Winner Reports

What George Foden did with his prize money…

George Foden, the March 2023 winner of the Human Geography Zone, is a doctoral researcher in Malawi. He’s studying shelter and housing recovery after Cyclones Ana and Freddy, which displaced many.

He used his prize money to host a workshop during the Malawi Shelter Cluster Meeting, presenting his research and the sustainability framework QSAND. Over 40 participants, including local government and NGOs, engaged with his work, and some plan to adopt QSAND in their programs.

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Posted on October 9, 2023 by modemily in Winner Reports | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on What George Foden did with his prize money…

What Danica Pinto did with her prize money…

Danica was voted winner of the Molecule Zone in March 2020! Now a chemist at the University of St Andrews, Danica used her prize money to create a unique and innovative project aimed at school students:
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Posted on April 20, 2023 by modjosie in Winner Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What Danica Pinto did with her prize money…

What Mark Ridgill did with his prize money…

Mark was voted the winner of the Molecule Zone in March 2022. Here he writes about spending his £500 prize money on presenting a chemistry talk at a local school and working with the Royal Society of Chemistry in creating and distributing his new book on the wonders of chemistry!

Giving these talks lets me share my motivations and excitement to students about the rewarding work you can do as a scientist!

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Posted on January 30, 2023 by modchryssa in Winner Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What Mark Ridgill did with his prize money…

What Danny Ward did with his prize money…

Danny was voted the winner of the Epidemic Zone in November 2018. Here he writes about how the organisations he donated his £500 prize money to have benefited from it

If you’d like the chance to win funding for your own public engagement work, apply for the next I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here: imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply

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Posted on January 13, 2023 by modchryssa in Winner Reports | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on What Danny Ward did with his prize money…

What Darren Rhodes did with his prize money…

Darren was voted the winner of the Astatine Zone in November 2016. Here he writes about spending his £500 prize money on developing a YouTube channel broadcasting explanations of neuroscientific terms.

I’m a Scientist gave me the confidence to build on the idea of being a science communicator, and for this I am extremely grateful!

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Posted on January 10, 2023 by modchryssa in Winner Reports | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on What Darren Rhodes did with his prize money…

What Sophia Pells did with her prize money…

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Sophia was voted the winner of the Nuclear Zone in March 2019. She used her £500 prize money to teach students about the role of nuclear physics in medicine.

If you’d like the chance to win funding for your own public engagement work, apply for the next I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here: https://imascientist.org.uk/scientists

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Posted on July 23, 2021 by in Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Sophia Pells did with her prize money…

What Imogen Napper did with her prize money…

What Imogen Napper did with her prize money…

Imogen was voted the winner of the Erbium Zone in March 2015. Here she writes about donating her £500 prize money to the Marine Conservation Society.

The Marine Conservation Society  is extremely grateful to Sea Champion Imogen Napper for donating the £500 prize she won on I’m a Scientist Get me Out of Here. The donation was used to buy equipment, resources, and expenses. Continue reading

Posted on July 16, 2021 by admin in Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Imogen Napper did with her prize money…

What Ali Hill did with her prize money…

Photo:Ali was voted the winner of the Food Zone in June 2018. She writes about how she spent her £500 prize money to help teach people about nutrition.


I spent the prize money on creating a series of resources to help explain nutrition science, and get people talking about what’s in their food. I bought some knives that are safe for under 18s to use in the kitchen, and regularly use these for cooking classes.

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Posted on July 9, 2021 by in WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Ali Hill did with her prize money…

What Lyn Lim did with her prize money…

Lyn was voted the winner of the Disease Zone in March 2019. She writes about the process of using her £500 prize money to try to create a video game 


For as long as I can remember, I have been frustrated that learning science still largely involves memorising dry words and static pictures. My dearest wish, as a student, was for there to be a fun, interactive way for me to assign meaning to the jargon, and see how individual concepts related to one another. So I didn’t hesitate to propose writing a science education computer game when I participated in I’m a Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here!

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Posted on October 23, 2019 by modemily in WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Lyn Lim did with her prize money…

What Russell Arnott did with his prize money…

Russell was voted the winner of the Rutherfordium Zone in March 2019. Here he writes about how he used his £500 prize money to reach further afield and meet new people to talk to about his research.


Having won the I’m A Scientist prize money back in March, my original intention was to visit a number of local schools and give a fun, interactive presentation about my plankton research to different age groups (having done similar talks at Cheltenham Science Festival, it’s actually better than it sounds!).

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Posted on September 4, 2019 by modemily in STFCWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Russell Arnott did with his prize money…

What Réka Nagy did with her prize money…

Réka was voted the winner of the Radon Zone in November 2016. Here she writes about using her £500 prize money to develop a card game called ‘Niche: Master of Adaptation’.


I am a geneticist by day, and a gamer by night. I decided to combine these interests to develop a card game that is fun to play, nice to look at, and sneaks a tiny bit of science in as well. So, ‘Niche: Master of Adaptation’ was born. Continue reading

Posted on September 4, 2019 by modemily in News, WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Réka Nagy did with her prize money…

What Daniel Marsh did with his prize money…

Daniel was voted the winner of the Healthy Cities Zone in June 2018. Here he writes about how he used his £500 prize money to teach school students and members of the public about pollution.


Following my experience with I’m A Scientist I was keen to do something with the prize money that would directly engage with school children to raise awareness of air pollution and the risks of exposure with an experience in which they could truly visualise it. Continue reading

Posted on August 27, 2019 by modemily in WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Daniel Marsh did with his prize money…

What Oli Wilson did with his prize money…

Oli was voted the winner of the Neptunium Zone in November 2017. Here he writes about how he used his £500 prize money to create a set of 3D printed pollen grain models to allow people a close-up look at pollen without a microscope.


Before I started my PhD I was a science teacher. After school finished one day, I sat in my lab and thought about the research I knew I would be starting soon. If I were to come back to my school as a full-on scientist, could I make my work seem interesting to my old students? My science is all about uncovering the past and future of one of Brazil’s coolest forests, and a big part of it involves using fossil pollen as microscopic time machines. Pollen’s amazing stuff, it’s beautiful and unbelievably tough, but it’s hard to enjoy without decent microscopes – something that can be tricky to get in schools. Continue reading

Posted on August 14, 2019 by admin in WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Oli Wilson did with his prize money…

What Natasha Myhill did with her prize money…

Natasha was voted the winner of the Cells Zone in November 2017. Here she writes about how she used her £500 prize money to attend public engagement events and help train other researchers to get involved.

Competing in I’m a Scientist was my first experience of public engagement and it got me completely hooked! Since then, I have taken part in over 10 different activities, run training events and presentations about public engagement and lead a committee of public engagement representatives. My experience in the competition really helped to develop my communication skills, as well as the enthusiasm to talk to others about my work. Continue reading

Posted on August 14, 2019 by admin in News, WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Natasha Myhill did with her prize money…

What Kelly Rushton did with her prize money…

Kelly was voted the winner of the Fermium Zone in November 2018. Here she writes about how she used her £500 prize money to introduce GCSE students to the benefits of animals to mental health, as well as how to conduct qualitative psychology research.

The event was one I initially planned way back before taking part in I’m A Scientist, and was an interactive workshop/engagement session with 54 Year 10 pupils about the importance of animals for mental health and wellbeing. We had three rooms which pupils rotated around in which they met a group of therapy animals from a charity (rabbits, guinea pigs, a skinny pig and an amazing dog called Tyler) and heard about the work the charity does. Continue reading

Posted on August 7, 2019 by admin in WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Kelly Rushton did with her prize money…

What Isabel Webb did with her prize money…

Winning scientist - I'm a Scientist March 2014Isabel was voted the winner of the Plants Zone in March 2014. Here she writes about how she used her £500 prize money for two different projects to inspire students about plant science.


My money was split between two purposes. The first was to aid the travel of students from rural Norfolk (and East Anglia) to attend the Year 10 Science Camp at the John Innes Centre. This science camp gives GCSE students the chance to experience life as a scientist. Continue reading

Posted on August 7, 2019 by admin in News, WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Isabel Webb did with her prize money…

What Thomas Farrugia did with his prize money…

thomasfarrugiaThomas was voted the winner of the Polymers Zone in June 2015. Here he writes about how he used his £500 prize money to develop a calendar for schools featuring PhD students and the scientists whose discoveries their work is built on.


When you first sign up to I’m a Scientist you’re asked what you would do with the £500 if you win. I thought it would be pretty cool to produce a calendar explaining where the things we know today came from, who had made those key discoveries, and what their stories were – a bit of condensed history of science.  The calendars would then be distributed to schools in the UK for students to hang up in their classrooms and be inspired to stand on the shoulders of giants. Continue reading

Posted on August 7, 2019 by admin in News, RSCWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Thomas Farrugia did with his prize money…

What Suzi Gage did with her prize money…

Suzi Gage won the Brain Zone in June 2011, when she was a PhD student at the University of Bristol. Suzi wanted to put her prize money towards starting a podcast that explained the science of substance use. “Hopefully, it will help teenagers to understand the effects of recreational drugs, and tease out the truth about the risks from the confusing message sometimes presented in the media.”

“I think it would be good for kids to be able to find out about drugs from the scientists who are researching them,” said Suzi on her profile in 2011. “What do you think of this idea? I’d love to hear your ideas too, this is just to get the ball rolling!” Continue reading

Posted on July 31, 2019 by in WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Tagged , | Comments Off on What Suzi Gage did with her prize money…

What Sam Ellis did with his prize money…

Sam was voted the winner of the Sustaining Health Zone in March 2015. Here he writes about how the two organisations he decided to donate his £500 prize money to will benefit from it.


I was lucky enough to win the Sustaining Health Zone in March 2015. Fortunately, the research institute where I work already has an excellent range of outreach opportunities, which I continue to enjoy participating in (when I can find time to escape the lab!). Therefore, I decided to use the money to support a pair of organisations helping students in less fortunate areas of the world. Continue reading

Posted on July 31, 2019 by in WellcomeWinner, Winner Reports | Comments Off on What Sam Ellis did with his prize money…