The National Heart and Lung Institute came together for an in-person away day to discuss and celebrate the work of its early career researchers.

Attendees gathered earlier this month for the annual National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI) Research Away Day, which took place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre after a two-year hiatus. The day-long event drew over 350 attendees who heard from an inspiring line-up of early career researchers from across the Department.

As well as providing the opportunity to showcase the breadth of research within the Institute, it was the first opportunity for Department members, collaborators and external exhibitors to gather in-person as a group.

The symposium featured a diverse programme of 36 flash and oral presentations delivered by PhD students and postdoctoral research associates from across the Department. In addition to sharing insights from their research, each speaker was asked to present a slide on the theme of 'overcoming adversity' to share experiences and challenges of conducting research during the pandemic. 

Reflecting on the event, Professor Edwin Chilvers, Head of the NHLI, said: “The Away Day was a joyous occasion and a real celebration of the quality of our work. It was an innovative programme covering the full spectrum of the Department's research"

Prize winners

Congratulations to the following researchers who were awarded prizes for oral and flash presentations:

Oral presentation

• First place: Shyreen Hassibi (Talk title: COPD Monocyte-derived macrophages display hallmarks of senescence and reduced clearance of senescent cells)
• Runner-up: Gesa Albers (Talk title: Allergen exposure induces airway macrophage metabolic reprogramming)

Flash presentation

• First place: Kiran Patel (Talk title: Weight loss following bariatric surgery reduces repolarisation heterogeneity to ameliorate arrhythmic risk in obese patients)
• Runner-up: Vanessa Ho (Talk title: A novel microfluidic technique that quantifies microRNA levels in nasal fluid non-invasively from COPD patients and non-smokers)

Twitter Takeover

PhD students Esther Bankole and Salina Nicoleau shared highlights throughout the day via the Department's Twitter account.