A huge well done to our DPhil student Neva Kandzija, who won an amazing prize from Oxford Sparks to have her Placenta research transformed into a two minute animation film called “How do unborn babies and mothers communicate via the placenta?”.
Oxford Sparks are a portal for showcasing a wealth of exciting science across the University and they chose Neva as the overall winner for the Medical Sciences Division. As well as producing the animation for free, Neva’s prize included a teaching resources pack designed for secondary science teachers related to the film.
The panel included Prof David Pyle (academic lead for Oxford Sparks and MPLS academic champion for Public Engagement with Research), Kirsty Heber-Smith (Oxford Sparks website and digital media officer), Karen Sonego (producer at animators, Scriberia), Tom Fuller (video Producer in PAD), Brian Mackenwells (Public Engagement Coordinator, MSD) and one of last year’s winners, Dr Hazel Hall Roberts (Post-doctoral researcher, Pathology).
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Commenting on her win, Neva said: “One of the most rewarding aspects of my work has been getting the word out to the general public about this disease, and letting them know what we are doing to combat it”. Neva’s research looks at the role of ‘small bubbles of cargo’, called extra-cellular vesicles, in the bloodstream during pregnancy, how they interact with the placenta, and how they might affect pregnancy. |
