Biomedical sciences student Amber Orr will graduate this week and has also gained top prize in a prestigious national award.
Amber, from Lurgan in Northern Ireland, will graduate with BSc Biomedical Sciences (Physiology) first-class honours and has also picked up a top prize in the prestigious 2022 Dr Falk-Pharma/Guts UK Charity national awards.
She won the Medical Student Prize for her research project, which investigated a potential therapy for Bile Acid Disorders.
The project, entitled ‘Bile Acid Metabolism as a Therapeutic Target for Metabolic Disorders was carried out at the Rowett Institute at the University of Aberdeen whilst Ms Orr was intercalating for her BSc.
Amber was presented with her award and £1,500 prize at the annual meeting of the British Gastroenterology Society (BSG) on Tuesday June 21st. The ceremony took place during a special dinner at the Raddison Blu Hotel in Birmingham, with the awards presented by the Chair of the BSG and attended by other illustrious names in gastroenterology medicine along with the CEO of Guts Charity UK.
The Dr Falk Pharma/Guts UK Charity Awards are dedicated to encouraging research and promoting patient care in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. Since 2007 they have rewarded over 120 dedicated young health care professionals, including medical students, junior doctors, nurses and dietitians.
Amber explains, ‘‘Bile acids are instrumental in the process of lipid digestion and may provide an interesting target for modulating metabolic disorders. Bile acids undergo a series of biotransformations initiated by Bile Salt Hydrolase (BSH) which is an enzyme produced by bacterial components of the gut microbiome. Inhibition of this protein may elicit changes in the bile acid pool and this altered signalling has been linked to reduced rates of obesity in mouse models. Therefore, identifying compounds that can safely achieve these effects may produce novel anti-obesogenic agents.
"I am passionate about gut health and I chose this thesis topic due to my keen interest in the gut microbiome and its fascinating interactions throughout the body. This project challenged me to learn new laboratory skills and explore how the gut microbiome is closely involved in our bile acid metabolism.
"Receiving this award has encouraged me to continue going outside my comfort zone and hopefully work more in researching gut health and metabolic disease in the future."
Amber’s Project Supervisor Dr Andreas Kolb, Senior Research Fellow at the Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen comments: "From the start Amber demonstrated an excellent combination of inquisitiveness and maturity in her approach to science. She was very skilful in documenting and analysing the datasets and she presented the results very well, both in her oral thesis presentation and her thesis write-up."