The Annual North of England Young Scientists Research Competition was held at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) on Tuesday 24 March 2009. The event was sponsored jointly by the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and the SCI’s Food Commodities and Ingredients Group.
Undergraduates and postgraduates of food science, food technology and nutrition from universities in the North of England were invited to submit abstracts on their research projects. From the many papers submitted, three were selected from each category (i.e. under- and post-graduate) for presentation. The papers selected were from students of Huddersfield, Leeds and Manchester Metropolitan Universities.
The post-graduate winner was Fraser Courts from Leeds University for his paper Aspalathin: bioavailability of the prominent flavonoid from Rooibos tea, and the undergraduate winner also from Leeds was Ben Summers for his paper, The inter-relationship of arsenicosis, malnutrition and arsenic intake from water and food in Nepal. The presentations were judged for scientific originality, innovation and effective communication.
The prizes were presented by Sarah Knapper, Chairman of IFST North of England Branch and Andy Kerridge, Chairman of the SCI’s Food Commodities and Ingredients Group. All the students who were selected for presentations received a cash prize.