The essay, titled Beethoven’s dream, was published in Nature in November 2019 won Nature’s Young Scientist Essay Competition, which was run as part of Nature’s 150^th anniversary celebrations. The competition tasked readers to explain in a maximum of a thousand words what scientific advancement they would most like to see in their lifetime and why it mattered to them.

Speaking of her brother’s struggle she noted ‘He was always the outgoing troublemaker, but became quiet and withdrawn. Because hearing loss isn’t visible, I didn’t know what he was going through”

I was excited about this opportunity as I am passionate about identifying ways of improving the quality of life of people with hearing loss. I didn't expect to win the competition at all, but am truly grateful that I did, and I hope to continue raising awareness on the psycho-social impacts hearing loss can have on a person's life

Yasmin’s deeply personal essay was judged by a panel including Dr Magdalena Skipper, Editor in Chief of Nature, as well as other well respected researchers. Of the essays in this competition Dr Skipper said: “These essays gave us a true window into the aspirations of our future researchers.  We were bowled over by the immense ambition and profound optimism of the entries for scientific advancement…”

On behalf of everyone at the University of Nottingham, we would like to congratulate Yasmin on her prize win and wish her the best of luck in her continuing PhD studies.