For the past 13 years, the Biochemical Society has looked to identify and celebrate outstanding science communication by young people, with an annual Science Communication Prize. This year, we were looking for creative and engaging entries aimed at the general public with the competition open to students studying in Further Education and Higher Education.
We would like to congratulate all the entrants and winners on their fantastic pieces submitted for the Science Communication Prize this year! The Biochemical Society was delighted with the entries, which came from across the globe and covered a broad range of diverse topics, from the relationship between the microbiome and mental health to the theft of chloroplasts by sap-sucking sea slugs!
We awarded six prizes across two educational stage categories with entries welcomed in a range of mixed media formats. The winners were selected by a panel of six judges with knowledge and expertise across the science communication sector: Dr Jean-Baptiste Gouyon (Associate Professor in Science Communication, University College London), Agnese Abrusci (Media Editor at Nature), Dr Margarida Sardo (Senior Research Fellow in Science Communication, University of the West of England), Dr Güneş Taylor (Chancellor’s Fellow, University of Edinburgh), Tom Ireland (Editor of The Biologist and Author of The Good Virus) and Dr Annie Howitt (Senior Communities Officer, Sense about Science).
Dr Margarida Sardo has extensive experience in evaluating the impact of science communication initiatives. Reflecting on her experience as a new Judge for 2024, she said, “I had the pleasure of being a Judge for the Biochemical Society’s Science Communication Prize. This year’s entries were creative, engaging and informative. I enjoyed assessing all the entries and learnt a lot in the process!”
The Biochemical Society is delighted to announce our fantastic winners of this year’s prize in Figures 1 and 2!
After hearing about the competition from a friend, Anna Partyka was keen to take part this year. Describing the inspiration behind her video, she said, “Last year I took part in the NHS work experience on an Infectious Diseases ward where I had an opportunity to see the microbiologists’ work in a laboratory. They used MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry to identify bacteria of patients on the ward. I found it fascinating because I have learnt about mass spectrometry at school before and it was an amazing experience to see it ‘in action’. It inspired me to create a video explaining the mechanisms of MALDI-TOF MS in microbial identification for the competition”.
Libbie Elliott’s pharmaceutical placement provided similar inspiration, as she commented that: “I got asked a lot by friends and family what my project entailed. Since many of them didn’t have a strong background in life sciences, I loved coming up with different analogies to demystify my work and engage them based on their own interests. For example, my mum loves watching crime dramas, which is what inspired my ‘lethal weapon’ entry into this competition”!
Congratulations again to the six winners, and don’t forget to visit our website to watch and read the outstanding winning entries. Look out for the pieces in The Biochemist to hear more from the authors about their motivations for entering the Science Communication Prize and why they chose their particular topics.
