A FORMER student of Sir James Smith’s Community School in Camelford has been awarded a ‘summer studentship’ to undertake non-animal medical research.

Bryony McCord, 19, who is studying Medical Sciences at the University of Exeter, was awarded the studentship by the Dr Hadwen Trust (DHT), a non-animal medical research charity.

The DHT scheme enables undergraduate students to extend their studies over the summer by gaining practical laboratory experience.

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a form of breast cancer, accounting for 20% of all breast cancers. A common way of studying this form of breast cancer is to implant DCIS cells into mice. However, the DHT says this is not ideal, owing to the differences between DCIS in humans and mice.

Bryony’s project, under the supervision of Professor Valerie Speirs at the University of Leeds, will further develop a 3D model that uses human cells, which give a more accurate representation of the cell interactions occurring within the human body.

Bryony was educated at Sir James Smith’s Community School before going on to Truro College.

She said: “I strongly believe that animal research is an outdated practice that often hinders the progress of medical research. I have been interested in the Dr Hadwen Trust for a number of years and have always marvelled at the massive array of non-animal models that are available to combat human disease.”

Dr Kay Miller, group head of operations at the Dr Hadwen Trust, said: “We are delighted for Bryony and the other eleven students we are funding this summer. The work these students will be doing will increase their understanding of devastating diseases while using alternatives to animal-based research.

“The use of animals for medical research purposes is currently considered the norm and has been taking place for centuries.

Over the last five years the Dr Hadwen Trust has funded almost £3.7-million of animal replacement research projects across the UK at student, PhD and post-doctoral level.

“Our funding focus this year is to embed the importance of animal replacement technology into the minds of scientists at the beginning of their research careers. Our ability to fund this innovative type of research is only made possible by the charitable donations we receive from our supporters, many of whom come from Cornwall. We are very grateful for that support.”

For further information about the Dr Hadwen Trust visit www.drhadwentrust.org