Thank you to everyone who entered the SRF's 2012 Undergraduate Essay Competition. Entries are now being reviewed and authors will be advised of the decision by the end of April.

The SRF essay competition is open to any undergraduate studying in the UK or Ireland - you do not need to be a member of SRF. Applications from medical students and those in their clinical years are welcomed. The essay must be about an aspect of reproductive biology and will be assessed on scientific content, style and topicality. The maximum word length will be 2000 words.

The deadline for entries is the 28th February 2012. Applicants will be informed of the decision by the end of April.

The winner of the competition will receive a prize of £500 and be invited to attend the SRF annual conference, with the costs of their registration, accommodation and travel covered. The second prize will be £250 and the third prize £100. All three winning entries will be published on the SRF website. Click here for further details

Essays must be no more than 2000 words, including references
Essay must be submitted in MSWord or PDF format to SRF@portland-services.com
A maximum of 2 figures can be included
Citations and references must be in the style used by Reproduction

Please include with your Essay submission

The institution that you are studying at
Your year and course of Study
Name, address and email of Tutor
Postal and email addresses for correspondence

To download a Powerpoint Slide of the essay poster prize for inclusion within lectures please click here.

Conditions of Entry

1. The Essay must not exceed 2000 words including references.

2. The entrant must be studying in the UK or Ireland on an Undergraduate Degree course. The society reserves the right to verify undergraduate credentials.

3. The work must be original and will be subject to a plagiarism analysis. If it contains material such as a previously published illustration or table, the material must be clearly identified and acknowledged within the text.

4. By submitting and essay, the author assigns copyright to the Society of Reproduction and Fertility to reproduce, broadcast or distribute the essay in printed, electronic or any other medium and, in turn to authorise others to do the same. The Society will also have the right to edit the essays as deemed appropriate for publishing. The rights concerning essays which are not amongst the prize winners will revert to their authors.

5. The deadline for applications will be the 28th February each year.

6. The Society reserves the right to withhold the prize if the standard of the essays submitted is not considered to be of sufficient merit.

7. The decision of the Society’s Council and Officers will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

2011 Winners

1st Claire Durrans, (University of Oxford) - Professor Robert Edwards and Assisted Reproductive Technology: Life from a Test Tube

2nd Johanna Syrjanen, (University of Cambridge) - Alice in Synaptonemal Complex-Land: The Biochemical Basis of Infertility

3rd Lauren Hamstead, (Royal Veterinary College) - Role of Placenta in Foetal Programming

2010 Winners

1st Andrew Lawson - The Production of Artificial Gametes: Scientific, Clinical and Ethical Implications

2nd David Thomson - Disorders of Sex Development- The Treatment Revolution

3rd Maya Eirian James - Does it really all start with a Kiss? Activating the neuroendocrine reproductive axis

2009 Winners

1st Charlotte Bresslaw- Kids after Chemotherapy?

2nd Graham Bell- Beyond Jonny and the Snip: Investigating the male contraceptive pill

3rd Sophie Kay- Are Whole Ovarian Transplants The Future Of Reproductive Technology?

2008 Winners (Inaugural Competition)

1st Hannah Dhonye (King's College, London) - The Greatest Race on Earth

2nd Joanne Girdler (University of Southampton) - The short-and long-term consequences of embryonic growth and development during the preimplantation period

3rd Emma Grieg (Kings College, London) - Mum ... is Great Grandma responsible for my low sperm count?

By submitting and essay, the author assigns copyright to the society of Reproduction and Fertility to reproduce, broadcast or distribute the essay in printed, electronic or any other medium and, in turn to authorise others to do the same. The Society will also have the right to edit the essays as deemed appropriate for publishing. The rights concerning essays which are not amongst the prize winners, will revert to their authors.