SERC Students Set for The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2023 Finals

This year, SERC have 4 finalist projects entered across two categories:  

Biological & Ecological Category 

• ‘The Effect of Hypoxia-Induced Lung Injury on Fibroblast Activation’ - by Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Applied Science students Natali Arnaudova and Taneesha Mccaughran.  
• ‘Cigarette Smoke Causes Scarring of the Lungs - How?’ - by Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Applied Science student Cara Colvin. 
• ‘Testing Aspirin Using an IR Spectrometer’ - by Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Applied Science student Jake Stothers. 

Physical & Mathematical Sciences Category 

• ‘Following Sol: The Antibacterial and Cooling Effect of a Natural After Sun Emulsion’ - by Pearson BTEC HNC in Applied Sciences student Daya Philpott. 

Keep an eye out in the coming weeks for deep dives into each project.   

For the 2022 competition, SERC Level 3 National Extended Diploma in Applied Science student Harrison Nesbitt was a finalist, with his project investigating local water hardness and its connection to human health.  

In the 2021 BT Young Scientist Competition, Sara Hamilton, SERC BTEC Extended Diploma in Applied Science student, flew the flag for SERC in the finals of the competition. Sara’s project investigated the link between Cardiovascular Disease and individuals’ weight, competing in the Biological and Ecological Individual Senior Project category.   

In the 2020 BT Young Scientist Competition, SERC Level 3 Applied Science students Ben Gibson, Jamel Donald and Caoimhe Clugston were awarded first place in the Biological and Ecological Sciences Senior Group category for their investigation which looked at whether cigarette smoke extract will cause an increase in inflammatory markers and glucose within the cells.   The team were also awarded Northern Ireland Best Project.  

The Finals take place on 12- 14 January 2023 at a showcase in Dublin.  On behalf of SERC, we wish all our students the best of luck. 

Visit www.serc.ac.uk to unlock your future #BetterOffAtSERC.