The Society asked Rebecca about her experience of taking part in the 2019 Postgraduate Competition.
Q: Who you are:
A: Final year PhD student within the School of Sport, Exercise and Health Science, Loughborough University.
Q: Why did you apply?
A: I attended the Nutrition Society Summer Conference 2018: Getting energy balance right and attended the postgraduate competition winners’ session. I really enjoyed this part of the conference and was impressed with the content and quality of the presentations. I could see what a great platform this competition was for students early in their research career to not only present their PhD research but also have an opportunity to submit a review paper for consideration in the Proceedings of the Nutrition Society.
When I was approaching the final year of my PhD and the 2019 Postgraduate Competition was open for applications, myself and my supervisors decided it would be a great opportunity to apply for.
Q: What are you doing now?
A: I am now completing the final year of my PhD looking at the effect of quantity and quality of dietary fat intake on subcutaneous white adipose tissue inflammation.
Q: How has winning this competition helped?
A: Winning this competition provided me with the opportunity to present my entire PhD research at a prestigious conference, as well as publish a review article on this topic. I would not have had the opportunity to do either of these things had I not applied for, and won, this competition.
Upon completion of my PhD, I would like to continue to develop my research career and I believe that the networking and presentation experiences gained from winning this competition will be advantageous, helping me stand out within a competitive job market.