INDUSTRY NEWS: NIAB scientist takes his research to Parliament

10 Mar 2017

Dr Robert Jackson, 30, a researcher at NIAB, hailing from Lincolnshire, is attending Parliament to present his bioscience research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of STEM for BRITAIN on Monday 13 March.

Rob JacksonRob’s poster on research into methods for enhancing British wheat breeding will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.

Rob was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament.

On presenting his research in Parliament, he said, “Agricultural research is very important for British farming, the economy and society as a whole. By presenting at STEM for BRITAIN I hope to showcase the fantastic agricultural research we do here in the UK and encourage other young scientists to get involved in this exciting research sector.”

Stephen Metcalfe MP, Chairman 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.”

Rob’s research has been entered into the biosciences session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee runs the event in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Engineering, the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Physics, the Royal Society of Biology, The Physiological Society and the Council for Mathematical Sciences, with financial support from the Clay Mathematics Institute, Research Councils UK, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Society of Chemical Industry, Institute of Biomedical Science and the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research.

Other NIAB / NIAB EMR applicants include:

• Emma Cascant-Lopez, Ph.D student at NIAB EMR, who will have a poster entitled, “Investigating the circadian clock of Verticillium dahliae and its influence on pathogenicity.” (Understanding daily cycles of an important crop disease and how we might use this knowledge to generate improved control measures.)

• Thomas Adams, Ph.D student at NIAB EMR, who will have a poster entitled, “Understanding strawberry Red Core disease will lead to improved resistance in a valuable crop”.