Ground-breaking research across the University has been celebrated at a presentation of Kent’s annual Research Prizes. Amongst the twelve prizes for exceptional achievements over the past year, SSPSSR’s Katinka van de Ven received the postgraduate research faculty award. Katinka was awarded in recognition of the impact of the findings throughout her PhD programme within and beyond academia, and of her publication record.
Katinka’s research explores the understudied phenomenon of performance and image enhancing drug (PIED) markets in the Netherlands and Belgium. Her work has contributed significantly to the debate, at a time when many academics and policy makers are struggling to find appropriate ways to deal with the plethora of new substances which are emerging on the scene.
Katinka was part of the first cohort of the Doctorate in Cultural and Global Criminology (DCGC), a demanding three-year interdisciplinary, collaborative programme funded by the European Union and recognized as delivering training of outstanding quality.
Recognition of the importance of her work, and her ability as a researcher, has been demonstrated by her invitation to take up a young visiting researcher scholarship at the Centre for Idraet at Aarhus University, Denmark, known internationally as a leading institution of doping research.
She is (co-)author of four peer-reviewed articles, four commentaries and two policy reports, including publication in the high impact factor International Journal of Drug Policy. Her contributions to the media outlet The Conversation, the International Network of Doping Research, and the Deviant Leisure Network are further examples of her research impact within and beyond academia.
In nominating her for the Prize, her supervisor Dr Catherine Chatwin stated that ‘it is the timely submission and excellent result [of her PhD], the significant impact that her work is already having within and beyond academia, and her outstanding emerging publications record, that I wish to celebrate in this nomination.
‘This range and influence would be impressive for an academic working at any level; as a final year Ph.D. student it deserves to be recognised as outstanding.’
Professor De Wilde said that the Prizes ‘act as a showcase for the extraordinary range of ground-breaking research that is being undertaken across the University. The applications this year highlighted the diversity of research and the impressive achievements by Kent academics and students.’