18th December 2007

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Dr Maria Barnes

The sunny days of summer are long behind us and, according to University of Ulster researcher Maria Barnes, we all need to top up our vitamins during the winter.

The 26-year-old from north Belfast is today receiving her PhD in Biomedical Sciences at the Coleraine campus and says that people are losing Vitamin D benefits from the sun with shorter daylight hours.

Having graduated from the University in 2003 with a BSc Honours in Biomedical Sciences, Maria carried on her studies with a PhD researching Vitamin D status among people in Northern Ireland and its implications for health.

“My research has shown that around half the population in Northern Ireland have insufficient levels of Vitamin D in their blood – something which is particularly apparent during the winter months,” Dr Barnes said.

“Vitamin D is primarily made in the skin through the action of sunlight and with shorter days in the winter, vitamin D levels will decrease and therefore people should consider taking supplementation to keep these levels up.

“An insufficiency of Vitamin D has potential implications for diseases such as osteoporosis, some cancers - breast, prostate and colon - multiple sclerosis and diabetes mellitus among others.”

In 2003, Maria was among the first graduates to receive the Diploma in Professional Practice in Pathology having successfully achieved the Health Professions Council registration in Haematology and Hospital Blood Transfusion -– which is required for work in hospital laboratories.

Having wielded some significant results throughout her doctorate, Dr Barnes has had her research published in influential medical journals, most notably ‘European Journal of Clinical Nutrition’ and ‘Multiple Sclerosis’.

Not content with spending seven years studying at the Coleraine campus, Dr Barnes currently works as a Research Assistant at the University’s Centre for Molecular Biosciences.
Taking her PhD research a step further, the graduate is working in collaboration with University College Cork, on research funded by the Food Standards Agency, investigating the dietary requirements for vitamin D in young and elderly adults.

On receiving her award, Maria said: “It’s a great honour to receive the PhD from the University. It makes all the hard work throughout the doctorate and undergraduate all worthwhile and I would like to take the opportunity to thank my family who have been there and supported me throughout my time at University.”

For further information, please contact:

David Young
Telephone: 028 90366074
Email: David Young