Student Daisy Cookson in Fellows of the Future Final
Current veterinary student, Daisy Cookson, delivered an outstanding presentation at RCVS Fellowship Day.
Daisy Cookson presented her research project at the RCVS Fellowship Day on Monday, 27 November. As well as welcoming and celebrating the achievements of the new Fellows awarded their Fellowships in 2023, three undergraduate students were selected to present their research in the Fellows of the Future competition. The RCVS received 38 submissions for the competition this year and it was a great credit to Daisy to be selected to present at this prestigious event.
We asked Daisy about the experience: “It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to present some of the research from my MRes at the RCVS Fellowship Day. It was extremely daunting presenting my research in front of a room of Fellows and members of the RCVS, but it was also very rewarding. It was a great opportunity to hear about the fantastic research conducted by the two other students, and it was brilliant to network with Fellows and members of the RCVS. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity. It was especially nice to see some familiar faces receive their fellowships!”
Explaining more about her research, Daisy told us: “During my intercalated Masters, I investigated the role of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and miRNAs in cranial cruciate ligament disease (CCLD) in dogs. CCLD is extremely prevalent, but the exact mechanisms behind the disease is still unclear, and there aren’t any treatment options that target prevention. The role of EVs in other orthopaedic diseases, such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis has begun to be investigated, but there is very limited research in ligament disease. The hope is that with further studies, EVs may play a role in providing earlier diagnosis of CCLD and alternative therapeutic options.”
Daisy's supervisor Professor Eithne Comerford commented "It was great to see Daisy at the Fellows of the Future competition and she did so well to get to the final three. It is testament to her drive and passion for research. Daisy was an exceptional addition to our research group last year and we hope to progress her research in the future."
After graduation, Daisy is "hoping to spend a few years in mixed practice in or around Dundee. At some point in the future, I would love to do some more research and potentially a PhD, and it would be especially lovely if I was able to work with my wonderful supervisors again and continue some of the work I started in my Masters, though we will have to see!”
As well as undertaking her veterinary studies, Daisy is a co-founder of Placementt, which she explained more about: “Placementt is a work experience management system designed to support institutes, students and businesses in finding, managing and advertising work experience placements. I came up with the idea during third year after having difficulties keeping on top of all the EMS requirements and figuring out what I’d done and what I’d still got to do! The platform is centralised around a database of work experience opportunities across the UK. It provides tools to businesses to manage students and advertise placements, providing a more detailed description of their opportunities, affords institutes total control over the work experience pipeline, supported with customisable analytics and comprehensive communication tools, and allows independent students to find optimal placements, and manage their progress.
“We have now launched our student app, which is available to download, and we hope that this can make a huge difference in helping students manage EMS. We are also currently collaborating with Affinity Futures to collate a database of safe EMS placements, using a ‘Green Flag’ system for different communities, e.g. LGBTQ+, BAME, neurodiverse etc. Both Placementt and Affinity Futures are passionate about making the veterinary sector as inclusive and safe as possible, and we are really excited to see the difference our platforms can make. We are currently collecting contact details of any clinical or preclinical placements who would be interested in listing their placements on our site and being part of our ‘Green Flag’ system.”
If any alumni would like to register their interest in Placementt, please contact Daisy Cookson at daisy@placementt.co.uk