CLINICAL researcher Dr Catherine Kendall has combined her insider's knowledge of exciting science and what captivates children to help choose the shortlist for a prestigious book prize.
The mother-of-two, a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellow at Cranfield University who is based in the Biophotonics Research Group at the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, joined a panel of five judges, including Newsround presenter Sonali Gudka and Sky Brainiac's Jon Tickle, to help choose the shortlist for this year's Royal Society Junior Prize for Science Books.
Catherine, who lives near Stroud, read through several new publications covering everything from essential tips for surviving in the Arctic to answers to those inquisitive questions that puzzle children, such as are people with bigger heads more clever?' before helping to whittle down the entries to six.
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The shortlist has now been announced and it will be up to 100 junior judging panels, made up of children aged up to 14, to decide on the winners. The winning book will be announced at the awards ceremony on June 16.
"This competition celebrates the best science books published for the first time in English during 2007," said Catherine, who has led summer camps for 10 to 13-year-olds in her spare time.
"The task of picking the winner is now handed over to the people who should know best - young people."
" It was fantastic to discover so many new books explaining science in attractive and novel ways."
Catherine's research involves the early diagnosis of disease using novel diagnostic tools. Her work is funded by the Royal Society.
She uses optical techniques, primarily Raman spectroscopy, to aid the diagnosis and improve understanding of cancer in the gastrointestinal tract.
She is also involved in developing near patient diagnosis using volatile analysis; for example, sniffing pneumonia in ventilated patients on ITU.
Catherine studied physics in Bristol and Bordeaux before going on to train as a medical physicist in Gloucester. Since completing her PhD she has pursued a research career within the trust.
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