In my spare time, I work for the RAF Air Cadets as a volunteer instructor. It’s challenging, rewarding and fun, but it’s not often that the light blue of the RAF is seen on the Old Road Campus.
Engaging people with our science is a job for all. We have some amazing people in Oncology and some of them are not afraid to get out of their comfort zone. In this blog, Roxy Peerless, from our finance group, shows once again that public engagement is not just for scientists.
Oncology Open Day
16 May 2019
On Wednesday the 3rd of April 2019, myself and 30 other students, from Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School, attended the Oxford University Oncology Open Day at the Cancer Research Centre, Oxford.
Coaching confidence in communication
10 April 2019
How do we attract tomorrow’s brightest research students? Step 1: Make sure they know we exist. We don’t teach undergraduates; you can’t study oncology at A’ level. We need to give them a chance to explore how physics can cure cancer. How biology leads us to a better understanding of cancer, and how chemistry helps us design imaging agents that will guide therapy choices.
When Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book character Charlie Bucket buys a Wonka bar and finds the final golden ticket, he starts his now famous journey of discovery at Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Charlie, like most children, loves chocolate and his visit to the factory not only indulges his passion but also inspires deep scientific curiosity. In the end, the boy’s humility and desire for discovery convinces Wonka to name Charlie as his successor.
Galileo is said to have muttered ‘E pur, si muove!’ – ‘And yet, it moves’ as he left the courtroom in which he had been forced to concede that the sun moved round a fixed earth. Today, these words could be used to under-pin the value of MR-Linacs in radiotherapy.
No cure for cancer; just cures
28 February 2019
The cure for cancer, often hailed as the holy grail of medical research; something everyone is searching for and no one is finding, doesn’t actually exist.
The Researcher and the FROG
4 February 2019
Readers will remember the blog from Timo Reislander, who wrote about his time spent with the FROG group; in this guest blog we hear from Jean, Co-ordinator of the FROG
Calculating age with DNA
24 January 2019
How would you react if I told you I could calculate your age if I took a sample of your blood? I wouldn’t be lying! Every day our cells are exposed to damaging agents that can cause harmful changes which accumulate over time and lead to ageing related diseases such as cancer. Quantifying these changes has allowed scientists to develop models that calculate a person’s biological age, a measure of the “well-being” of their cells.
Engaging the public is not just for researchers
9 January 2019
Researchers are always encouraged to reach out and tell the story of their work outside the University. Researchers should not have all the fun!