The poster exhibition was once again a highlight of this year's RSS Conference, showcasing innovative research from across the statistical community. With so many high-quality entries on display, members of the judging panel had the difficult task of selecting the stand-out posters for this year's awards.
Taking third place, and receiving £100 of CRC Press book vouchers, was Malak Aldosari for A Statistical Framework for Modelling Cardiovascular Multimorbidity Progression After a First CVD Event in UK Biobank.
In this poster the statement of the problem and what the research is trying to achieve is clear and upfront, in two easy to read opening paragraphs. So from the get-go we know what the research is about. Clarity of presentation is a consistent theme with this poster, and any reader cannot fail to miss the headline finding.
The second-place prize of £200 of CRC Press book vouchers was awarded to Joseph Grealy for Decision-Making Under Uncertainty in NHS Estates Investment.
This was another poster that impressed the judges with its clear statement of the problem it was trying to solve as well as the overall readability of the poster. What made this poster particularly fascinating was the novelty of the approach. Instead of just presenting an analysis of how the UK NHS currently spends its money on buildings and estates, this work seeks to optimize that spend using statistical modelling.
The overall winner of the RSS Conference 2026 Poster Competition was Ruth Parsons for Shape-constrained mixed effects dose-response modelling for early non-clinical assays when parametric methods are unreliable. Sponsored by the UK Data Service, the first prize included £300 of Amazon vouchers.
As with the other two posters, this poster had a clear and easy to read statement of the problem. But what made this poster stand out above the others was the clear passion with which the importance of the issue was communicated. That passion was also unmissable when the presenter, Ruth Parsons, spoke about the work. Anyone reading the poster and listening to the presenter would be convinced that this was an important problem that needed to be solved and solved now. Clear, simple messaging communicated with enthusiasm won top spot.
Congratulations to all our winners, and thank you to everyone who presented a poster and helped make this year's exhibition such a vibrant showcase of statistical research and innovation.