Karen Jordan (a graduand for RCSI BSc in Pharmacy conferring this week) has been named as the overall winner of the 2012 Undergraduate Awards - Medical Sciences Category. The Undergraduate Awards are an international academic awards programme to identify top students across the globe through their innovative undergraduate research.

Karen received top spot in the Medical Sciences category for her essay entitled, 'An Investigation of the Cytotoxicity of a Novel Thermoresponsive Gel for use in Injectable Intratumoral Cancer Therapy' (supervisors Drs Gary Duffy and Helena Kelly). Karen was joined by Lewis Hou of University of Edinburgh who was named as the international programme winner in the Medical Sciences category. Additionally, William Whyte and Amy Whelan (also graduands for RCSI BSc in Pharmacy conferring this week) were highly commended in the Undergraduate Awards 2012 Medical Sciences category.

Panels of international academics assessed the 2,890 coursework entries that were received from students attending third level institutions across Ireland, the USA, UK and Canada, and selected two winners - an Irish winner and international winner - per academic category. There were 20 categories ranging from Medical Sciences to law to Archaeology. From the Irish winner and the international winner, an overall winner in the category is chosen and Karen was selected as the overall winner in the Medical Sciences category.

Professor Hannah McGee, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences RCSI, said: "I would like to congratulate Karen on her fantastic achievement on winning this much coveted Undergraduate Award. These awards recognise critical thinking and innovation within coursework and it is a great testament to the School of Pharmacy that three of its students were shortlisted for these awards."

Patron of the Undergraduate Awards, President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins presented the winners with their medals at the Undergraduate Awards Ceremony at Royal Hospital Kilmainham on 9 November.

For further information on the UA Summit and the results of the 2012 Undergraduate Awards, please see www.undergraduateawards.com.