Chris Bell, a Dundee-based biomedical scientist has won the 2020 Bernie Benson Prize for his science writing in his essay which highlighted the emerging use of the plasma viscosity test in Covid-19 patients.

The Bernie Benson competition sought to promote the understanding and exploration of blood viscosity testing – an affordable and reliable test that is currently receiving a lot of interest due to its potential to identify Covid-19 patients who are at risk of fatal blood clots.

The competition was run by Bernie’s company, medical equipment manufacturer Benson Viscometers. This year it invited entrants to provide an essay or presentation discussing the uses of blood plasma viscosity testing for diagnosis, monitoring and screening.

Bernie Benson travelled to Dundee to present Chris with his prize – a Acer Chromebook 15.6” touchscreen laptop with 64gig SSD.

Bernie said: “It was an excellent bit of writing”. Chris highlighted the advantage of the plasma viscosity (PV) test in relation to Covid-19 but also referenced the long-standing benefits of PV, which have been recognised for many years. He said “I am very proud of being selected as the winner of this competition. I am also pleased for our laboratory, given all the hard work we’ve been doing this year through the pandemic.”