Esther David-West

I’m Esther, a 3rd year medical student at the University of Warwick and I am a student director for ICUR 2026.

I joined ICUR in 2026 after partaking in a URSS funded research programme. This project made me want to get more involved in research. At the moment I and the other student directors are working on ways to support students to present their amazing research at ICUR and develop skills along the way.

Recently I completed a research project investigating whether there are genetic differences amongst miscarriage patients (there are) which I hope to present at ICUR. I am looking forward to meeting people from a range of disciplines and learning from their work and their experiences.

My vision for ICUR 2026 would be allow students to be more confident presenting their work to people from different disciplines. I believe research only fulfils its purpose when it is shared beyond its own discipline. Presenting work to interdisciplinary audiences forces us to explain why our research matters, not just what we found. If research cannot be understood, it cannot be valued—and if it is not valued, it cannot lead to real-world change.