Best and brightest research projects from DMU are put on show

Postgraduate students staged a showcase of some of the best and brightest research projects being worked on at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).

This year saw the 10^th annual Research Degree Students’ Poster Competition, held to celebrate and champion research at DMU. It challenges postgraduates to create a poster to effectively communicate their research to an audience of non-specialists.

A total of 46 students entered from all four of DMU’s faculties. Topics ranged from work to shrink cancer tumours, the experiences of women who have undergone Female Genital Mutilation, ideas to improve traffic flow and how chemistry can create new fabrics for the couture catwalk.

Five prizes were awarded with the top prize of £250 going to Dennis Berrieh, who is examining how a simple blood spot test could save the NHS billions by telling doctors if heart patients are taking their medicine correctly.

The test can tell if the medicine has been taken at the correct dose and at the right time, as taking medicines at the wrong time of day can make them less effective.

He said: “I never thought I would win, I’m so happy! This is such an important project which is a huge benefit to patients. When you explain to people what you can tell from this test they are very surprised at the difference it can make to their health.”

Volunteers for the project have been sourced from the Square Mile project which works to share the skills of staff and students with the community. Dennis came to DMU after completing an MA at Sheffield.

Other winners were:

• Nehal Almerbati, using 3D printing to revive traditional window designs in Bahrain
• Sukvinder Kaur Bhamra, studying the secrets of South Asian herbal remedies
• Muneer Hamed, how the web can transform museums in Saudia Arabia
• Kate Riley, investigating how bacteria survive in fabrics after washing 
• Perkilis Papaloukas, the experiences of people with multiple sclerosis from LGBT communities

Jo Cooke, Executive Director of Student and Academic Services, said: “Research is at the heart of the DMU mission. We take it very seriously and this competition is a perfect demonstration of the breadth of research carried out at DMU.”