Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Twelve outstanding articles have been shortlisted for this year’s Max Perutz Science Writing Award, the MRC’s annual writing competition. The shortlist includes our DPhil student Magda Mareckova (pictured).

Good luck to our DPhil student Magda Mareckova. Her article: “One in ten women suffers from endometriosis - can studying the endometrium cell by cell help us diagnose it?” is shortlisted for this year’s Max Perutz Science Writing Award, the MRC’s annual writing competition.

The winner, who will receive a £1,500 prize, will be announced at the awards ceremony on 15 October at the Royal Institution, London.

This year’s judging panel is made up of:

  • MRC Executive Chair Professor Fiona Watt
  • Dr Roger Highfield, MRC Council member and director of external affairs at the Science Museum Group
  • Andy Ridgway, journalist and senior lecturer in science communication at the University of the West of England, Bristol

The Max Perutz Award asks MRC-funded PhD students to write up to 800 words about their research and why it matters, in a way that would interest a non-scientific audience.

More than 100 entries of a very high standard were received this year, which made the shortlisting a challenging task. Congratulations to the following exceptional writers:

  • Magda MareckovaUniversity of Oxford: “One in ten women suffers from endometriosis - can studying the endometrium cell by cell help us diagnose it?”
  • Erin Attrill, Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter: “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”
  • Anna Beukenhorst, MRC Doctoral Training Programme, University of Manchester: “Smartphones for healthcare research data at our fingertips”
  • Imogen Birch, The Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC): “Get some sleep, you’ll feel better in the morning”
  • Peter Gawne, School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Science, Kings College London: “An optimist's guide to radioactivity using medical imaging to develop and improve new treatments”
  • Elisabeth Kent, University of Manchester: “Mixed up messages in the gut”
  • Nora Schmit, School of Public Health, Imperial College London: “Back to the future: how reconstructing the past hepatitis B epidemic can help prevent liver cancer in the future”
  • Amy Southern, MRC Harwell: “Making sense of a sticky situation: finding the 'glue ear gene' in Down syndrome”
  • Lauren Terry, University of Birmingham: “Senolytics - the anti-aging product you've never heard of”
  • Alice Waitt, University of Nottingham: “How to RECOGNeyes your attention”
  • Katrina Wesencraft, The EPSRC and MRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Optical Medical Imaging (OPTIMA CDT), Centre for Biophotonics, University of Strathclyde: “Could a cell 'invisibility cloak' help cure diabetes?”
  • Akira Wiberg, University of Oxford: “Getting on your nerves”

The award is named in honour of one of the UK’s most outstanding scientists and communicators, Dr Max Perutz. Max, who died in 2002, was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work using X-ray crystallography to study the structures of globular proteins. He was the founder and first chairman of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, the lab which unravelled the structure of DNA. Max was also a keen and talented communicator who inspired countless students to use everyday language to share their research with the people whose lives are improved by their work.

All of the shortlisted articles will be published on the MRC website after the awards ceremony, on 16 October.

Latest news

Multiple Debilitating Pains – New global study shows the experience of Endometriosis is rooted in a person’s genetics

Researchers at the University of Oxford in collaboration with 25 teams across the world have published the largest study to date of the genetic basis of endometriosis.

Parental and Maternal Mental Health at Oxford

A new university campaign called Brain and Mental Health at Oxford seeks to expand our understanding of the brain at a cellular level, exploring the impacts of mental health issues on the individual, and examining population-wide global health problems. From examining fetal neurodevelopment in pregnancy to analysing the impacts of parental psychosis, researchers at the University of Oxford are changing the way we think about parental and maternal mental health.

International Day of Women & Girls in Science 2023

Women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities around the world and their participation should be strengthened. To celebrate International Day of Women & Girls in Science on Saturday 11th February 2023, we are showcasing some of the amazing female students in our department, the vision for their women's health research and who or what inspires them.

Vaccine protects against pregnancy complications from COVID-19 Omicron variant

The global network led by the Oxford Maternal and Perinatal Health Institute (OMPHI) at the University of Oxford has today published, in the Lancet, the results of the ‘2022 INTERCOVID Study’ conducted in 41 hospitals across 18 countries.

Similar stories

PhD Student of the Year Winner!

In a record breaking year for the Postgrad Awards 2021, DPhil student Tolu Awoyemi wins PhD Student of the Year. The award recognises the individual PhD student who has become an excellent and inquisitive researcher, who is an integral part of their research group, someone who encourages and supports more junior members of the team, and works alongside the research community more widely.

New Endometriosis podcast launched: "Unheard of"

Listen now to the first episode ‘Unheard of – The hidden voice of Endometriosis.’ A bold new podcast series co-hosted by DPhil students Danielle Perro and Magda Mareckova, it seeks answers to the biggest questions posed by the Endometriosis community.

Public Engagement - Exploring widespread pain through visual art!

Won't you look a little closer? Pain beyond the pelvis in Endometriosis. DPhil Student Danielle Perro wins Public Engagement funding to educate and inspire the public using artwork representing Endometriosis.

Nautilus Academic Award - Jossey Agyeman-Duah

DPhil student Jossey Agyeman-Duah wins an Nautilus Academic Award from Green Templeton College. The award recognises students who have gone beyond the call of duty to make an outstanding contribution to improving the college environment.

Best Oral Presentations

The Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health is celebrating two wins at the recent annual academic meeting of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, held on 27th February 2020.

Masters Teacher of The Year

Congratulations to Dr Kevin Coward, Course Director for the MSc in Clinical Embryology. He won Masters Teacher of The Year at the FindAMasters & FindAPhD’s first Postgrad Awards.