On Wednesday 25th January, Tabasum, Aayushi and I were fortunate enough to visit the Institute of Education for some lectures and exhibitions on genetic diseases and cures. On arriving at Russell Square and seeing the magnificent building itself we knew immediately that we were about to have fantastic day.The first lecture was at 10.30am, and consisted of Harvard University graduate, Dr Dan Kaganovich explaining about keeping cells healthy and neurodegenerative diseases. This was extremely interesting and we learnt about misfolded proteins causing many genetic diseases. This lecture was shortly followed by a series of short `films` about various vaccines, medicine and drugs which are currently being developed for specific illnesses.
After a short lunch break, another series of films was shown, followed by two lecturers; Dr Arbel Artzy-Shnirman explained about Smart Drugs and Adam Abramson MSc told us about his project – providing clean water in Zambia. There was then a short question and answer session which concluded the day.
Overall, it was a brilliant insight into the life of a typical university student and was exciting and informative to attend. All three of us were greatly inspired by these lectures and we hope to attend many more in the future.
Ambareen Syed (Year 12)