunity to undertake a 9-month research project in the field of molecular toxicology. His research aims to determine the vital pathways involved in the mechanistic processing of carcinogens, in particular Benzo[a]pyrene, in "humanized" nematodes (transgenic C. elegans). Thanks to the scholarship, Gian was able to utilize whole genome sequencing to identify the mutational signatures in C. elegans exposed to carcinogens. Following his MRes, Gian intends to start a PhD and then pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Gian Hobbs