Essex students honoured for their cancer research projects

The Essex Cancer Research charity has awarded prizes to students from the University of Essex for their research projects relating to the disease.

The students, who are all studying MSc Cancer Biology at the University’s School of Life Sciences, showcased their research at the course’s annual conference.

Essex Cancer Research brings together academics, industry and NHS cancer services to expand research opportunities for cancer patients in the county.

The charity was impressed by the quality and depth of the students’ research project presentations and awarded first prize of £200 to Kimia Aghasoleimani, pictured, who analysed the role of a key enzyme in responses to chemotherapy in colorectal cancer.

The second prize of £100 was won by Serap Gokcen Dogan, who presented her work on immune checkpoint proteins. Jahnavi Nitinkumar Vyas, Sena Kofi Eba-Ekong Chin and Daniel Ndubuisi Imoh were also awarded £50 each for their research.

Dr Andrea Mohr, Director of the MSc Cancer Biology course, said she was delighted to see the enthusiasm and hard work of the students.

“I am proud of the professionalism of this new generation of cancer researchers here at the University of Essex,” she said. “They organised this conference and gave excellent presentations. I hope that our students and this annual conference will become part of developing a cancer research hub in Essex.”

John Bruce and Oksana Hoile, from Essex Cancer Research, said: “Our charity aims to support research which has a clear intention to enable a better experience for the benefit of patients and others with an interest in cancer.

“We could not fail to be impressed by the clarity of the projects and the enormous amount of hard work which was evident to us. It was a privilege to have the opportunity to make these awards. A new daring science agenda is unfolding so the importance of dreaming big and aiming high is paramount. It takes a lot of passion and stamina to make a breakthrough.”