DPMCN postgraduate student wins prestigious award for contributing to the Cardiff University student experience

A postgraduate student in the Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience (DPMCN), has been recognised for her work as the Black and Minority Ethnic Officer of the Student's Union (SU) this year and for her previous successful effort to make the SU officially pro-choice.

Isadora Sinha was nominated for the SU President's Award, a newly created student equivalent to the prestigious Vice-Chancellor's Award, and is part of the Enriching Student Life Awards (ESLAs).

The ESLAs are annual awards created to recognise staff and students who contribute to the Cardiff University experience.

As the SU Black and Minority Ethnic Officer, Isadora designed new training modules on race and equality which are being implemented across the SU.

Isadora has also launched a monthly SU race and equality awareness blog which discusses topics such as the government's race report; delivered talks on sensitive race-based issues; started the CUSU BME Association; and collaborated with EatWell, an SU healthy eating campaign, to include culturally diverse dishes.

Among many more initiatives, Isadora is now working on making the SU a member of Race Alliance Wales.

In 2019, she also led a motion to make the SU officially take a pro-choice stance on abortion and is the Founder and current President of the SU's Pro-Choice Society. The union is now mandated to run pro-choice campaigns and support an equal, safe and inclusive environment for students.

Isadora is also on the Executive Committee for a national campaign, Abortion Rights UK and is on the Advisory Panel for the new charity that destigmatises reproductive healthcare, Abortion Talk.

"I feel so surprised and happy about this award. In lockdowns and away from my peers, it has been hard to see if my efforts as BME Officer were having any impact. So, to see that students and sabbatical officers did notice and were moved by my work and wanted to recognise my efforts officially has meant so much to me," said Isadora.

Originally born in Hong Kong, Isadora moved to the UK when she was six. She went on to complete her bachelor's degree in genetics at Cardiff University, followed by her masters in Bioinformatics.

She is now in the first year of her PhD at DPMCN, investigating how Grb10, an imprinted gene, influences brain growth.

The pandemic has had a significant impact on her work, but she is looking forward to starting in the laboratory as soon as she is able and is currently practising the technique for the next step in her research.

Isadora concluded, "Starting my PhD in a pandemic and juggling it with the various roles I hold has been a challenge, but a very rewarding one which I am glad to have taken up."

Read Isadora's blogs on Race Equality and Awareness.