TWO York scientists are heading to Parliament to present their research to MPs after being shortlisted in a national competition.

Jenny Tomlinson and Ian Adams, molecular biologists at the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) in Sand Hutton, are attending Parliament on Monday to give a presentation to politicians and expert judges, as part of SET for Britain.

Ian’s research on the discovery of viruses in plants, and Jenny’s work on detection methods for ash dieback, will be judged against dozens of other scientists’ research in the only national competition of its kind.

Jenny said: “SET for Britain will be a great opportunity to communicate the science that we’re doing at Fera in the area of plant health and to meet researchers working in other sectors.”

MP Andrew Miller, chair of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee, said: “This annual competition is an important date in the parliamentary calendar because it gives MPs an opportunity to speak to a wide range of the country’s best young researchers.

“These early career engineers, mathematicians and scientists are the architects of our future and SET for Britain is politicians’ best opportunity to meet them and understand their work.”

Their research has been entered into the Biological and Biomedical Sciences session of the competition, which will end in a gold, silver and bronze prize-giving ceremony.

Judged by leading academics, the gold medallist receives £3,000, while silver and bronze receive £2,000 and £1,000 respectively.

The Parliamentary and Scientific Committee run the event in collaboration with numerous organisations, including the Council for the Mathematical Sciences, the Institute of Physics, The Physiological Society, and the Royal Academy of Engineering.