The winner was selected by the 100-strong audience from the four finalists. They were;

  • Nicole Campbell, TCD, How to use curry and rosemary to treat inflammation.
  • Deirdre Daly, TCD, Women’s physical and mental wellbeing in the first postpartum year; why the MAMMI study matters.
  • Margaret Dunne, TCD, The immune system in cancer – new pieces of the puzzle.
  • Fergal O’Shaughnessy, RCSI, Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a Mother.

Along with the competition, attendees were treated to a masterclass on communicating your research from the morning’s main speakers. Professor Jane Winters (University of London) spoke about new media and social media channels.  Professor Steve Thomas, (TCD) and Dr Elaine Toomey (NUIG) shared their experiences of getting research into policy and practice. And Dr Hollydawn Murray, from F1000 also gave a detailed rundown on the newly announced HRB Open research publishing platform.
The afternoon sessions brought pearls of wisdom and some tears of laughter as the invited speakers, Professor Declan Devane (NUIG); Professor Martin O’Donnell (NUIG); Dr Fiona Geaney (Food Choice at Work) and Dr Fionnuala Keane (HRB-CRCI) shared nuggets from their career journeys to date.