UCL Student wins Posters in Parliament national competition

A UCL undergraduate has won first prize for presenting her research at a national exhibition in the UK Houses of Parliament.

Natural Sciences student Alice Pistono presented on her dissertation research, which has potential for forensic science applications, investigated how changing temperatures affect the degradation of DNA.

Her research supervisor, Georgina Meakin, joined her at Westminster.

• View the winning poster: ‘DNA degradation under shifting temperature conditions’

Also presenting their research were second year Biochemical Engineering students, Ana Maria Ionescu, Delphine Tavernier, Roumyana Kotopanova, Maxim Sverjinski, Gonzalo Valdes Davila and Samuel Shannon, whose research into producing bioethanol from longline seaweed was supervised by Dr Brenda Parker.

• View poster: Bioethanol production from longline seaweed in the UK’

Students present research to policy makers and MPs

The UCL students were among 65 students presenting their original research to MPs in a national exhibition, Posters in Parliament, showcasing the best of undergraduate research from 31 UK universities.

They had been selected to represent UCL at the event after entering their research posters to our annual Posters in Cloisters exhibition.
Find out what happened at the day-long exhibition at UCL.

The seventh annual Posters in Parliament competition, organised this year by University of Sussex, took place on Thursday 07 March.

It provides an opportunity for students to present their work, at the Houses of Parliament, to legislators and policy makers and to demonstrate they are part of a new generation of emerging researchers able to meet global challenges.

Creating connections with MPs

Presenting students from UCL discussed their research with Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, MP for Slough and UCL alumnus. Tanmanjeet said of the event: 

"As a proud alumnus of UCL, it is truly wonderful to see a team engaged in innovative research, which can truly transform our society. So many of us are truly concerned about sustainability and our environment. It is great to see such innovative research".

Other members of Parliament in attendance included:

• Gillian Keegan, MP Chichester
• Stephen Loyd, MP Eastbourne
• Ben Bradshaw, MP Exeter
• Hilary Benn, MP Leeds Central
• Paul Blomfield, MP Sheffield Central
• Rachel Maskell, MP York 

4 out of 5 of the winners are women and that seems very apt in International Women’s Week. Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor and President of University of Sussex“

“When we think about research and researchers; we think about Postdoctoral and PhD students. But actually, research starts from the very first day of undergraduate studies. What we are seeing today is so impactful. Professor Stephen Hall, co-chair of the British Conference of Undergraduate Research 

Student opportunities for your students

There are lots of other ways to  enhance your students’ experience, and support them to make a difference to education at UCL.

Find out more about the opportunities in the UCL Student Opportunities Booklet