VUB Doctoral Derby: Research scientists pick up prizes in pitch contest

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) stages an annual Doctoral Derby to help boost PhD science students’ future careers by honing their communications skills.

In the eighth edition of the pitch contest in June, three prizes were awarded to researchers. Paulien Leemans won the jury award for the best presentation, Vincent Vangrunderbeek received the most audience votes and Lynn De Mey picked up the jury prize for best written research summary (read her winning entry below).

After two training sessions, one preselection round and several feedback sessions, six doctoral researchers stepped into the university’s packed Pilar Box to explain their scientific work to a non-expert audience in a maximum of 180 seconds.

Pauline Bardet, a natural public speaker who recently won the VIB Scientists on Stage competition, opened with a presentation entitled Tuning in to a clearer picture of lung cancer. Next up was Lotte Vermeire, who struck a chord with her talk on the importance of data literacy for young people. Karen Danielyan, who is only six months into his PhD, brought laughter to the entire room with his audience repartee.  

The winners

After counting the 100+ votes, Vincent Vangrunderbeek won the audience award for best presentation. His enthusiasm about outsmarting rust with artificial intelligence, complete with striking images, examples and comparisons, animated the audience for the full three minutes.  

In response to his prize, Vangrunderbeek said: “Transforming years of research into a compelling three-minute pitch even your grandmother can understand was one of the most challenging yet rewarding experiences in my PhD journey.”

What if beauty could start with bacteria and waste? This was the central question in Paulien Leemans’ presentation. She was the only one of the six to present without slides; choosing to moisturise her skin on stage to grab the audience’s attention. Leemans recounted a witty story about “waxy molecules called very long chain fatty acids” with ease.

She had difficulty finding the right words on discovering she had won the jury award for best presentation, but after a night’s sleep, said: “I normally talk quite a lot, but when they called my name, I couldn’t believe it.” Leemans appreciated the competition training. “During the workshop, I learnt the value of killing your darlings. I completely changed my pitch, and it turned out to be a success!”

Lynn De Mey convinced the jury with her written research summary, using the vivid metaphor of sand throughout her text on illuminating cancer cells. “Winning this award gives me extra motivation to further develop my ability to communicate science clearly and engagingly to a wide audience,” she said.

Here is her winning text. 

Through the sand: illuminating the cells behind cancer

Picture yourself standing on a beach. The sand looks like one smooth surface. You bend down and cup some sand in your hands. When you look closer at the sand falling through your fingers, you see it’s made up of countless tiny grains, each different in shape. That is how I look at cancer in my research, not as a single label like “breast cancer”, but as a unique mix of cells in every patient. One key type of cells I focus on is the macrophage—an immune cell often described as the cleaners of our immune system. Normally, macrophages protect us. But in cancer, they can switch sides and start supporting the disease.  

Until now, it’s been hard to see where these cells are located. Biopsies only show a tiny piece. That’s why I use a new imaging technique. Our tracer travels through the body, binds to these macrophages, and lights them up—like spotting clusters of shells in the sand.  

By tracking them over time, we can better understand the disease, and even develop treatments to retrain these cells.  

So next time you walk barefoot across a beach, think of the microscopic landscapes inside us. 

What’s next for the three laureates? The two winners of the presentation category will record a video for SciComm Clips, while Lynn De Mey will follow an additional popular science writing training, resulting in a blog article on EOS or BioVox.

Photo: ©VUB/Sophie Lenoir