02 9541 3500SPIN TO WIN at Lorne Proteins 2017
ATA Scientific hosted the ‘SPIN TO WIN” Young Scientist prize once again at the annual Lorne Protein Structure and Function conference (5-9 Feb 2017). Delegates arrived at our booth in full optimism to spin the wheel and win. Many were awarded prizes such as wine, torches and lab timers. Still, the most popular and sought after prize on the board was our $2000 Young Scientist Award.
After a final nail-biting round and three finalists, our winner was announced.
Congratulations to Hannah McKerchar, PhD student from the University of Canterbury, School of biological sciences, Biochemistry – winner of the $2000 Travel Award ‘Spin to Win’ Prize!
“This award will enable me to present our research into crosslinks formed in processed food at international conferences and will provide an opportunity to connect and collaborate with others in the field”.
Hannah’s research team focuses on proteomics and mass spectrometry in food proteins. Her project looks at how crosslinks, that play a role in a protein’s structure, affect the function of protein after it is processed. Although crosslinking provides a means by which the food industry can manipulate the functional properties of food, many types of crosslinks are not well understood and there is no routine method of analysis. By investigating these crosslinks that form in food proteins, physical and chemical properties such as the texture, colour, flavour and nutritional value of food may be determined which will assist further understanding in food science processing, food assurance and food safety.
Hannah plans to use the $2000 award on attending future mass spectrometry and food science conferences to present data, share ideas and meet other people in the field. Two conferences that are of particular interest include the Australia and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference, being held in Adelaide on 16th to 20th of July 2017 and the American Society for Mass Spectrometry Annual Conference, 4-8 June 2017 in Indianapolis.
The ATA Scientific Young Scientist Travel Award, which was started in 2011, was set up to offer young scientists financial assistance to further their education and to attend scientific conferences and meetings around the world. The award is open to PhD candidates and/or scientists aged 30 years or younger. By setting an age limit we give early career scientists access to financial assistance to enable them to collaborate with peers at scientific meetings such as the Lorne Proteins conference, and to launch their careers within their field of study.
Over the past 5 years ATA Scientific have awarded the Young scientist travel prize to more than 45 winners from multiple Universities and research organisations around Australia and New Zealand. For more information regarding our award or to enter the next promotion contact us or visit https://www.atascientific.com.au/eventsandtraining/awards/