Dr Alessandra Pinna takes her research to Parliament

Dr Alessandra Pinna has been shortlisted in the STEM for Britain poster competition.

STEM for Britain is a national poster competition in the House of Commons involving approximately 120 early stage or early career researchers. 

Dr Pinna, Imperial College Research Fellow in the Department of Materials, will attend Parliament on Monday 7 March to present her research to politicians and a panel of expert judges.

'Being nominated as a finalist is an honour'

Dr Pinna's research focuses on developing an affordable, nanoparticle targeted drug delivery system that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB) to treat different types of brain diseases such as Meningitis, Parkinson's, and Alzheimer’s.

On being shortlisted for the award, she commented:

During my day at Parliament, I will be interacting with both members of parliament and specialists of my subject Dr Alessandra Pinna

"I applied to STEM for Britain to increase the visibility of my research topic and highlight the Public Health England (PHE) and World Health Organisation (WHO) challenge of eliminating Tuberculosis by 2035.

Being nominated as a finalist is an honour for me. During my day at Parliament, I will be interacting with both members of parliament and specialists of my subject."

Dr Pinna's research has been entered into the biosciences session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

'The country's best young researchers'

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.

The event also receives financial support from Dyson, Clay Mathematics Institute, United Kingdom Research and Innovation, Society of Chemical Industry, the Nutrition Society, Institute of Biomedical Science, the Heilbronn Institute for Mathematical Research, the Biochemical Society and IEEE UK & Ireland Section.

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.”

This article was adapted from a Press release from STEM for Britain'

Dr Pinna photo credit: Eugenio Marongiu