Newcastle University

On Saturday 17 November the Centre for Life, Newcastle was proud to host the regional final of Famelab UK, the world's leading science communication competition which seeks to find the best new adult voices in science, technology and engineering.

John Kirby, Professor of Immunobiology at Newcastle University, was chosen as the regional winner and will compete in the UK final which is due to be held 23 April 2013 at the Bloomsbury Theatre in London.

Professor Kirby impressed the judges (Rose Wu , Science Festival and Engagement Coordinator, Newcastle University; Timandra Harkness science and engineering writer and stand up comedienne and Ian Simmons, Life’s Director of Communications) with his ability to explain why the body rejects organ transplants and what medical science is doing to solve the problem. He explained the science behind organ and hip transplants with wit and humour, walking on stage wearing an ostentatious earring to illustrate nickel allergy and a periodic table t-shirt to show the relatedness of compounds commonly rejected by the human body.

FameLab's unique formula is completely geared towards clear communication. Professionals from academia and industry have just three minutes to present to a panel of judges any STEM topic of their choice. With no PowerPoint presentations, but just the use of props they can carry – contestants are judged on the three ‘c's of FameLab: content, clarity and charisma. 

Judge Ian Simmons says “I found my task as a Famelab judge very challenging – the Newcastle heat had several very promising science communicators taking very different approaches and  talking about very different areas of science, making it difficult to settle on just one winner, but even with such competition John Kirby was clearly outstanding, I wish him the best in the national final”

Since launching in the UK as the brainchild of Cheltenham Science Festival in 2005, Famelab has gone global, and competitions are now held in more than 20 countries worldwide.

There is still time to register and take part in one of the remaining FameLab UK heats. Full details can be found at http://www.famelab.org/uk/famelab-uk-2013