Panel: Paul Genever, Nathalia Thompson, George Hatton, Lizzy Morritt and Diogo Candeias
Hear from some of the next generation of biomedical researchers as they explain how their work is unravelling the secrets of chronic and infectious diseases using advanced technology and creative thinking.
From cancer to tropical diseases, postgraduate students from the York Biomedical Research Institute at the University of York share the impact of their work on our health and wellbeing.
Following an introduction by the University’s Director of Biomedical Sciences Programme Paul Genever, each student will introduce their research, before taking part in an audience Q&A.
The talks are on the following topics:
An Evolving World: Neglected tropical diseases and climate change
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are estimated to affect over one billion people in developing countries where extreme poverty further marginalises sufferers of this group of diseases. NTDs have profound health and socio-economic consequences and are known to cause long-term disability in affected individuals. Due to climate change, vectors, such as blood-sucking insects like mosquitoes, capable of transmitting several of these NTDs are being redistributed across nations in response to the rising temperatures. This will undoubtedly pose a challenge to governments and healthcare professionals who work as first responders to diagnose and treat these diseases, often characterised by a wide range of symptoms in people infected with an NTD.
Using Genetic Fingerprints to Find the Culprit in Bladder Cancer
What is the real cause of bladder cancer? Historically, the risk factors for bladder cancer have been smoking, ageing and exposure to industrial carcinogens. However, the advancement of genetic testing has allowed for mass screening of cancer samples that tell a different story. The talk will begin with an introduction to ‘genetic fingerprints’ and how they provide critical information as to the root cause of cancer. The focus will then be on recently identified ‘fingerprints’ of bladder cancer and how they have revolutionised our understanding of the disease, leading to the central question: Could a virus be behind bladder cancer?
Battling Blood Cancers: A new hope for targeting cancer cells
Blood cancer is the fifth most common type of cancer in the UK and is the most common type of cancer in young people. In the UK, there are currently over 250,000 people living with blood cancer. Although outcomes are improving, especially in children and young people, current therapies rely on highly toxic treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Future research in blood cancers focuses on increasing our understanding of how blood cells are made, and critically, what happens when this goes wrong in cancer. If we can fully understand what goes wrong in cancer, we can discover novel, kinder therapeutics to help battle blood cancers and provide a new hope for these patients
Fishing for Clues in Neuroscience
Leukodystrophies are a group of rare inherited brain disorders characterised by abnormal growth of white matter, a type of tissue that is deeper in the brain. This disease primarily affects children leading to brain degeneration and progressive loss of cognitive and motor function. Previous studies of leukodystrophies have not been as successful at producing effective therapies as desired. Hear how zebrafish are now being used in a study of the disease to overcome this challenge. The hope is to increase our understanding of this disease, helping to inform the development of new therapies for a disease which is sorely lacking in treatment options.
Find out more about the York Biomedical Research Institute.