STEM for BRITAIN 2024 award won by DPhil student

St Cross DPhil in Medical Sciences student Grace Meaker, was one of only thirteen early career researchers from Oxford who were selected as finalists at this year’s STEM for BRITAIN event, held at the Houses of Parliament. Only three finalists won awards in their categories with Grace winning the prize sponsored by the Physiology Society. 

STEM for BRITAIN is a major scientific poster competition and exhibition which has been held in Parliament since 1997, and is organised by the Parliamentary & Scientific Committee. Its aim is to give members of both Houses of Parliament an insight into the outstanding research work being undertaken in UK universities by early-career researchers. 

Grace’s poster was called ' Sticky Stem Cells: How PVA Promotes Blood Stem Cell Production'. Its design was about her work on haematopoietic (blood) stem cells, using PVA (like in the glue) to grow them in the lab and make novel discoveries using this system. This in turn helps viewers to understand how these cells are regulated and how they may inform bone marrow transplants for therapeutic purposes. 

Grace studied Biological Sciences in Genetics from Cardiff University and is currently enrolled in St Cross College for DPhil Medical Science. She is currently working at the Radcliffe Department of Medicine in the Wilkinson lab. Her work focuses on transcriptional regulation of haematopoietic stem cells; dissecting the key mechanisms and factors involved in their biology. 

Heartiest congratulations, Grace!