2025 Winner
By Yujun Wang of the Computing Science department, depicting her PhD exploring how language expresses time and temporal relationships, learning how LLMs to understand when events happen and how they relate.
Carve Your PhD
2026 Finalists!
View the finalists below and then vote on your favourite at:
Voting will close at midnight (GMT) on the 2nd of November
- Kayleigh Christopher
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Department: Medicine, Medical Sciences, and Nutrition
Thesis title: Acceptability and Implementation of Automated Software in Diabetic Eye Screening Programmes: Implications for Trust and Screening Uptake
Summary:
My research is into how expanding use of digital technology if influencing the uptake of diabetic eye screening. Diabetic eye disease or diabetic retinopathy was, until recently, the leading cause of blindness in the UK, and still is in many other parts of the world. Diabetic retinopathy is asymptomatic until very late stages. Without prevention or treatment can lead to vision loss and blindness. In around 2008, the UK started diabetic eye screening clinics, where people with diabetes can have regular imaging of their retinas to access for diabetic changes, allowing early identification and treatment, preventing vision loss. Diabetic eye screening is an area of healthcare that is currently being heavily influenced by emerging digital technology, including SMS reminder, online booking and (specifically in Scotland) automated software to access images for diabetic changes. But do these new technologies have a negative impact on the attitudes of those receiving the screening? That's what I hope to find out!
My carving is on a fundus image of the retina, a gourd replica of what would be seen by diabetic eye screening staff (or automated software) when accessing the images for diabetic changes.
- Zara Evans
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She/her
Department: Archaeology
Thesis title: Analysing past biodiversity in North-eastern Scotland using DNA metabarcoding and metagenomics
Pumpkin explanation: I am doing a multiproxy study that combines pollen analysis with ancient DNA to understand changes in biodiversity over time in prehistoric Scotland. My pumpkin depicts an alder pollen with a DNA helix in the center, reflecting one of my study sites that found an alder woodland with thousands of years of continuity. Interestingly, this same site found no evidence of alder DNA, perhaps because it was trapped within the sturdy walls of the pollen, as it is shown on my pumpkin. Through DNA method optimizations, I am attempting to release that hidden DNA so that it is represented in my analysis as it is in my carving.
- Caitlin Jacobson
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Department: Archaeology
PhD title: Arctic Aqua Culture from Nunalleq, Alaska
Summary: My carving represents my PhD in archaeology because I'm using the Nunalleq site in the state of Alaska as my case study. I'm researching Yup'ik sea and waterscapes and I used the ulu knife to represent that. The ulu is traditionally 'a woman's ' knife and without that tool, the maritime traditions of the Arctic wouldn't exist or have developed. The Yup'ik culture would be a land based culture and not a maritime culture without the ulu.
- Charlotte Taylor
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She/her
Department: Zoology
PhD title: QUARTILES DLA: Harnessing biogeochemical tags and environmental genomics to infer habitat use and age-related movement of an endangered shark: from evolutionary insights to conservation management
Summary: My pumpkin is titled “The Shark Awakens” inspired by Jaws.
My PhD project focuses on studying shark genetics to learn about their populations, diversity and resilience as well as using their vertebral micro chemistry to trace their movements through different life stages. I have just started my PhD and much like the shark emerging from the deep I am excited to bring my research from obscurity to the surface to be seen by all. ? ?
- Shu Ting (Tina) Wu
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She/her
Department: School of Medicine, Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Rowett InstituteThesis Title: Liver–Brain Communication and the Regulation of Protein Appetite
Summary: Inspired by FGF21, a hormone released by the liver that signals nutritional status to the brain through the bloodstream, my pumpkin represents the link between metabolism and eating behaviour. The stacked brain and liver are connected by a glowing pathway symbolising this hormonal communication. When protein intake is insufficient, FGF21 helps the brain adapt food preferences. My PhD explores how body–brain communication influences appetite and food choice. Our food choices matter, so let’s eat a balanced, varied diet with enough protein to stay healthy!
Spooky Halloween, everyone!
Your Open Research team would like to invite all PGR students to take a little break from your research and have some holiday fun, while also improving your research communication skills. We’re challenging you to create the best, spookiest representation of your thesis in pumpkin form. Inspired by the annual Dance your PhD contest from Science magazine, we want you to think outside the box, and inside the gourd. Carved or painted pumpkins are welcome, and while we will happily accept neepie lanterns, the University does not accept any liability for any hand injuries that may occur when trying to carve a turnip. See rules for entering below, deadline for entries is midnight on 29 October!
Winners will receive glory, bragging rights, and £25 in book tokens! All participants will receive a cool sticker
Rules and Inspiration
- The Rules!
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The Contest
To enter the contest, email openresearch@abdn.ac.uk by midnight 29 October:
- Photo(s) of your completed pumpkin(s)
- A short (under 100 words) explanation of how your carving relates to your thesis along with the title of the thesis
- Your name, pronouns, school or department, and on campus address (lab or office if you have one)
We will close submissions at the end of the day on 29 October, by the end of the day on the 30th of October we will have chosen the top entries and opened them for voting. The best PhD pumpkins will be posted online and in the lobby of Sir Duncan Rice Library. Be sure to promote your pumpkin across your own social media, for the glory of your own lab or team! Voting will close at 9:00GMT on 2 November and a winner will be announced by end of day.
The Rules
- Entries must be submitted by the end of the day on 29 October 2025
- By submitting you agree to apply a Creative Commons- Attribution license to your photo and text, allowing it to be re-used as long as you are properly credited, for more info see
- You must be a ºÚÁÏÍø student to enter
- While you are sending in an image, the contest is for pumpkin carving, so there should be an actual pumpkin. Digital images will be rejected (you can use a digitally added background if you don’t want to have to clean your flat or something).
- Any entries containing materials that are offensive or vulgar, or contain third-party copyrighted material will be rejected.
- 2025 Winners!
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Winner
Yujun Wang (she/her)
Department: Computing ScienceSummary: My research explores how language expresses time and temporal relationships, learning how LLMs to understand when events happen and how they relate. I carved a python on my pumpkin to represent the language that powers much of my work — Python — and to capture the spirit of weaving through timelines in text. The sudden fall of my pumpkin also unintentionally reflected the unpredictable nature of time itself!
Runner-up
Christopher N. West (He/Him)
Department: Practical Theology in the School of Divinity, History, Philosophy & Art History
Thesis title: Inordinate Rites: Symbolic Actions in Irish Anglican Ordinations and the God-Talk of the Infrequent Worshipper
Summary: My research challenges the idea of liturgy as pristine or self-evident, focusing on those who rarely attend church but join ordination services to support loved ones. It examines how symbolic actions gain meaning, especially the custom of many priests laying hands on candidates – depicted through overlapping handprints and rubrics on my decorated turnip. This raises questions: what makes the laying on of hands meaningful, and does involving many reveal uncertainty in symbols? I present liturgy as fragile and unstable, shown by cracks and tape on the turnip – yet such fractures can reveal insight, symbolised by gold and silver lacquer.
- 2024 Winners!
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Winner!
Name: Kiki Bordean (She/Her)
Thesis title: Reconstruction of the spatial ecology of pleistocene Ursidae
School of Geosciences, Department of Archaeology
Description: My pumpkin depicts a brown bear which makes a good Jack O' Lantern because whilst bears are cute from afar, up this close to one is pretty scary. The focus of my PhD is reconstructing the ecology of Ursidae species in the Pleistocene. I will be comparing cave bears, brown bears and maybe even polar bears. My job is to find out what they ate, where they roamed and if any of these changed with space or time. This is a negative carving meaning I carved out the highlights as opposed to the shadows like in regular sculpture.
Runner-up
Name: Lucy Koster (She/Her)
School of Geosciences, Department of Archaeology
Thesis Title: Fragments of a soul: integrating (and interrogating) a DNA and multi-isotope data to reconstruct the individual.
Description: My thesis is about using multiple scientific methods such as DNA and isotope studies to investigate the lives of individuals, including mobility and familial relatedness from early medieval Scotland. To do this, I have taken samples from skeletons and analysed many different types of data. My pumpkin shows a skeleton gleefully with a drill and beaker to show the scientific aspect of my PhD, but also the joy of telling the of each of these people from the past, with them at the centre of everything!
- 2023 Winners
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Winner!
My PhD is all about using inertial sensors for tracking joint angles of the human arm. Human movement data can be really useful for assessing patients with any kind of disordered movement (e.g., stroke, spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, Parkinsons). Inertial sensors are a simple bit of tech which can be easily attached to the body segments you want to track, but their accuracy can be unreliable and dependant on the attachment method. The aim of my project is to improve the accuracy and reliability of inertial sensors by incorporating the constraints of a musculoskeletal model.
Runner-Up
Georgia Cash (she/her): Runner-up!
School of Biological Sciences
Thesis title: The evolution of sociality in subsocial animals
My dissertation will look at the evolution of social living in subsocial animals, using Blaptica dubia cockroaches as a model species. I will work with a laboratory population of dubia roaches, as well as studying these roaches in the wild in their native South America, to investigate the factors which promote the evolution of sociality and group living in subsocial animals. I carved a dubia roach on my pumpkin to represent my project, and also share my love for my study species!
- Inspiration and Guidance
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Here are some links were you can find other great pumpkins, or other ways to express your PhD
- Dance Your PhD Contest Winners:
- Elphinstone Institute’s annual Neepie Lantern contest: /elphinstone/public-engagement/neepie-lantern/
- Entries in to the Carve your PhD Contest at Liverpool John Moores University
- Art History Pumpkins:
- Something a bit easier:
- Jack o’ Lantern basics:
- Open Source silhouettes for all sorts of animals:
Open Research Pumpkins to Inspire You!
2025 Runner-up
By Christopher N. West of the Divinity department, depicting his thesis 'Inordinate Rites: Symbolic Actions in Irish Anglican Ordinations and the God-Talk of the Infrequent Worshipper'
2024 Winner
By Kiki Bordean of the Archaeology Department, this represents her dissertation titled 'Reconstruction of the spatial ecology of pleistocene Ursidae'
2024 Runner-Up
By: Lucy Koster of the Archaeology Department, depicting her dissertation titled 'Fragments of a soul: integrating (and interrogating) a DNA and multi-isotope data to reconstruct the individual'
2023 Winner
by Mhairi McInnes of the School of Engineering, depicting her dissertation titled "Inertial Sensors for Clinical Movement Analysis of the Upper Limb: Improving Accuracy and Accessibility"
2023 Runner-up
by Georgia Cash from the School of Biological Sciences, depicting her dissertation titled 'The evolution of sociality in subsocial animals'
The James Webb Space Pumpkin
Pumpkin carving depicting the James Webb Space Telescope by Kelly Lepo, via NASA¡¯s James Webb Space Telescope on Flickr, CC-BY licence
Angler Fish Pumpkin
A creative carving depicting the deep sea Angler Fish by A Friend of the Folklore Society, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lunar Lander Pumpkin
From a pumpkin carving contest at NASA's JPL comes this pumpkin depicting a lunar lander. Image by NASA/JPL-Caltech via Flickr, licensed with a CC BY-NC-ND license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/
All content on this page, unless otherwise indicated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license and should be attributed to the ºÚÁÏÍø Open Research team. If you decide to run this contest, we would love to hear about it. Let us know by emailing openresearch@abdn.ac.uk or tagging us on Bluesky @openresearchuoa.bsky.social