Katerina Kumpan, 25, a PhD student from our Department of Pharmacy & Pharmacology, is attending Parliament to present her science to a range of politicians and a panel of expert judges, as part of SET for Britain on Monday 17 March.

Katerina’s poster on research into new ways to inhibit a specific enzyme in the body to treat cancer will be judged against dozens of other chemists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.

Katerina was shortlisted from hundreds of applicants to appear in Parliament. She is one of four researchers from Bath chosen to present her work at the event. The others are Dr Alfonso P Ramallo-González from Architecture & Civil Engineering, Talini Pinto Jayawardena and Lu Ma, both from Electronic & Electrical Engineering.

On presenting her science in Parliament, she said: “During this work I have discovered a promising strategy with potential for developing new anti-cancer drugs. This conference is a unique opportunity to communicate my findings not only to scientific experts but also to a wide audience and to the Members of Parliament who are able to stimulate scientific research in the UK.”

Andrew Miller 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, mathematician and scientists are the architects of our future and SET for Britain is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”

Katerina’s research has been entered into the Chemistry session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medalist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.