Merton DPhil student wins European Immunology Summer School research prize

Andreas Hadjinicolaou, a third-year DPhil candidate studying Biomedical & Clinical Sciences, was named joint winner of the Ralph Steinman Memorial Prize for Immunology Research at the 2017 Advanced Immunology European Summer School.

Following competitive shortlisting, 110 candidates—PhD students and early-career postdoctorates—were selected from across Europe to present their research. After further shortlisting, Andreas was selected among the top 30 candidates who were asked to give both an oral and a poster presentation at the summer school; he was eventually awarded joint first prize.

Commenting on his success, Andreas said:

"I'm grateful for this award. It came as a complete surprise given the extremely high level of science presented by all the candidates. I was just happy to be part of this and really enjoyed the talks, posters and the science. I have no doubt that these amazing young scientists with their impressive achievements will form the next generation of innovators in the field of Immunology. Winning first prize just made this wonderful experience even better.

"This research, and consequently this prize, would not have been possible without the continuous support I receive from my family and of course my supervisors, mentors, collaborators and colleagues with all their help, insight and guidance. This award really belongs to a group of people that are with me on this DPhil journey."

Andreas, who is also a clinician, studies immunology, metabolism and cancer biology conducting experiments to identify discrepancies in the metabolic demands and adaptations between cancer and the host immune system in order to improve cancer immunotherapy and therapies for autoimmunity for patients. His work has already led to national and international grant awards and presentations.

The Advanced Immunology Summer School is organised by the European Network of Immunological Institutes, whose aim is to promote the quality of education and research in the field of Immunology, through scientific exchanges between laboratories and researchers belonging to the European countries. The event, a combination of lectures from the guest faculty followed up with smaller tutorial sessions, was held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia; it was supported by European Federation of Immunological Societies and the European Journal of Immunology.