Last month (18 – 26 June 2016) hundreds of people visited the University and enjoyed a range of free activities as part of this year’s Festival of Medical Research.
A large amount of the University’s medical research is supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC). This festival was organised to provide members of the public the opportunity to learn more about this work.
Members of the public were given the opportunity to visit several of the University’s laboratories including the unusual Bar Lab as well as taking part in a day of family friendly science activities at World Museum Liverpool.
One of the many highlights of the festival was a public lecture by award winning author and broadcaster Vivienne Parry. Her lecture, entitled ‘100,000 Human Genome Project – is it important for you?’, provided information about an ambitious initiative to sequence 100,000 genomes from around 70,000 NHS patients to tackle the genetic causes of cancer and rare diseases.
The festival showcased the MRC funded research, projects and facilities at the University such as The Centre for Integrated research into Musculoskeletal Ageing and The Centre for Drug Safety Science.
Neil French, Senior Scientific Operations Manager for the Centre for Drug Safety Science, said: “This year’s festival was a great success with hundreds of people taking part in the various events across the University and beyond.
“We are delighted to open our doors to the public and to give local people the opportunity to experience a flavour of the world-leading research that we carry out and I would like to thank them for taking the time to come and see us.
“These events are designed to increase the public’s awareness and understanding of the importance of medical research to society whilst dispelling some on the myths and misconceptions.”
To view Radio Merseyside’s Bar Lab video please visit: http://bit.ly/29KklGC
Professor Jackson, Vivienne Parry and Professor Pirmohamed