Category: News

Widening access to medicine: Giving more young people skills to become doctors

Students interested in studying Medicine came to Southampton from across the country for a course designed to prepare them for applying to university.

Widening Access to Medicine is intended for Year 12 students who plan to apply through a widening participation programme or contextual admissions route. It equips them with valuable knowledge and skills to support their application. The event took place in April at the University of Southampton’s (UoS) Highfield Campus. It also included virtual work experience with staff at University Hospital Southampton (UHS).

Kate Bartlett, Developing Talent Lead at LifeLab, delivered the programme. LifeLab is a joint initiative between UoS, UHS and the NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre. It aims to empower children and young people, through science, to make positive lifestyle choices.

Supporting applicants and enhancing equity

Ensuring that all young people have the appropriate opportunities and support to apply for medical school will enrich our learning environment and the profession. Currently, one third of schools do not produce any medical school applicants, and outreach activities from medical schools can support those communities who are currently underrepresented in medical school admissions.

The University of Southampton offers both contextual admissions and a specific widening participation medical degree aimed at specific under-represented groups. There are also scholarships, grants and bursaries which can provide additional financial support for these students throughout their degree.

Widening Access to Medicine is a three-day hybrid course. This includes one in-person day at Highfield Campus, online workshops, and one day of live virtual work experience with UHS staff.

Overall, 28 students visited Highfield Campus for the event. To be eligible to attend, they needed to be studying A Level Biology and one additional science, and to meet certain criteria aligned with those of the University of Southampton’s widening participation medical degree.

These included living in a disadvantaged area, being a young carer, being looked after by a Local Authority, or being part of a travelling family. They might have received free school meals in secondary school, they or their parents or guardian could be receiving benefits, or they may be the first generation in their family to apply to Higher Education.

In this way, the Widening Access to Medicine course provides young people who may not have had access to the same opportunities or support as others with valuable information, skills and experience to support their application for Medicine.

“We had a brilliant bunch of students work with us for those three days”.

– Kate Bartlett

“They were so passionate and engaging, and it was wonderful to see the new cohort of medical school applicants. Our medical student ambassadors worked so hard, inspiring the next generation. It’s a great project to be a part of!”

– Kate Bartlett

An enjoyable and valuable experience

Students who attended had the chance to practice their clinical skills, do mini-interviews, and talk to medical students and staff. They explored medical specialities, discussed medical ethics, and saw live clinics as part of their virtual work experience.

Dr Anoir Lagzouli gave a keynote speech, while Dr Shmma Quraishe spoke about the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) and admissions process.

“While a strong academic foundation is essential, medicine is not just about academic prowess. It is also about the personal qualities that enable future doctors to thrive in a demanding profession.”

– Dr Quraishe

“Our admissions process looks beyond grades. It aims to identify applicants who interact and communicate well with others, are self-motivated, resilient and have reflected on and learnt from life experiences. We look for them to demonstrate growth, maturity, and a genuine commitment to patient care.”

– Dr Quraishe

As part of the University’s new initiative ‘Study Local, Stay Local’, it offers some interview places on the BM6 programme for local applicants, whose address is in Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. They also have places for graduates from the University of Southampton who apply to the BM4 programme. Applicants must meet both the non-academic and academic criteria for these programmes to be eligible.

The students who took part have said they found the experience useful, and that they plan to use the knowledge and skills they have gained in their university applications.

“Valuable experience, and will definitely be drawing upon these learning experiences in my interviews and personal statement. The course was well-rounded, and I loved it. Thank you very much.”

– Ava Bridger

“I really enjoyed coming to Southampton and exploring the medicine course at the university. I was able to meet other participants and student ambassadors, as well as some staff members. I was able to see how welcoming and friendly the university and the town itself is.”

– Maryam Al Marjan

“I would just like to reiterate how grateful I am for everyone who helped with this event, as it really helped me. It was extremely useful, and had all the information needed for somebody who is interested in studying medicine at university.”

– Aylin Ghanavatzadeh

21 March 2026
LifeLab Youth Panel collaborates with researchers for first time

Young people in our Youth Panel have been working with researchers in the University of Southampton’s Faculty of Medicine, as part of an exciting new collaboration.

What is the Youth Panel?

Since 2022, young people have been employed on LifeLab Youth Panels as equal partners on projects shaped and inspired by them. The Youth Panel was established to provide a space for young people to discuss the health-related things that concern them. It allows them to actively create and implement solutions that could improve their own health and that of their peers.

First Youth Panel collaboration

The project, Impact Case Studies Go Wild!, gave the young people the opportunity to take complex medical research and transform it into accessible formats for the public. It was led by Professor Lucy Green, Head of Engagement for the Faculty of Medicine, and Kate Bittlestone, Research and Enterprise Manager. Over the course of three sessions, they explored how medical research translates into real-world impact. This included insights from Dr Charles Opoku, Yaryna Basystyuk, Dr Michael Head and Prof Lucy Green. The young people then heard from researchers, questioned the research, and created original pieces inspired by their favourite theme.

Professor Kath Woods-Townsend, LifeLab Director, highlighted the significance of this collaboration:

“This was the first time a project external to LifeLab engaged with the Youth Panel, showcasing the unique opportunity for researchers across the Faculty of Medicine to work with young people and embed their perspectives into their work.”

Chelsea’s film and Seth and Gayathri’s poetry – using AI in cancer treatment

Dr Navamayooran Thavanesan’s research focuses on improving outcomes for patients with oesophagogastric cancer—a type of cancer affecting the food pipe and stomach. While surgery remains the primary treatment, many patients also require chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which can have significant side effects. Dr Thavanesan’s team is developing a machine-learning tool to assist teams working on upper gastrointestinal surgery, with the aim of improving patient outcomes.

Inspired by this project, Chelsea created a video, featuring an interview with Dr Thavanesan. This explored how AI could streamline diagnosis and treatment, potentially replacing invasive procedures like CT scans with simple blood tests.

“I believe this research has the potential to change lives.”

Seth and Gayathri expressed their thoughts through poetry. Gayathri’s poem, ‘The Make-Up of AI’, reflects on how technology can transform healthcare and save lives. Seth’s poem focused on the long-term benefits of AI in medicine. Dr. Thavanesan was particularly struck by how the students captured both the promise and concerns surrounding AI in healthcare.

“Anything that can improve healthcare and save lives should be prioritised.”

– Seth

“The young people recognised the anxiety patients might feel about AI, yet their work carried a strong undercurrent of optimism.”

– Dr Thavanesan

Gayathri and Seth’s poems were showcased at Poetic Science Live in March. Poetic Science is a key part of the Science and Engineering Festival, blending science with the arts to create innovative approaches to public engagement.

Imogen’s poster and Uyathandwa’s interview – RSV vaccine trials for infants

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a leading cause of respiratory infections in young children. Dr Alasdair Munro is leading a trial of a vaccine designed to protect infants from RSV.

Inspired by his work, Imogen created a poster promoting the trial and encouraging parents to participate. She highlighted key findings, including the vaccine’s 81% effectiveness in preventing illness.

“Understanding RSV is the first step to driving change and improving care.”

Uyathandwa was also drawn to the project’s potential to raise awareness. She conducted an interview with Dr Munro, spotlighting the key findings of his study

Reflecting on the experience, Dr Alasdair Munro said:

“I enjoyed the sessions, and the challenge of explaining my research in a way that young people could understand. It has helped me think about how to communicate clinical trial information more clearly in patient and participant facing materials.”

Jayden’s presentation – Acne Care online

Acne affects over 90% of teenagers and many adults. Professor Miriam Santer’s Acne Care Online initiative seeks to help young people find effective treatments, reduce antibiotic overuse, and address the mental health impact of acne. Her team is also exploring spironolactone as an alternative treatment for adult female acne. Interested in this topic, Jayden created a presentation to educate teenagers about acne.

“IIt’s important for people to know the best options because acne affects so many.”

– Jayden

Ashmin’s video – climate change and health

Dr Michael Head’s research explores the relationship between climate change and health. It highlights its role in worsening health inequalities and its impact on vulnerable populations. In response, Ashmin created a video highlighting the health consequences of climate change. She interviewed peers to capture their perspectives and emphasised the urgency of action. Dr Head valued the insights the students provided. By translating medical research into creative and accessible formats, these young people have helped bridge the gap between science and the public.

“It’s useful to understand young people’s perspectives and where they’re coming from.”

– Dr Michael Head

“This initiative shows how young people can be powerful ambassadors for science, making research more relatable and engaging.”

– Professor Lucy Green

20 March 2026
SOTSEF 2025: Science festival fun with families

We are proud to have been part of this year’s Southampton Science and Engineering Festival.

What is SOTSEF?

Southampton Science and Engineering Festival (SOTSEF) is the University of Southampton’s annual award-winning science festival. It takes place every year in March, during British Science Week, with a free family-friendly event on the Saturday. This allows everyone to explore and discover the worlds of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics.

This year, the event had over a hundred hands-on activities, workshops, talks, exhibits shows and laboratory tours.

All about bones

This year, our stand was all about bones, and what people can do to keep their bones healthy.

We had a range of fun, hands on, engaging and interactive activities for all ages. Visitors could make X-Ray hands, create and label a skeleton. They could also find out interesting facts about bones. It was a chance to discover the answers to questions such as ‘Why do we need bones?’, ‘How many bones does the adult human skeleton contain?’ or ‘Which are the longest, smallest, strongest bones in your body?’.

It was a fantastic day. We hope you could make it, but if not, come along next year!

19 March 2026
Impact Report 2024

We are delighted to share our 2024 impact report.

It’s been another fantastic year for LifeLab. We’ve reached more than 16,000 secondary school students with our hands-on, curriculum-linked science programmes, and saw the roll-out of our Early LifeLab programme into more than 20 primary schools, reaching more than 4,000 pupils. Not only that, but we increased our global partnerships to deliver similar interventions under the LifeLab banner in Australia, Ireland and South Africa. We saw the young people taking part in our Youth Panel and Young Research Training programmers go from strength to strength and we trained 36 researchers and scientists in engagement programmes.

And as 2025 is already well underway, those achievements have already been surpassed meaning we are bringing our programme to even more young people across the south!

2024 also marked the 10-year anniversary of our bespoke LifeLab facility at University Hospital Southampton, an important milestone, on which the report reflects on.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us over this past year and before that. We hope you enjoy reading about the amazing impact LifeLab has had and continues to have on young people, their families, teachers and our community partners.

18 March 2026
Summer term 24/25 newsletter

Take a look at our summer term newsletter to find out what we’ve been getting up to, and discover the opportunities and events we’ve got coming up this term.

17 March 2026
My time at LifeLab – 15 years ago!

As a year 9 student at Redbridge Community School in 2009, Gemma Clarke was one of the very first to attend a LifeLab session. Fifteen years later, a chance meeting with LifeLab manager Professor Kath Woods-Townsend caused her to reflect on the programme’s influence on her life.

Experiencing our pop-up labs

More than 16,000 young people from Southampton and surrounding areas have now experienced LifeLab. Before our bespoke facility in the heart of University Hospital Southampton (UHS) was opened in 2014 by HRH the Countess of Edinburgh, the programme was held in ‘pop-up’ labs.

These were either at the University of Southampton’s Highfield Campus (the Maths and Science Learning Centre), in the NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility at UHS, or in the Institute of Developmental Sciences labs and at the Princess Anne Hospital.

Gemma attended a pilot session, to establish whether the concept would be beneficial to young people and feasible in a laboratory setting. Alongside a group of her classmates, Gemma took part in various experiments looking at the body, including grip strength and DNA sequencing.

Inspiring a health-related career

Gemma now works at Health Innovation Wessex, a regional organisation established by NHS England to spread innovation in health and care. One of the projects she is currently supporting is looking at ways to improve the health of younger people.

It was at a workshop event for Children and Young People’s Healthy Weight, where she met Kath and found out what had been happening at LifeLab. She says what she remembers of her LifeLab trip, and how it continues to play a role in her life now.

“I remember the students chosen to do LifeLab thought it was pretty cool to be able to go to the University/Hospital and take part in the programme. Only a small group of students were chosen to attend, so we thought being part of the select few was pretty special. ”

“We were excited to be part of something that the University ran and to be in a different place, on a university campus. It was very fun compared to our usual school lessons.”

“That’s what’s so good about the programme now – all young people get to attend. Everyone has the opportunity to benefit from what it is trying to achieve.”

Gemma has spent time working in the NHS. In her last role, she supported an NHS England initiative setting up and overseeing clinics for Children with Complications Related to Excess Weight.

Empowering students

“LifeLab has the power to help so many people. The students who attend the sessions and experience the curriculum are the first people to benefit. But more broadly, their family and friends will also benefit from the messages they take away from the experience. It empowers them to make real changes in their life.”

“When I was in school, I probably didn’t fully appreciate what I was taking in, but now I am a mother and have my own family, I use those lessons now and want my daughter to benefit too. I don’t want her to grow up and face the same challenges we did.”

“I’m so grateful LifeLab is still going. It’s fantastic to see how it’s expanded into primary schools and is connecting with older teenagers through the Young Researcher Training Programme. Long may it continue.”

16 March 2026
Work experience opportunities
Considering a career in medicine, or know someone else who is?

LifeLab, the Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton (UoS) and University Hospital Southampton (UHS) are committed to offering valuable work experience opportunities to young people both in-person and online. Take a look through some questions you may be thinking of below to find out more.

Why is work experience important?

Work experience allows you to gain insight into careers, develop skills, and discover what inspires you. Whatever area you’re considering this is a great chance to find out more about yourself and learn about your strengths, interests and abilities. Work experience allows you to:

test out career ideas you may be thinking about.

improve skills such as teamwork or communicating in a professional field.

show your commitment and enthusiasm for future personal statements and CVs.

Through work experience here, you can explore different paths and areas such as research, teaching and healthcare professions, gaining an insight into interdisciplinary working.

At the university and hospital, you’ll not only learn about the academic side of these fields, but also see how cutting-edge research translates into real-world healthcare and education for all ages.

You’ll have the opportunity to observe and interact with professionals who are making a difference in science, medicine and education every day.

What work experience opportunities are available?

There are four different route you can take:

LifeLab’s in-person work experience

open to young people who have done an activity with LifeLab (through school, the ‘Experience Medicine with LifeLab Summer School’, the Youth Panel or the Young Researcher Training Programme).

up to one week of in-person work experience arranged by LifeLab.

runs throughout the year.

experience a range of different career options, spending each day with a different professional at the hospital or university.

contact lifelab@soton.ac.uk to apply.

University of Southampton Faculty of Medicine’s in-person work experience

for those wanting in-person work experience, but have not been to LifeLab.

offered by the university’s Faculty of Medicine for anyone aged 14 and above.

runs throughout the year.

our flowchart will help you find out how to apply.

University Hospital Southampton virtual work experience

UHS run a virtual work experience programme in partnership with LifeLab.

open to Year 12 (lower sixth) students living in the UK, studying A-Level biology and are interested in studying medicine at university.

runs at specific times in the year: Aug, Oct half term, Feb half term, and during the Easter Holidays.

over two days students will experience work at the hospital, as it is happening, through Microsoft Teams. Sessions include live surgery, outpatient clinics, and talks from doctors and medical students.

register your interest and find out more.

Widening Access to Medicine Taster Course with virtual work experience

three-day course for Year 12 students intending to apply to study medicine at university through a widening access programme or contextual admissions route.

jointly run by the Faculty of Medicine and UHS.

includes two days of virtual work experience.

runs during the Easter holidays.

find out more and apply.

I’m worried I don’t have the skills to do work experience. Should I still apply?

Absolutely! Work experience is a challenge to yourself and an opportunity to learn. It will probably be out of your comfort zone, as you may have never been in a working environment before. Try setting yourself some goals to achieve before going in. Examples include:

communicating with others effectively

working with others confidently

learning how to solve problems by approaching them with a different perspective

Have other students enjoyed the experience?

Yes! Here are some insights into what other young people thought of it:

“Throughout the work experience, I was aware of the challenges facing doctors when working long hours and facing stressful situations. But speaking to the doctors and hearing them overcoming these obstacles really inspired me. I understand that a career in medicine will not be easy, but after my work experience, I am even more determined and motivated to pursue a career in this rewarding field.”

– Fizra, virtual work experience

“I gained an insight to the different roles and units within the University. I think it helped me understand the different roles that can contribute to new discoveries with the hospital, not just for medicine at UHS, but for different research projects around the world. I love how every day was a new placement for me, so I could grasp the importance of each role people play within the Faculty of Medicine, which shines a new light on the importance roles that people may not know about.”

“I think the most useful part was talking to different scientists about their journey to the UHS. It really helped me understand that there are several ways of entering different specialties, and the explanations about their practical work within lab research helped me understand the variables that are needed to take into consideration in order to perform an experiment. It shows how much perseverance and passion is required for lab research, because it’s not easy at all since there will be many failures and errors, but it made me realise that’s part of being a researcher, whether in the lab or the office. It made me appreciate even more the work of what goes on behind the scenes from the clinical roles within the hospital, and how much diversity there is within the different roles.”
15 March 2026
Spring term 25 newsletter

Take a look at our spring term newsletter to find out what we’ve been getting up to, and discover the opportunities and events we’ve got coming up this term.

23 February 2026
Southampton researchers and teenagers urge MPs to include young voices in future vaping policies

Researchers and young people from LifeLab at the University of Southampton have attended Westminster to urge MPs to consider young people’s views when making policies about vaping.

Vaping has risen sharply among young people, with a quarter of 11 to 15-year-olds using a vape last year. Young people are attracted to the fruity flavours, bright colours, and child-focused branding however, many young people are concerned about how easily they can access vapes and the marketing tactics used.

Speaking to MPs and parliamentary staff including Jonathan Davies, MP for Mid Derbyshire, Lizzie Collinge, MP for Morecambe and Lunesdal and local MPs Caroline Nokes and Darren Paffey at Evidence Week in Parliament, the Southampton team encouraged policymakers to make young people active partners in addressing the vaping crisis.

Professor Kath Woods-Townsend, LifeLab Manager was joined by Professor John Holloway, Associate VP of Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Southampton and Maddie Harris, 18, and Eva Morrill, 16.

Both Maddie and Eva took part in the LifeLab Youth Panel, which empowers young people to actively create and implement solutions that could improve their own health and that of their peers. Their panel focused on the role vaping plays in their lives. They worked with a Global Health Masters student to collect focus group data to develop resources to support schools and youth organisations to engage and educate young people about the dangers.

They presented their research, resources and recommendations to MPs during Evidence Week, a unique annual event bringing together the public, parliamentarians and researchers from across the UK to discuss how evidence from frontline research can inform policymaking in Parliament.

“LifeLab was developed to not only help improve the health of younger generations but give them a voice in the issues that affect them and their peers. Our work with young people and schools has revealed the growing concerns that young people, teachers and parents have about vaping. We have a responsibility to learn the lessons from history and act now to provide healthy environments which enable the next generation to grow up and live their best lives. However, we must listen and involve young people in understanding the problem and identifying effective solutions. We were proud to attend Evidence Week and speak to MPs about what our research has found, especially alongside both Maddie and Eva. It was important to appeal directly to them to involve young people in their work.”

– Kath Woods-Townsend

“It’s so important that people can hear about the imperative nature of acting now. We still have this shortening moment when we can act and make legislation that will help to protect the health of our generation and many to come. If we don’t do this now, then who knows how large the consequences may be. These events help; they set up research connections and increase MP’s literacy in the current research topics affecting the nation and it was important to involve young voices. Many in the room agreed and wanted to increase the engagement of the youth. I think this is the right way forward and will ensure that the policies that are made today, and will affect us in the future, have been shaped by us too.”

– Eva Morrill

22 February 2026
Young people urge collaboration on city’s future health policies

A group of young people have called on Hampshire and Isle of Wight health leaders to collaborate with them on policies for their age group.

The group of 15 made the call while taking part in the NxtGen Researcher Programme. The programme is jointly led by Professors Matt Ryan and Mary Barker at the University of Southampton. Professor Barker is part of LifeLab’s board of directors.

Presenting their recommendations

The young people said it was important to engage with them on the health and social care issues that affect them. They say this, along with listening to their lived experiences, will lead to positive changes in the community.

The 16-week YRTP took place in the summer term. It culminated in a citizen’s jury, where the young people interrogated members of the Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB).

The young people then presented 12 policy recommendations from the citizen’s jury at an assembly in November. Around 90 professionals attended from local organisations invested in children and young people. They included professionals from the ICB and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP).

The recommendations covered a range of issues affecting local young people. They included responding to vaping proactively and producing youth-led marketing of health programmes. The young people suggested expanding extra-curricular wellness activities. They also recommended encouraging the mixed teaching of Sexual and Reproductive Education.

“Young people want to and deserve to be involved in decisions that impact their health and futures. We believe that the people who sit in positions of power must prioritise consulting with young people if they want their decisions to have real change and make a positive impact.”

– Talitha McCleery, 17

“We must all work together – school boards, local government, local charities and national non-governmental organisations – to ensure no opportunity is left wasted.”

– Libby Tickner, 17

Presenting their recommendations

The YRTP aims to develop research and advocacy skills in young people. This equips them with tools to support their academic and employment journeys and beyond. This year’s programme focused on identifying and researching issues that mattered most to the participants and their peers.

One YRTP group developed a range of health and social care priorities for young people. To do this, they worked with community groups and health and social scientists and conducted research with their peers. They used research techniques such as focus groups, surveys and secondary data analysis.

They took part in a special three-day deliberative workshop in the summer. At this, they interrogated local health leaders. This helped them refine priorities and produce a set of policy recommendations to improve young people’s health. These were then presented at the assembly in November.

Professor Barker is Professor of Psychology and Behavioural Science. She is also Deputy Director of the Institute for Life Sciences.

“We know that involving the public in research and the direction of research makes a world of difference, but we don’t do this enough with younger age groups. We feel that since policies are made about young people, they should be allowed to have their say on the health priorities that are important to them. The quality of research undertaken by the YRTP was extremely high. They carried out qualitative and quantitative research, had robust debates and as a result were able to develop skills that will support them in their future.”

– Professor Mary Barker, Deputy Director of the Institute of Life Sciences

Giving young people a voice

The group’s recommendations were favourably received by the professionals. They recognised the importance of giving young people a voice.

“We would like to thank members of the Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB and ICP for their commitment to taking forward the young people’s recommendations and in so doing, positively impact our community.”

– Professor Mary Barker

“Young people respond to other young people like themselves in a way they never would to us or local officials. Therefore the data and ideas that they came up with were of a different quality. The people responsible for implementing policy on the ground really recognised this. Our project showed the importance of giving those that are not often listened to a voice but also allowing them the time, and skills to learn for themselves so that their voice is strong.”

– Professor Matt Ryan, Politics and International Relations

21 February 2026