The event was well attended and from its location at Spanish City, an iconic building in Whitley Bay, offered a beautiful view onto the seaside. With four 10-minute presentations, researchers from the NIHR Newcastle BRC Skin Disease, Oral Disease & Immunogenomics Research Theme and Newcastle University gave a comprehensive overview into the different areas of Skin, Oral and Immunogenomic research happening in Newcastle.
Dr Alessandra Da Silva Dantas started the first half of the event, talking about fungi, particularly Candida spp, how they respond to stress and age over time. She explained how fungal ageing contributes to antimicrobial resistance and what this means for human health. Intriguing questions from the audience were directed at Dr Da Silva Dantas, for example if fungi mutate at all and what that means.
Next up was member of the Theme Leadership Track Dr Laura Jardine. She presented how NIHR Newcastle BRC PhD Student Manisha Chahal extracted data from scans of skin tissues to identify diseases and how genomics approaches help to reveal new information about disorders and generate new ideas about how to treat them. She took the audience back to medieval times comparing how diseases and research looked like then, showcasing how far we’ve come. With image-rich slides the audience perceived stimulating insight into research.
In between presentations, patients and attendees received a delicious buffet to keep them engaged throughout the second half. They were able to chat and connect with each other as well as talking and engaging with the researchers to ask more questions that went beyond the Q&A.
With metaphors and imagery, PhD student Georgie Holt, who directly works with Prof Neil Rajan, comprehensively explains the process of how they examine tumours to understand the different cell structure of skin, and find out what type of cells cause tumour cells. Through this, they hope to be able to develop better treatment from the start.
In the final presentation, Dr Chris Penlington explored the question ‘What does pain mean to you?’, sharing personal experience and activities her team have done in the past to highlight perception to the public. The aim in her research is to expand the understanding of pain to help people from early stages to overcome pain. This sparked multiple questions like, why do some people feel more pain than others and if there is a gender difference between pain, and if the power of affirmation and self-healing can help with pain.
The event has been a vibrant and engaging opportunity to connect research with the public in an accessible and relatable way. From exploring the microscopic world of fungi to understanding the complexities of pain and tumour biology, each presentation offered unique insights into the impactful work being done at the NIHR Newcastle BRC and beyond. The seaside setting and thoughtful programme fostered honest dialogue between researchers, patients, and the community, highlighting the power of public involvement in shaping the future of health research.
“Interesting talks delivered well with lots of real world examples to help explain the topics. Also the venue was great and in a good location.”
“All the speakers were excellent.”
“All presenters made it so simple to translate complex medical issues into easy to follow and understand with a hint of humour.”
“Lovely venue, lovely food, excellent speakers and organisers”