On Tuesday 11 March, early-career researcher scientists, politicians and a panel of expert judges attended Parliament for STEM for BRITAIN, a major scientific poster competition and exhibition.
The event is organised by the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee to give members of both Houses of Parliament an insight into the outstanding research being carried out at UK universities by early-career researchers.
The Physiological Society has its own prize at the competition to shine a spotlight on a physiology researcher, their work and its importance for shaping health policies. This year, The Society Prize was awarded to Jose Cabezas-Caballero (University of Oxford, UK).
The Society Prize was judged by a panel of physiologists, including Trustees, Professor Mike Tipton (Chair of the Policy Committee) and Associate Professor Nephtali Marina-Gonzalez (Diversity & Inclusion Champion).
Speaking after presenting the award to Jose, Professor Tipton said:
“The Physiological Society is proud to support STEM for Britain. It was an uplifting day and inspiring to see so many outstanding early career physiologists who had been selected to attend talk directly to politicians about their research.
“Every year we award The Physiological Society Prize to an early career researcher in physiology whose research stands out for being novel, robust and important. Awarding Jose The Physiological Society Prize is a testament to his excellent research on increasing the precision of T cells for cancer therapy, which could improve the efficiency of this treatment and the health of individuals living with cancer.”
Jose was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament. His poster ‘Genetically engineering T cells to reduce the risk of autoimmune cross-reactivities in cancer T cell therapies’ raises the health risks associated with T cell therapy and explains how engineering T cells to make precise decisions can increase the safety of this cancer therapy.
On winning The Physiological Society Prize, Jose said:
“I really enjoyed presenting my research in Parliament and I am thrilled to have been awarded The Physiological Society Award. It was a great experience to share my research with policymakers and highlight the critical role of scientific research in tackling real-world problems. I would also like to thank my supervisors Omer Dushek and Anton van der Merwe for all their support throughout my PhD journey.”
George Freeman MP, Chair of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said:
“This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs 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 STEM for BRITAIN is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”
The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with The Physiological Society and a range of learned and professional societies.