Reporter

Getting to grips with the rules of attraction

25 July 2012

On 17 June a group of students from the Centre for Integrative Mammalian Physiology and Pharmacology, in the Department of Medicine put on a series of interactive demonstrations for both children and adults at the Cheltenham Science Festival.

The focus for the demonstrations was the question ‘How Are Your Hormones?’ which addressed themes including appetite, attraction, exercise and emotion. The demonstrations were aided by a grant from the Society for Endocrinology. PhD student Katherine Banks (Medicine), describes the event:

“2012 marked the celebration of the tenth Cheltenham Science Festival, attracting tens of thousands of members of the public of all ages – and over 300 participants from around the UK and beyond. The Cheltenham Festival Series showcases some of the brilliant talent, minds and achievements from the sciences and arts, challenging our opinions and encouraging inquisitiveness. This year was no exception, including discussions and debates on everything from the origin of life to the art of explosions, delivered by the likes of physicist Professor Brian Cox.

The Science Festival encourages audience participation to aid the public understanding of scientific concepts, and one exhibition venue in particular proved to be extremely popular. The Discovery Zone has been phenomenally successful in fascinating children of all ages with science and technology, and this year saw a group of postgraduate students from Imperial take the stage with the ‘How Are Your Hormones?’ display. The activities helped the students to explain the science behind attraction and being in love, what happens to you as a teenager and addressed questions such as ‘why do we cry?’ The students used exercise bikes and heart rate monitors to teach children about exercise, and school pupils were also given the chance to measure blood glucose which helped them to learn about metabolic hormones and how they work in our bodies. With the help of artist Dr Lizzie Burns, children also created their very own human models with coloured and labelled glands to take home. The addition of real-life organs in jars and edible brain cupcakes only enhanced (if not repelled!) the fun aspect of the exhibition.

The success of the day was reflected in the brilliant feedback from children, parents and scientists alike, and with thanks to the grant support from the Society for Endocrinology we hope to see you there next year!”

Tags: Faculty of Medicine
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Celebrating sport

19 July 2012

On 21 June, Sport Imperial held the annual Imperial ARCS (Appreciate, Recognise and Celebrate Sport) event bringing together over 140 guests including students, staff, coaches, officials, volunteers, sponsors and partner organisations, as well as   alumnus Simon Dennis, Great Britain team rower and Olympic gold medallist. The evening closed with the recognition of students Adam Scholefield and Melanie Wilson, have both been selected by Great Britain to represent our nation in the London 2012 Olympics. Adam is the Vice Captain of the Water Polo team and Melanie forms part of the Rowing squad. 

Read an interview with Imperial’s two Olympians.

Tags: Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, London 2012
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Medical school in the making

29 May 2012

A groundbreaking ceremony on Monday 28 May marked the start of work on buildings for the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, the joint medical school based in Singapore established by Imperial and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), which will admit its first students in August 2013. Among those present were the Singaporean Ministers of Health and Education, the Deputy British High Commissioner, representatives of the National Healthcare Group which is the School’s primary clinical partner, and alumni and staff from Imperial and NTU.

Reporter asked guests for their impressions of the event and the development of the School.

(more…)

Tags: Faculty of Medicine, singapore
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Future of microsurgery unveiled at Imperial

18 April 2012

Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, officially opened Imperial’s newly refurbished Hamlyn Centre on 16 April. Guests were able to see the latest developments in robot assisted microsurgery – minimally invasive surgery with micro-scale imaging and manipulation – made possible by funding totalling £5 million from the Wolfson Foundation and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)  underpinned by the Helen Hamlyn Trust endowment.

The Hamlyn Centre, which is split across three Imperial campuses – South Kensington, St Mary’s and Northwick Park- has been refurbished with cutting edge new technologies and a pre-clinical imaging suite for clinical trials to enable clinicians and technicians to validate new surgical robots in the patient. The long-term hope is that the robots in the Hamlyn Centre will be integrated with imaging and sensing technologies to perform microsurgery, for example, on cancerous cells.

Rector Sir Keith O’Nions, said: “We are very grateful to the Wolfson Foundation and NIHR for their generous contributions to the College. It is with their help that the Hamlyn Centre, through its multidisciplinary approach, continues to be at the forefront of innovation in surgery.”

Janet Wolfson de Botton, Chairman of the Wolfson Foundation, said: “The Wolfson Foundation has a long tradition of funding excellence in science and technology and we are very pleased to support the Hamlyn Centre in advancing robot assisted microsurgery.”

Lord Darzi, Chair of the Institute and co-director of the Hamlyn Centre, said: “We are very grateful to the Wolfson Foundation and the NIHR for their generous contribution to the refurbishments of the Hamlyn Centre. This will allow us to build on our unique strengths in research and clinical application of minimal invasive surgery and allied technology by enhancing both scientific discovery and translation into clinical practice with clear benefit to patient recovery and quality of life. The new lab will also enable our multidisciplinary team to create micro-surgical tools for new surgical procedures with improved accuracy and efficacy.”

Tags: Faculty of Medicine, Hamlyn Centre
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Admission requirements for Singapore medical school announced

4 April 2012

Imperial and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) announced the admission requirements for the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore earlier in March. Students vying for one of the first 50 places at Singapore’s newest medical school, which opens in August 2013, will need to demonstrate they have the skills to be an outstanding doctor, as well as hold first class qualifications.

(more…)

Tags: Faculty of Medicine, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
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Show and tell

29 March 2012

Headphones plugged into shiny iPads, clusters of Singaporean school students are sitting in the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine seminar room, tapping in responses to multiple choice questions designed to test their understanding of the online lecture they have just watched. The prospective students are among 800 who visited the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine on 10 March, 18 months after Imperial signed an agreement to partner with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to develop a new medical school in Singapore.

(more…)

Tags: Faculty of Medicine, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine
Posted in College, Students | 2 Comments »

Brain power

29 March 2012

Reporter speaks to Professor Paul Matthews, head of the new Division of Brain Sciences, who has big ideas for neuroscience and mental health at Imperial.

Why is Imperial launching the Division of Brain Sciences?

In recent years, government and public funders have been increasing their focus on brain diseases, especially chronic problems such as depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and late life conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease and stroke. The Faculty of Medicine wants to ensure that Imperial continues to lead with prominent research programmes that advance understanding and treatments in neurosciences and mental health .

What are the special opportunities for Imperial?

Late last year, I convened an external expert panel to look closely at what was happening in the College. We quickly came to some very exciting conclusions. There are areas of unique strength in the brain sciences. Some of these are outside the Faculty of Medicine in, for example, bioengineering, physics, chemistry and computing. Here in the Faculty of Medicine, we have innovative leaders developing new concepts for diagnosis and treatment. There include pioneering applications of molecular imaging to the diagnosis and monitoring of neurodegenerative disorders, bringing new stem cell treatments to multiple sclerosis and finding new ways of tackling problems of addiction or personality disorders, to name just a few. These are supported by some special strengths in the fundamental neurosciences. However, what the Faculty of Medicine lacked was a sense of cohesion and support for neurosciences and mental health. We took our findings to the Rector and the Faculty Principal. They strongly endorsed a commitment to excellence and creation of a new Division of Brain Sciences to link mental health research, neuroscience and neuropsychopharmacology (the science of how drugs affect the mind). By pulling together everyone under one roof we can develop synergies and enhance the foundation for further growth. It will create a nationally unique academic research grouping.

What areas will the new division focus on?

We will focus on building the four broad thematic areas of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, restorative neurology (the science of helping the brain repair itself), affective and personality disorders, and addiction research. These will be supported by a concentration on strengthening platform capabilities in molecular neuroimaging and in translational brain science, enabled by Imperial’s special resources, such as the Sir John McMichael Centre clinical research facility and Imanova, the clinical imaging provider in which we are partners with King’s, UCL and the Medical Research Council.

What are the challenges in turning Imperial into a major force in brain sciences?

First, we need to help individually successful investigators in the College appreciate that our strengths lies in the fact that we are a community of scholars who can support each other, rather than a set of individual entrepreneurs who happen to share a common space. We need to find new and better ways of working together for brain sciences, within and across faculties. Second, we must help our scientists rediscover their long-term vision. We live in a world, where it is too easy to focus on the immediate next steps and take safe decisions, based on what is possible now. We want people to think boldly, and go well beyond anything they’ve done before. They should embrace this approach with confidence – and perhaps some naivety. With this in mind, I believe that extraordinary things can happen! While embracing bold and creative thinking, we also need to acknowledge the challenge of funding in a more uncertain future. The College has given the Division resources to initiate it’s development and provided a clear remit to grow. If we can come together around a big and compelling vision, and demonstrate how that can be transformative, then I am confident that the necessary funding will follow.

What will success look like?

Those of us who care for patients are aware of how few therapies we have, that have a major impact on brain disorders. As physicians and scientists in a major medical school, we have an overarching responsibility to direct our efforts towards making a step change in treatment. We will closely monitor our progress in this ambition – measurable by changes in health outcomes, by new treatments or diagnostic methods in the clinic, and by a research portfolio including concepts that will deliver tomorrow’s treatments. We are also here to create new knowledge and we need to set a high bar. We do not want to just add to the detail of science – we want to see Imperial contributing to changes in concepts of how the brain works and of brain disease. Finally, to make our efforts sustainable, we must share our knowledge and educate. We need to focus on ensuring that we are getting the most outstanding trainees and that we contribute to their development, so that the excellent people who come here, leave us as unparalleled! We also need to extend our reach outside of the walls of Imperial. New teaching tools, such as web-based media, will allow us to teach students not just here, but across the world.

 Read more about the Division of Brain Sciences here

— Sam Wong, Communications and Development

Tags: Faculty of Medicine
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Judging the next generation of global health innovators

24 March 2012

On 21 March five students pitched their ideas for a pilot project or prototype that addresses global health challenges to a panel including Sarah Brown, wife of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Adjunct Professor at the Institute of  Global Health Innovation (IGHI).  John Chetwood (Medicine) was named the winner – his project used urinary biomarkers to create a new diagnostic tool to detect Cholangiocarcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer that affects the bile ducts, and is caused by the parasitic worm liver-fluke.  Sarah shares her experience of being a judge:

“When I am asked to do anything with students I usually think that I am just invited on behalf of my Twitter followers. If I talk to students on any topic away from politics it is invariably about social media. So it was a welcome diversion to join two health experts to assess five rather brilliant research projects as the ‘lay person’ for IGHI Imperial. I do have an ancient science degree but everything has moved on so far since then it is barely worth mentioning. I loved the energy of each presentation, the breadth of research topics from cancer clusters to river salinity to the hip topic of frugal innovation, and the individuality of each set of PowerPoint images..  I think we identified the right winner but truthfully every one of the students should persevere with their worthwhile and fascinating topics. I wish I had had that confidence and experience when I was 20. My top tip (that I shall immediately tweet of course) is to grab every opportunity to gain public speaking experience – that alone makes everyone a winner.”

Tags: Faculty of Medicine, IGHI
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Olympic dreams

17 February 2012

Reporter met up with Hannah Bryars, Olympic fencing hopeful and 5^th year medic, to find out about her training and her determination to make the grade.

Hannah’s training as a member of the GB fencing team took a hit last year when she suffered from a painful knee injury and had to take time out to help reduce the inflammation. As her condition improved, rather than give up on her goal to compete in the Olympics, she returned to training with a renewed sense of purpose, switching coach, turning to a gluten-free diet and strengthening her knee through physiotherapy and Bikram Yoga.
(more…)

Tags: Ethos, Faculty of Medicine, London 2012, Sport Imperial
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Faculty of Medicine Awards

26 January 2012

The Faculty of Medicine’s ninth annual NHS Teaching Awards Ceremony and Inaugural Lecture was held on the evening of 9 November in the Sir Alexander Fleming Building. Ten Winners from across the Faculty’s teaching sites received awards commending them on their contribution to teaching medical students.

(more…)

Tags: Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health
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New Principal of the Faculty of Medicine

24 January 2012

One of Ireland’s foremost medical leaders is to become the Principal of the Faculty of Medicine. Professor Dermot Kelleher, a pioneer in the field of immune response and infectious disease, will join the College on 1 July 2012, taking up his new appointment on 1 October 2012.

(more…)

Tags: Faculty of Medicine
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Website highlights how stress in the womb can program future health

6 December 2011

Researchers and students at the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology in the Faculty of Medicine have built a website to highlight the importance of healthy pregnancy for a child’s future wellbeing. (more…)

Tags: Faculty of Medicine, Surgery and Cancer
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Academic’s award for mentoring the next generation of Imperial stars

5 December 2011

Professor Jenny Higham, Deputy Principal and Director of Education in the Faculty of Medicine, has been named Mentor of the Year in the 2011 Women of the Future Awards.

The award recognises active mentors who support younger women, offering coaching and advice which enables them to develop and flourish in their chosen careers.

Established in 2005, the Awards are designed to celebrate high achieving women and unearth the stars of tomorrow across diverse industries. Among those attending the ceremony at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square were HRH The Princess Royal, Cherie Blair, and the wife of the Deputy Prime Minister, Miriam González Durántez.

Several members of the Imperial community were recognised in other categories. Nominated for the MBA Star Award were Business School students Alice Rackley and Gloria Ruto, while Monique Ho, a final year biochemistry student, was nominated for the Young Star of the Year Award.

Sue English, Faculty Education Officer in the Faculty of Medicine, who has been mentored by Jenny and nominated her for the Award, said: “Jenny is giving of her time and readily shares experiences.  She inspires me because she leads by example, and sets such high standards both for herself and for others. She is a fantastic role model and someone people, including me, want to emulate.”

Reporter spoke to Jenny about the Award and her approach to mentoring.

Congratulations on the Award. How did it feel when your name was read out?

I was amazed! I never expected it in a million years, and didn’t have a speech prepared, I think my award was the sixth category, and by that point of the evening you need to be succinct.  I thanked the people who put me forward, the organisers and the judges, and then got off the stage!

What was the Award for?

It was for mentoring and helping to develop others. It’s something I’ve done increasingly during my roles here, both in the health service [I still practice as a surgical gynaecologist]  and the university setting, and it’s really important to me to do it well. It’s not just about developing academics – I believe that everybody deserves the opportunity to be developed. Many people can’t see their own potential and I think it takes relatively little to encourage people and point them in the right direction, be that sending a follow-up email or giving verbal feedback.

How do you identify people who might benefit from mentoring?

Of course I have a variety of formal mentoring relationships but there are other means.  It can be from encouraging people to apply for posts they might not have considered, and although they might not get that role, it does identify a pool of people who have potential and ambition. Or perhaps there is someone who is stuck in a bit of a rut – they are very good at their job but could do it with their eyes shut. They have so much more to offer but need encouragement to go beyond what is comfortable. You can make a difference as you go about your daily activities in College. For example, someone who does a good job on something, rather than expecting them to know you are happy, actually going back with some encouragement and saying “thanks that was really good”. But sometimes it involves offering constructive criticism, rather than saying everything is marvellous, indicating how to improve. Mentoring does take a little more time but it is amply rewarded. Perhaps not always directly to you, but to the organisation as a whole.

Have you had your own mentors as your career has progressed?

I met a variety of influential people along my career path; some of whom were inspirational, and who I have wanted to emulate. There have also been some whom have given me a very clear example of what I don’t want to be like, but that in itself is hugely helpful!

As a leading academic, a practising clinician and a mother, how do you juggle all your different roles?

The first thing I should say is that the idea that working women can somehow “have it all” is not true.  You can’t. You just have less time for every role and you have to decide what it is you are going to prioritise.  I manage because I’m quite clear that I want to work, but there isn’t a right answer. It’s about having an honest conversation with yourself about what your goals and aspirations are. Nobody does that for you, and you also need to be realistic. If you are in a relationship  it’s best to have your ideas pretty much aligned with those of your partner.  Then, if you do commit to working and having kids (I’ve got three), then you have to put proper support in place.  Childcare on the cheap with neighbours or casual arrangements is not what you need. You need reliable and quality childcare so that when you come to work, you’re not worried about the kids or their safety and can focus on the job.

If you look at the information on the costs of childcare, if you continue to work and have a career, then there are periods of life where you spend as much on childcare as you are earning. But if you look at overall longevity in the workplace, then if you get off the career ladder for years, you rarely go back in at the same level of seniority or pay . Typically, having kept going, the increments in your salary and pension benefits outweighs those years when you have to pay more towards childcare.

Looking more widely at the sector as a whole, do you think it is doing enough to encourage women to consider science and academia as a career?

Recruitment  isn’t going to be perfectly gender balanced from undergraduate years onwards, but I think it’s actually at the middle stages of a woman’s career where more needs to be done to them to stay in science. By this I mean the stage where they become independent scientists running their own group; this often clashing with reproduction!  At the upper echelons of academia and medicine, it is still very male dominated. There are perhaps a few people who don’t rate women – the secret misogynists (and they have to be secret about it now!),yet I think,  some women choose not to work the long hours, or take on the travel that goes with the job, which can be demanding and taxing to combine with a family. Sometimes, however, women (and men) simply don’t have the confidence in their abilities and need help. Otherwise it does tend to be a self-selecting prophecy -  people who think they are great reach the top, yet we lose many equally gifted individuals.

From my personal perspective I think the College has been supportive. I don’t think that is a platitude, I think it’s a genuine desire to see people from a range of backgrounds– culturally, ethnically, gender-wise, develop and achieve their potential.

Learn more about mentoring at Imperial

Visit the website for the Women of the Future Awards

— Simon Watts, Communications and Development

Tags: Faculty of Medicine
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Families gather at largest Commemoration Day

9 November 2011

On Wednesday 19 O ctober over 2,200 graduands crossed the stage of the Royal Albert Hall to receive their undergraduate degrees in front of around 6,000 guests, making this year’s Commemoration Day the largest ever hosted by Imperial.

(more…)

Tags: Commemoration Day, Commemoration Day 2011, Faculty of Medicine, Mechanical Engineering
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Major grant awarded for HIV prevention study in Africa

13 October 2011

An international research partnership involving Imperial and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) has been awarded $37 million to test an innovative combination of strategies to prevent HIV in African countries.

(more…)

Tags: Faculty of Medicine
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