Well done to Julieth Murillo Silva and Abigail McGlennon on their outstanding achievements at the Department of Veterinary Medicine's September Research Afternoon.
Research Associate, Julieth Murillo Silva earned the award for Best Blitz Talk with her presentation, ‘Airmail at the Interface: Exploring Extracellular Vesicles in Airway Host-Pathogen Communication’, competing against seven other speakers.
Julieth said "A small grant from the Department of Veterinary Medicine allowed me to train in 3D airway models, using nasal and bronchial epithelial cells grown at an air–liquid interface, with colleagues at the Heart and Lung Research Institute. Building on this work, I was then awarded an Early Research Development Scheme grant from the Department of Medicine to develop the model further by introducing pathogens and additional cell types, making it more physiologically relevant."
Equine Epidemiologist, Abigail McGlennon won the Poster Competition ahead of 14 other entries for her poster, ‘The 2026 UK equine influenza outbreak: what surveillance data tell us’. Abigail wasn't at the event to receive her prize, so it was gladly received by her EIDS team colleagues.
The afternoon was a resounding success, featuring an inspiring opening from James Phillips (Global Engagement Manager, Cambridge Engagement Office) and a fascinating keynote by Professor Cinzia Cantacessi titled ‘Antimicrobial peptides in helminth excreted-secreted products – a gold mine for anthelmintic discovery?’.
Thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated in the Blitz Talks and Poster Competition. We already look forward to the next Research Afternoon!