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Arthur K. Champlin Gold Medal Award 2023
The Professor Art Champlin Gold Medal Award for academic excellence in Biochemistry, was presented to Fergal Cremin by Professor John O'Halloran, President, UCC, and Professor Justin McCarthy, Head of School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, UCC on the 14th November 2023.
Fergal achieved exceptional academic results and he was also the recipient of the Eli Lilly Award for academic excellence in Biochemistry in 2021 and 2022. The staff of the School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology would like to wish Fergal every success in his medical degree and future career.
Fergal's Path to the Gold Medal
I have always been very interested in science growing up. Physics was the only science subject I picked for my Leaving Cert, and I enjoyed it but as I thought more about career options that would be interesting and fulfilling, but also financially viable, the Life Sciences stood out to me. In sixth year, I became very interested in doing medicine but without Chemistry and any study done for the medicine entry exam I decided to apply for Biological and Chemical Sciences in UCC as there would be numerous career options and it would be a good foundation for graduate entry medicine if I still wanted to do it after graduating from my degree.
I started Biological and Chemical Sciences in September 2019 and found it challenging to study Biology and Chemistry for the first time since the Junior Cert but it was also varied and interesting. I met lots of likeminded people and made many friends. I enjoyed the Biology modules more so than Chemistry due to their more direct relation to health and disease. Unfortunately, the first year of my degree was cut short by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The rest of this college year was carried out online. For second year I chose to advance with Biology. This academic year was unfortunately entirely remote learning, so we missed out on the social aspect of college. Despite this, I still enjoyed the biology modules we studied, in particular the Biochemistry modules. I enjoyed getting to know the complexities of how cells function and how small changes to cell function can have such a detrimental impact in causing disease.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the second-year modules, I picked Biochemistry as my first choice to specialise in for the third and fourth years of my degree. Third year was hybrid learning with some online and some in person lectures, so it was nice to see people in person again. I enjoyed the modules in third year which gave a more in-depth understanding of Cell Biology. Highlights for me were those focusing on immunology, the central nervous system and molecular biology. I also enjoyed applying the lecture content in the numerous labs throughout the year.
A highlight of my degree was carrying out an eight-week summer research internship in Professor Justin McCarthy’s lab during the summer leading into final year. The UCC Biochemistry department generously provided me with a bursary to carry out this research. I worked with PhD candidate James Harte to investigate the effect of mutations in the COVID-19 spike protein of the delta and omicron variants on their infectivity. I learned techniques like PCR, agarose gel electrophoresis, cell transfection and research thesis writing which I found very valuable whilst undertaking my Final Year Project. I also enjoyed getting to know everyone in the biochemistry labs and the eight weeks gave me a good insight into what a research career might entail.
Fourth year was a busy one but a year I relished. All learning was on campus, so I got to know my classmates better. I found the modules very challenging but interesting, particularly those on Cancer Biology, Neurodegenerative disease, and Metabolism. Another highlight of my degree was my Final Year Project. I worked with my supervisor Professor Tommie McCarthy on the project “Generation of a Vector for Insertion of a Luciferase Reporter into the Rat KDM1a Locus”. The aim of this project was to use CRISPR-Cas9 and homology directed repair to create a reporter cell line for the KDM1a gene. KDM1a is lysine demethylase with important roles in epigenetic regulation. It is proposed to play a role in the development of major depressive disorder in response to chronic early life stress. Thus, creating a reporter cell line would allow for research into its potential involvement of KDM1a in depression development. I used techniques like PCR, golden gate cloning and Gibson assembly in this project. Not everything worked as planned but I gained valuable skills in troubleshooting and thinking critically. Besides the practical work I enjoyed the literature review element and learning in depth about KDM1A and the latest theories regarding the biochemical basis of depression.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed my four years in college. Studying Biochemistry gave me a very rounded knowledge of Cell Biology and opened the door to many different career paths. Currently, I am in the first year of a graduate entry Medicine Degree in UCC and enjoying it so far. Biochemistry has given me a great foundation for numerous aspects of medicine so I can focus study on other areas. The degree made me realise that research is a passion of mine and is something I’d like to return to later in my career. I am very grateful to my peers and the academic staff for making my degree so enjoyable and hope to keep in touch with everyone going forward in my career.