We are delighted to have just concluded our sixth BISS (Botnar Institute Student Symposium) event, held on the 10 July 2026 at the Richard Doll Building! BISS is a student-driven symposium, where our Botnar students get together to present and share their research projects with peers and academics from the department, guided by Associate Professor Ghada Alsaleh.
The students led the day
The event was opened by NDORMS Head of Department, Professor Jonathan Rees, who welcomed the students and staff, and thanked the committee for their hard work organising the event. Jonathan shared a special mention for Associate Professor Afsie Sabokbar, who will be retiring from her post at the end of September, as the new Michaelmas 2026 new starters join. Thank you, Afsie, for being a cornerstone of NDORMS for over thirty-two years!
The third- and fourth-year DPhil students got the event off to a fantastic start in their session, moderated by Gianluca Fabiano. Each person had a ten-minute slot to present their projects and take questions from the audience. We heard about research across the spectrum of the institute, including clinical trials, biomaterials, and fundamental biology. After this first session the first-year students took to the floor, moderated by Kate Hollett. The students delivered some quick-fire presentations of their research so far, on topics from immunology to gun-shot trauma. The morning ended with a short talk from our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement team, and their incredible efforts to bring patient voices and experiences to the heart of research.
The symposium included a networking lunch and poster session, NDORMS students and staff discussed the morning events and poster presentations alongside a sandwich buffet lunch. Attendees could also try their hand at creating pompom bacteria or moving tiny objects inside a dummy knee through mock keyhole surgery at the activity tables orchestrated by our Comms team. The activities include a touch of whimsy with NDORMS photo booth complete with wacky props.
The afternoon began with the second-year students giving short talks of their research with audience questions, moderated by Xintong Li, completing a fantastic display of oral presentations by our students over the day. The students presented research findings on topics such as infections, AI, and paediatric medicine.
For the final, keynote session of the day, the BISS committee were delighted to have a talk delivered by Dame Professor Fiona Powrie, Director of the Kennedy Institute. Fiona shared her scientific journey, from school to her current role, with insights into how best to evaluate early career decisions from her own experiences.
Dame Professor Fiona Powrie
Celebrating our students
The symposium closed with a prize giving ceremony hosted by Ghada and Afsie, to celebrate the outstanding presentations given over the course of the day. The quality of the talks was exceptionally high, and all students gave fantastic presentations. The BISS 2026 award winners were:
Third year oral presentations
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First place: Eileen Morrow
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Second place: Matthew Luney
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Third place: Maria Kyriazi
Third year poster presentations
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First place: Chinemerem Ikwuanusi
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Second place: Ali Hosin
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Third place: Sanjana Choudhury
Second year oral presentations
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Joint-first place: Kate Hollett and Elliot Johnson-Hall
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Third place: Kim Borsky
First year oral presentations
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First place: Wonderful Khumalo
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Second place: Christian Cotchobos
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Third place: Jamie Hind
 Eileen Morrow and Afsie Sabokbar |
 Maria Kyriazi and Afsie Sabokbar |
 Ali Hosin and Afsie Sabokbar |
 Sanjana Choudhury and Afsie Sabokbar |
 Elliot Johnson-Hall, Kate Hollett and Afsie Sabokbar |
 Kim Borsky and Afsie Sabokbar |
 Wonderful Khumalo and Afsie Sabokbar |
 Jamie Hind and Afsie Sabokbar |
The BISS committee would like to congratulate all the students for their hard work and engagement during the symposium, and thank our wonderful sponsors, BMKGENE and Cambridge Bioscience, for their support of the event. Thank you to all the attendees for helping BISS 2026 continue the tradition of shouting about fantastic Botnar science, the personalised mug, and for making the symposium another brilliant celebration of NDORMS research culture.
We look forward to seeing many of you next year.
Botnar students