By Sarah Rice
There’s no doubt about it: public engagement at Newcastle University has really been taking off. With the British Science Festival set to take place in 2013, science institutes university-wide are eager to jump on board. Students and professors alike are emerging from their laboratories and endeavouring to introduce their research to the public in an interesting and relatable manner. On Wednesday 5th December, one group of researchers at the Institute of Genetic Medicine, based at Newcastle’s Centre for Life, invited A-level students from eight schools across the region into their labs to find out exactly what a career as a scientist entails. I went along to see what the fuss about public engagement is all about.
The day kicked off with a series of short talks from both Professors and Clinicians based at the Institute of Genetic Medicine. The aim was to provide the students with an insight into their research, which laid the foundations for the seven interactive demonstrations they would participate in throughout the course of the day.
The eighty students moved around various workstations across the institute, manned by lab technicians, PhD students, and research assistants. In the “Patient Experience”, students were given the opportunity to meet a patient with a degenerative condition, retinitis pigmentosa, which may result in impaired vision or even blindness, to raise awareness of some of the social stigmas surrounding blindness. The highlight of this session for many was the provision of goggles that simulated one of the four types of visual impairment, which allowed the audience to truly empathise with the difficulties faced by sufferers of this condition. This session highlighted the strong relationships between the institute’s clinicians working and their patients, and related the research to its impact on the lives of patients.
The eighty students moved around various workstations across the institute, manned by lab technicians, PhD students, and research assistants. In the “Patient Experience”, students were given the opportunity to meet a patient with a degenerative condition, retinitis pigmentosa, which may result in impaired vision or even blindness, to raise awareness of some of the social stigmas surrounding blindness. The highlight of this session for many was the provision of goggles that simulated one of the four types of visual impairment, which allowed the audience to truly empathise with the difficulties faced by sufferers of this condition. This session highlighted the strong relationships between the institute’s clinicians working and their patients, and related the research to its impact on the lives of patients.
In the microscopy room, students were given access to different types of microscopes, under which they could view sections of mouse muscle and cartilage, and zebrafish embryos stained with fluorescent dyes.
In school, as a part of the A-level curriculum, students learn the theory behind PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and gel electrophoresis, common techniques used in biomedical sciences to amplify particular genes from DNA samples and visualise them. One teacher from Westfield High School, Gosforth was delighted that the students had been given the opportunity to see this technique in practice. She also commented on the “enthusiasm” and “positive attitude” of the organisers, and was thrilled that the students had been given access to the institute at such a critical time in their academic careers.
This was also very much appreciated by the visiting students. Two A-level students from Sacred Heart Catholic High School, Fenham, agreed that one of their favourite aspects of the day was hearing a talk from two undergraduate students about the realities of university life and the transition from college to becoming an undergraduate student.
In school, as a part of the A-level curriculum, students learn the theory behind PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and gel electrophoresis, common techniques used in biomedical sciences to amplify particular genes from DNA samples and visualise them. One teacher from Westfield High School, Gosforth was delighted that the students had been given the opportunity to see this technique in practice. She also commented on the “enthusiasm” and “positive attitude” of the organisers, and was thrilled that the students had been given access to the institute at such a critical time in their academic careers.
This was also very much appreciated by the visiting students. Two A-level students from Sacred Heart Catholic High School, Fenham, agreed that one of their favourite aspects of the day was hearing a talk from two undergraduate students about the realities of university life and the transition from college to becoming an undergraduate student.
Unfazed by a long and activity-packed day, the students continued to work late into the afternoon, as the open day climaxed with an ethical debate regarding the use of animals in medical research. In groups, the students were assigned a role such as that of a university researcher, or an animal rights activist and asked to debate from their respective viewpoints. For many, this lively and interactive debate was the highlight of the day and staff at the institute felt the students adopted these roles with passion, maturity and insightfulness. The session was concluded by an animated talk from Sir John Burn, Professor of Clinical Genetics.
The open day at the institute was a complete success: everybody in attendance, staff and students alike, fully-enjoyed and benefited from the experience. Personally, I found the success of the open day encouraging for my own future attempts at “public engagement” and would like to thank the organisers for allowing me access to their event. With many more upcoming events across the university , Newcastle is well on-track with introducing and familiarising its research with the local community.
Image1: Research Assistant, Jon Ingledew, demonstrates PCR to one group of students, who were able to run DNA samples they were provided with on a gel, by electrophoresis, and visualise the results to idenitfy them.
Image 2: Students received a 25 minute talk from Susan Lindsay, Professor of Human Developmental Genetics, entitled “What do genes do during development?”.
Image 3: Lab Technician and PhD Student, Morten Ritso, demonstrated Tissue Culture to the visiting students. This included how to split cells and how to digest them for analysis.
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