UM student wins audience award at the Student Research Conference in Nijmegen
Last week Health Sciences student Nousjka Vranken won an audience award for the presentation she gave about her bachelor's research during the Student Research Conference in Nijmegen. In her thesis Nousjka evaluated a new method for measuring blood circulation after breast reconstructions where the patient's own tissue is used. “I was exited to learn that my research is appreciated by a wider audience.”
Societal relevance
The Student Research Conference is a scientific conference for bachelor's students from the Netherlands and Flanders. The authors of the best research papers are invited to present their research at the conference. The conference is divided into four categories. Two prizes are awarded in each category: a jury prize for the best research and an audience award for the study with the highest societal relevance. Nousjka won the audience award in the Health and Medicine category.
“After I gave my presentation, a jury decided that I belonged to the top 3 of the category. That meant that I was allowed to give a 2-minute pitch at the end of the conference in which I explained why my project was relevant to society. The audience could vote in real-time via an app. Among them were people who were not necessarily interested in medicine or technical topics. What I really liked was the fact that my research also resonated with these people.”
Breast reconstruction
Nousjka evaluated a method to measure the blood circulation of women who have had their breast reconstructed. “Nowadays, many breast reconstructions are done using tissue from the abdominal wall. This tissue needs to have proper circulation, otherwise it will die. I've investigated a method that can be used to monitor the breast after surgery. This method is often used in heart surgery, but had not yet been applied to breast reconstructions. It turned out to be an easy, painless and effective method to discover circulation problems early on.
Communicating findings
In additional to the award, Nousjka will also be receiving 700 euros in prize money. What she will be using that for? “I haven't really thought about that. But one of the most important steps in research is to communicate your findings to your peers. I've done that by attending this conference, but there are also several important conferences abroad. Perhaps I could use the money to attend one of those.”