18
December
2015
|
12:27
Europe/London
Red Cross and helping homeless earns student of the year prize
- Ben Abbott has regularly given up his time to help feed homeless people in Manchester
- He has also volunteered for The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Ben Abbott
A University of Manchester master’s student graduating today, 18 December, will receive a prize for not only his outstanding medical science studies but also his volunteering activity in the community.
Ben Abbott has regularly given up his time to help feed homeless people in Manchester and was the chairman of the University’s Red Cross Society for two years while an undergraduate – organising fundraising, and HIV awareness and first aid training sessions.
He has also volunteered for The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
Aged 22 and from Shaw in Oldham, Ben is now embarking on a PhD in cancer sciences at The University of Manchester. He said: “Studying in a lab environment, I wouldn’t normally get to see patients or the work of a hospital so I felt it was important to volunteer in a way that would give me that insight.
“
I learned an incredible amount during my MRes and I’m really happy that I took the course; it helped me to make sure that a PhD was the correct step to take next. It’s a privilege to be awarded the Distinguished Achievement medal, especially given the calibre of the other students in my year. Being recognised in this way is a good start to my research career.
Ben Abbott
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“I think it’s important that students engage with their communities while they’re studying and give back to the towns in which they’re living.”
Ben is graduating with his Master’s Degree in Translational Medicine - understanding the molecular basis of disease and drugs to enable more biological and scientific data to be fast-tracked into advanced therapies.
However he is already two months into his PhD which will be carried out at the University’s Institute of Cancer Sciences.
He added: “I learned an incredible amount during my MRes and I’m really happy that I took the course; it helped me to make sure that a PhD was the correct step to take next. It’s a privilege to be awarded the Distinguished Achievement medal, especially given the calibre of the other students in my year. Being recognised in this way is a good start to my research career.”