A former Suffolk One College student has won a prestigious award for her research into inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Aala Mohammed Ali won the Medical Student prize and £1,500 at the Dr Falk-Pharma/Guts UK charity national awards for her research into potential links between sleep, circadian disruption and inflammatory bowel disease.
The 25-year-old who is currently studying at the University of Leeds Medical School, will receive her prize money in June next year.
Aala, who used to live in Ipswich, said she wasn’t initially interested in gastroenterology but soon found a passion for the field.
She said: “I was interested in chronic diseases and anything that stays with the patient or doesn’t have a current treatment per se.
"At first, I wasn’t that interested in gastroenterology but through the research it became more interesting."
In the future Aala hopes to continue to work within gastroenterology or move into elderly care, with a longer-term goal of working within general practice.
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