The North of England Young Scientist Competition was held at Manchester Metropolitan University on 17 April 2018. Four postgraduate presentations were given, three by students from Manchester Metropolitan University and one from the University of Leeds.
The first presentation by Abdul Fadel covered the use of rice waste-derived arabinoxylans to modulate inflammation. Yu Lan Ng (Anika) gave a presentation on incorporating a plant sterol into a fruit yoghurt to provide an LDL cholesterol-lowering effect. Lorna Scott's subject was an appraisal of restaurants' understanding of food allergies, while Feng Xu gave a presentation on the development of a multilayer salivary pellicle for use as a dry mouth treatment.
While all presentations were extremely well given, it was clear to the judges that Abdul Fadel and Feng Xu's presentations were neck and neck. Once the scores were counted, Abdul Fadel emerged as the overall winner of the £250 prize, IFST membership and a year's membership of the SCI. The remaining participants received £25 and IFST membership. Feng Xu won the judges' £15 prize for the best presentation.