About the BSCB Science Writing Prize

Communicating science in words that are engaging and understandable is vital at many levels. The BSCB Science Writing Prize was launched in 2009 to encourage and reward high quality writing on topics of key relevance to biomedical science. Entrants have either communicated their own research projects or science stories in the literature, in a clear and concise way aimed at a non-specialist audience, or written essays that were not be limited to research per se, but tackled a bioethical or science policy issue. The BSCB Science Writing Prize aims to encourage writing skill development in young researchers rather than seasoned veterans (see rules below).

The winner receives a prize of £300 and has their winning entry published in the BSCB newsletter and online (both on the BSCB website and subject to editorial acceptance on the excellent www.lablit.com website). Normally the prize is presented before one of the main plenary talks at the annual BSCB Spring Conference.

Each year shortlisted entries are judged by an external expert. In previous years we have enlisted the kind help of Tim Radford (Writer and former Science Editor at The Guardian), Viv Parry (Science Writer and Columnist), and Tania Hershman (Science writer, former science journalist and writer-in-residence at Bristol University).

We are very pleased to announce that shortlisted entries will be judged by Jenny Rohn a cell biologist at UCL, who is also a science writer, novelist, blogger, broadcaster, the editor of LabLit.com and the founder and chair of Science is Vital. Jenny will be looking for pieces that capture interest in an original and striking way and that bring science to life for the lay reader.

1. The BSCB Science Writing Prize is open to all BSCB student and postdoctoral members.
2. The piece must be all your own work.
3. We will particularly be looking for articles which cover topics of key relevance in biomedical science but not necessarily limited to a research topic.
4. Articles should be no more than 1000 words. 
5. The winner will receive a prize of £300. 
6. By entering you agree tothat if awarded the prize the winning entry will be published in the BSCB newsletter and online. 
7. The BSCB is not responsible for publicity for the winning entry.
8. The deadline for entries is the 15th February 2013. 
9. Entries should be sent to Paul Andrews (pdandrews1@mac.com) as electronic files (preferably Word format).

Winner 2013

“Our own worst enemies? Why resistance is not futile, and what that means for cancer research”, by Sarah Byrne, Imperial College London

We are very pleased to be able to announce that this year’s Science Writing Prize winner is Sarah Byrne from Imperial College, London whose essay entitled “Our own worst enemies? Why resistance is not futile, and what that means for cancer research” was selected as the outstanding winner.

Sarah is a second year Ph.D student in the Institute of Chemical Biology at Imperial College London, working on mathematic models of protein dynamics in disease-related kinases that regulate the cell cycle. Outside of research, her main interest is science communication and engagement, and is “especially interested in use of narrative and storytelling in science writing”. 

Commenting on Sarah’s essay our judge this year, Dr. Jenny Rohn, said “The piece is sophisticated, original, beautifully written and ties together multiple phenomena in science into one unifying philosophical theme”.  Not only that Jenny deemed it “Pretty Nifty”. Congratulations Sarah!

Many thanks to all the entrants for spending the time to write and submit, in what was a very competitive year.

Winner 2012

The Logistics of Cellular Traffic, by David Gershlick, University of Leeds

We are delighted to announce that the winner of the 2012 BSCB Science Writing Prize is David Gershlick, a PhD student with Jurgen Denecke at the Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology at the University of Leeds.

David is interested in protein trafficking mechanisms and receptor recycling in plants and studies these topics using a combination of biochemical and microscopy techniques. At the moment he is concentrating on the mechanism of vacuolar sorting receptor transport from the Endoplasmic Reticulum onwards and is also keen to explore the role of lipids in protein targeting. After he has finished his PhD David is enthusiastic about continuing with a career in research.

David says, “I have always been intrigued how major discoveries in the history of science have influenced the focus of contemporary research. I found cell biology has a history rich with interesting and intelligent experiments and it appealed to me to write about the way in which seemingly unrelated methods and findings can converge to produce a coherent picture.” John was awarded his £300 prize before the Hooke Medal lecture at the BSCB-BSDB Spring Meeting at the University of Warwick.

Winner 2011

What makes us tick?, by John Ankers, University of Liverpool

We are very pleased to announce the winner of the 2011 BSCB Science Writing Prize is John Ankers for his essay "What makes us tick?". This year's competition was judged by Tania Hershman, a former science journalist and currently writer-in-residence in Bristol University's Science Faculty.

Tania commented "Explaining any complex topic to a non-expert audience requires you to simplify but not step across the fine line into over-simplification, which may end up patronising the very people you are trying to engage. The winning entry did this excellently, making beautiful use of the analogy of clockwork to present the topic in a refreshing and entertaining way, telling the story of the science without jargon and cliche. I felt informed, my knowledge had been increased, and I was left with a desire to know more, to research it by myself. A wonderful piece of writing, a very deserving winner!"

John completed his PhD on co-ordination between the cell cycle and NF-kappaB signaling, with Prof. Mike White, at the Institute of Integrative Biology in March 2009. Since then, he has been using quantitative live cell imaging techniques to develop mathematical models for mammalian cell cycle progression. John is interested in finding new and original ways to communicate cutting edge research to the general public and co-organised an exhibit "The language of cells" at the Royal Society's summer science exhibition in 2006.

John will be awarded his prize before the Hooke Medal lecture at the BSCB-BSDB Spring Meeting at The University of Kent in Canterbury.

Winner 2010

Inducing Apoptosis- Countdown to Self-Destruction, by Susan Turrell, University of Leeds

We are very pleased to announce the winner of the 2010 BSCB Science Writing Prize is Susan Turrell for her essay “Inducing Apoptosis- Countdown to Self-Destruction”. The competition was judged by Vivienne Parry, freelance science journalist and regular contributor to several national newspapers and Radio 4 programmes.

Vivienne commented that “it was well written, conjured up some very good images, and describes apoptosis incredibly clearly”. Susan is a final year PhD student at the University of Leeds developing viral gene therapy vectors. Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a BSc in Molecular Biology, Susan has a keen interest in the biological sciences, ranging from genetics to biochemistry and cell biology. She is especially interested in promoting science for public understanding and is looking forward to becoming more involved in this area when she has completed her research project. Susan will be awarded her prize before the Hooke Medal lecture at the 2010 Spring meeting.

Winner 2009

Untangling the string, by Emily Pritchard, MRC Human Genetics Unit, University of Edinburgh

We are very pleased to announce Emily Pritchard as the winner of the 2009 BSCB Science Writing Prize. Her essay, “Untangling the String” was judged to be the winner by Tim Radford, a freelance science writer and former science editor of The Guardian newspaper.

Emily completed her undergraduate degree in Genetics in 2006 at the University of Edinburgh. She then enrolled in the Masters by Research programme at the MRC Human Genetics Unit. This led to a PhD place in the lab of Professor Wendy Bickmore where Emily is currently in the second year of her PhD working on chromatin condensation in Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. In assessing Emily’s essay, Tim made a particular note of the post-modern homage to the late Douglas Adams in the opening sentence. In addition Tim highlighted the fact that the opening section really defined the problem very well, sustained this promise in the second and maintained the momentum in the third. Tim also praised the nicely clipped final sentence – a conclusion is an important thing. Emily will be presented with her prize before the Hooke Medal Lecture at the BSCB Spring meeting in Edinburgh, in April.

Judging was very difficult but Tim dissected each shortlisted entry with the same vigour. He also raised some useful points for future entrants to our competition (and those communicating science in any way) – many entries included unfocussed and often somewhat random imagery, maintaining the theme was often an issue, and the use of “unforgiving” language meant that some entries didn’t have the clarity needed for a general readership. Some clear advice was also evident – if you use a metaphor or a parallel you have to maintain it through the argument, or it is meaningless. We must thank Tim for his efforts in judging the entries and look forward to the next cohort of entries. Look for details in the Autumn 2009 newsletter, on the BSCB website (www.BSCB.org) and remember that unfortunately only BSCB members are eligible to enter.

Runners up (no particular order)

• Shaping the proteins that cause blindness. by John Bett, Division of Molecular & Cellular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London
• To Ub or not to Ub: how a cell manages its resources. by y Sebastian Hayes, Department of Physiology, University of Liverpool
• Competition in science: driving science forward or a waste of resources? by Alexis Barr, Department of Oncology, University of Cambridge
• The Gut Barrier: Protecting You From Invasion. by Caroline Weight, Institute of Food Research, University of East Anglia
• The Immune System: The hidden emergency service. by Sophie Hidden, University of Birmingham