Posted on behalf of/written by Brenda Kisia Odhiambo (PhD student, Hoffmann Research Lab).
On 18 December 2025, Medrus Mawr at Aberystwyth University’s Penglais Campus buzzed with ideas as the annual Department of Life Sciences Research Festival brought researchers together to celebrate innovation, collaboration, and discovery.
The festival showcased the remarkable breadth of research across the University—from laboratory and fieldwork to social sciences and professional practice—highlighting how research at Aberystwyth tackles some of today’s most urgent biological, environmental, and societal challenges.
Open to researchers at every career stage, the event featured contributions from established academics, early career researchers, postgraduate and undergraduate students, and the service staff. This inclusive approach fostered lively discussion and underlined the University’s commitment to nurturing research excellence across its community.
With presentations spanning parasitology, immunology, plant sciences, genomics, dolphin research, bovine tuberculosis and artificial intelligence in the biosciences, the festival’s multidisciplinary programme encouraged conversation beyond traditional academic boundaries—sparking fresh perspectives and new connections.
Spotlight on the Barrett Centre of Helminthology
Among the many research groups represented, the Barrett Centre for Helminth Control (BCHC) made a particularly strong contribution, showcasing their work on parasitic infections and their impact on animal, environmental, and human health.
Dr Rhys Jones delivered a compelling presentation entitled “Towards sustainable liver fluke control: farmer perceptions, on-farm reality, and future direction”. His talk highlighted the importance of integrating farmer experiences with scientific evidence to develop practical, sustainable parasite control strategies that work in real-world agricultural settings.
Professor Russ Morphew followed with a presentation titled “Helminth Omics: Peptides or Proteins?”, demonstrating how cutting-edge molecular approaches are advancing our understanding of parasites and opening new avenues for improved control measures.
The Centre was also represented by Corey Steele, a PhD researcher whose work focuses on rumen fluke. Corey’s presentation offered valuable insight into this emerging parasite, outlining current research challenges and their implications for livestock health and management. As an early career researcher, Corey’s contribution reflected the supportive, collaborative, and research-driven environment fostered within the BCHC. She also won an award for the best presentation.
Posters and Emerging Research at the Barrett Centre of Helminthology
In addition to oral presentations, the Research Festival featured a strong poster presence from across the BCHC. Posters presented by postdoctoral fellows and students—including Kris Lees, Brenda Kisia Odhiambo, Michella Teco Ruiz, Angela Rumney, Natasha Jessop, Finlea Boot, and Jacob Burgess—highlighted the diversity and scale of ongoing research within the Centre.
Rather than highlighting each poster individually, the display presented a joined-up picture of the BCHC’s research, spanning parasite biology and life-cycle maintenance to applied challenges in livestock and human health, disease control, vaccination, and environmental transmission. This approach reflected the strength of the Centre as a cohesive research community, while also giving early career researchers valuable opportunities to discuss their work, receive feedback, and build confidence in communicating complex ideas to a broad audience.
The informal poster discussions were a particular highlight of the day, fostering meaningful conversations between students, postdoctoral researchers, and senior scientists, and reinforcing the BCHC’s inclusive and supportive research culture. Angela Rumney won the prize for the best Poster.
'From Roost to Risk: Populations, Pathogens, Perceptions' poster presented by Angela Rumney.
Research Impact and Training the Next Generation
Presentations and posters at the Research Festival highlighted the BCHC’s impact across both fundamental and applied research. The strong presence of researchers at all career stages also reflected the Centre’s commitment to training, mentorship, and developing the next generation of researchers and parasitologist at Aberystwyth University.
Acknowledgements
The DLS Research Festival 2025 was made possible through the dedication and support of many individuals and organisations. We are grateful to BGI, the main sponsor of the event, for their generous support. We also extend our sincere thanks to the organisers—Dr David Wilcoxon, Dr Jo Forde Thomas, and Dr Chelsea Davies – for delivering a well-structured and engaging festival.
Finally, we thank all presenters and attendees whose enthusiasm, curiosity, and participation made the day such a success and showcased the vibrant research culture at Aberystwyth University.
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