The centenary of the Medical Research Council was celebrated at the Victoria Gallery and Museum
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have celebrated 100 years of the Medical Research Council (MRC) at a public event at the Victoria Gallery and Museum.
Professor Andrew Weeks, Dr Karl Bates, and Dr Vincent Yip demonstrated the impact MRC funded work has had on people across the world and what the future of medical research looks like.
Professor Weeks discussed his research in India, where he is investigating cost effective methods of inducing labour to save the lives of women experiencing difficulties in pregnancy in low resource settings. Audiences were also invited to test their knowledge of childbirth on pregnancy models used to train the next generation of medical scientists.
Highlighting the work of the new Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing, Dr Karl Bates presented unique computer simulation models of how early humans may have learnt to walk upright. Dr Bates was part of the team that discovered that human-like features of the feet and gait existed almost two million years earlier than previously thought.
Talks and demonstrations were followed by a lecture from ITV News Health and Science Editor, Lawrence McGinty who talked about the achievements of the MRC over its 100 year history and the challenges journalists face in reporting accurate scientific research.
Professor Ian Greer, Executive Pro-Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, said: “The Medical Research Council has funded health research for 100 years, using taxpayers money to make a real difference to people’s lives all around the world.
“The quality of the research that the MRC produces is internationally leading and we are very proud to be part of that legacy, which ranges from major drug discoveries, to developments in understanding lung cancer, and bacterial infections.
“Here at Liverpool, our MRC Centre for Drug Safety Science is making major advances in preventing adverse drug reactions in patients, moving towards a personalised approach to medicine.”
Audiences also saw two short films; Professor Tom Solomon presenting photography taken from research trips to India and Nepal, investigating brain infections, and a second film on DNA and the work of the Centre for Genomic Research. Presentations concluded with a third film, which showed members of the public inside University laboratories, following the team in the Centre for Drug Safety Science as they process a blood sample.
Watch the film, Investigating the Safety of Medicines: from Molecule to Man, below:
