Barnsley Sixth Form College student reaps Nuffield Foundation research placement benefits

Halima took part in a research placement in the Metabolic Bone Unit at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield, which proved an ideal accompaniment to her A Levels in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics. She worked on and produced a report entitled Parkinson’s Disease and Musculoskeletal Health under the supervision of Professor Eugene McCloskey from the University of Sheffield’s Mellanby Centre for Bone Research.

As Halima’s placement was part-funded by the MRC-Arthritis Research UK Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA), she was invited to the CIMA Annual Meeting to showcase her work on the project, attend talks and learn more about the research that CIMA do.

Subsequently, the Nuffield Foundation invited Halima to give a presentation about her project at the Royal Society Annual Student Conference. The invitation from the Nuffield Foundation praised the ‘quality of her project and written report’ and her ‘flair for science and scientific communication.’

Halima said: “I would recommend this amazing experience to any student who has an interest in science. The placement enabled me to develop my academic ability by writing a scientific report and learning how to explain results clearly and thoroughly. I was also able to develop the statistical skills I have gained from A Level Maths by applying these skills to real data which I analysed using Microsoft Excel.

“After the placement, I produced a poster summarising my project which I was able to use to explain my project to academics and answer their questions.

“The presentation at the Royal Society Annual Student Conference also went really well. I was able to give the tutors in attendance information about the benefits of super-curricular activities, such as improving students’ abilities.”

The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance educational opportunity and social well-being.