PhD Student Award
1 October 2008
Melanie Lawrence, one of the first intake of IGMM four year MSc + PhD students, has been awarded the Class Prize by the Board of Examiners of the MSc by Research at the University of Edinburgh. She was the top in a class of over thirty students and we would like to extend to her our warmest congratulations.
IGMM Retreat
15 October 2008
During its 83 year history Murrayfield stadium has played host to the likes of U2, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and, of course, the Scottish rugby team.
But on Wednesday 15 October it opened its doors to a slightly different troupe: over 400 scientists, students, and support staff from the recently formed Institute of Genetics & Molecular Medicine (IGMM).
The aim of the day was to bring together researchers from each of the IGMM's three partners and allow them to present their work to one another, paving the way for future intra-Institute collaborations.
The day began with a welcome address from Professor Nick Hastie CBE FRS, director of the IGMM, who outlined his vision for the Institute and how this reflects the current and future directions of biomedical science.
A major goal is to produce the next generation of researchers and this was certainly reflected in the high calibre of work presented during the oral and poster presentations.
The oral session covered a diverse range of topics, from yeast to zebrafish to human genetics and from psychiatric illness to cancer.
The plenary talk, by Professor Adrian Bird of the University of Edinburgh, provided an excellent primer on the role of DNA methylation in the brain.
An even greater range of topics was covered in the poster competition. Two winners were chosen and were presented with their prizes at the evening meal.
Rachel Rigby, a third year PhD student in the MRC Human Genetics Unit, was selected for her work on RNase H2 in the innate immune response, whilst Adele Thomas, from the Centre for Molecular Medicine, picked up a prize for her poster on neuronal NOS knock-out mice.
Once the prize giving and desserts were safely out of the way, the hardcore attendees got going with the serious business of ceilidh dancing.
By the end of the night there were sore limbs and tired feet, but also the seeds of new acquaintances, novel techniques and innovative collaborations.
Words: Sally Burn (Medical Research Council
Human Genetics Unit)
