Novel anti-cancer drug delivery system being presented in Parliament by Warwick student

· Sean Ellacott a third year PhD student will be going to Parliament to present his Chemistry research on the 13^th March for part of STEM for Britain

· His research at the University of Warwick focuses on self-assembling nanotubes, which are being considered for the delivery of anti-cancer drugs

· STEM for Britain is a competition hundreds of applicants entered and will be judged by politicians and expert

Sean Ellacott, 25, a third year PhD student at the University of Warwick, hailing from the island of Bora Bora (French Polynesia), is attending Parliament to present his chemistry research to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of STEM for BRITAIN on Wednesday 13 March.

Sean’s poster on research about the interaction of self-assembling nanotubes with biological models, which are currently being considered for the delivery of anticancer drugs, will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.

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

On presenting his research in Parliament, he said,

“I decided to take part in STEM for Britain to raise awareness of some of the exciting research that is being done by our research group at the University of Warwick. I believe it is important, as a scientist, to be able to engage non-specialist audiences, especially when a non-negligible amount of the funding we receive comes from taxpayers.”

“I am very excited about this opportunity to present my research to the people in charge of science policymaking; I hope to interest them in the potential applications and benefits our research can provide.”

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.”

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

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £2,000, while silver and bronze receive £1,250 and £750 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 the Mathematical Sciences, with financial support from the Clay Mathematics Institute, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, WMG, Society of Chemical Industry, the Nutrition Society, Institute of Biomedical Science, the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research, and the Comino Foundation.

ENDS

22 FEBRUARY 2019

NOTES TO EDITORS

Image of Sean available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/services/communications/medialibrary/images/february2019/sean_ellacott_-_picture.jpg

For more information about the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick visit: https://bit.ly/2SVcKwj

About STEM for BRITAIN:
STEM for BRITAIN is a poster competition in the House of Commons - involving approximately 180 early stage or early career researchers - judged by professional and academic experts. All presenters are entered into either the engineering, the biological and biomedical sciences, the physical sciences (chemistry), the physical sciences (physics) session, or the mathematics session, depending on the researcher’s specialism.

Each session will result in the award of Bronze, Silver and Gold certificates. Bronze winners will receive a £750 prize; Silver, £1,250; and Gold, £2,000 and a medal. There will also be an overall winner from the four sessions who will receive the Westminster Wharton Medal.

STEM for BRITAIN (formerly SET for BRITAIN but now renamed to reflect the importance of its mathematical element) was established by Dr Eric Wharton in 1997. Following his untimely death in 2007, the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, with support from 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 the Mathematical Sciences, is working to further his legacy.

The event is made possible this year with financial support from the Clay Mathematics Institute, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, WMG, Society of Chemical Industry, the Nutrition Society, Institute of Biomedical Science, the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research and the Comino Foundation.

The competition is open to early stage or early career researchers, which includes university research students, postgraduates, research assistants, postdocs, research fellows, newly-appointed lecturers, part-time and mature students, returners, those people embarking on a second career, and their equivalent in national, public sector and industrial laboratories, and appropriate final year undergraduate and MSc students, all of whom are engaged in scientific, engineering, technological or medical research.

For further information please contact:

Alice Scott
Media Relations Manager – Science

University of Warwick

Tel: +44 (0)2476 574 255 or +44 (0) 7920531 221

For further information about the event, images, or interview opportunities, please contact:
Lizzy Ratcliffe, Royal Society of Chemistry:

Tel: 01223 432486

E-mail: ratcliffee@rsc.org