By Ryan Sands
A Newcastle postgraduate student has been presented with the ‘Top Project Award’ for Ulster University at a special Royal Society of Biology (RSB) ceremony in the House of Commons.
Ray Brady, who completed a Bachelor of Biology degree with First Class Honours last year, received the accolade in recognition of his outstanding dissertation, ‘Gene Fusion of TMPRSS2:ERG and the Tumour Microenvironment in Prostate Cancer’.
A past pupil of Newcastle Primary School and Kilkeel High School, the local scientist was invited to this year’s RSB Accreditation Awards Ceremony – which celebrates the work of graduates in accredited biology degree programmes – by Viscount Stansgate.
Mr Brady was previously the recipient of Ulster University’s ‘Roche Prize for Outstanding First Year Student’ and ‘Premier Award for Outstanding Second Year Student’.
He is currently completing a Master of Science in Biology and Therapeutics at Cardiff University, focusing his thesis on prostate cancer and research into an upcoming promising therapeutic drug. He hopes to continue his studies through a PhD in cancer research or by entering a research-based role.
“I became inspired after seeing how cancer affects so many people and how important research is in improving diagnosis and treatment options,” said Mr Brady.
“This encouraged me to pursue a field where I can contribute, even in a small way, to advancing medical knowledge.”
Ulster University’s Centre for Genomic Medicine, based at the institution’s Coleraine campus, posted online that it was “delighted to see final year project student Ray Brady recognised with the RSB ‘Top Project Award’ for his outstanding BSc (Hons) Biology dissertation”.
“It was fantastic to see this achievement celebrated at the House of Commons, alongside fellow award recipients,” it added.
“The award-winning project was supervised by Dr Ross Murphy in the Centre for Genomic Medicine, and we are proud to see Ray continuing to build his research career through his MSc in Cancer Biology and Therapeutics at Cardiff University.
“Congratulations, Ray, on this well-deserved recognition, and best wishes for the next stage of your research career.”
