Hi everyone, it’s Hang and if you have been keeping up, you’d know that the DNA summer school has (sadly) come to an end. Read along as I re-visit the highlights & fun of Thursday and Friday.
Thursday started off with an exciting talk from Sam Cooke and Dominic Burrows exploring memory through movies like Inception and discussing different types of memories and the animal models used in research. Next, Dr David Chambers talked about the basis of neuro-drug discovery where many interesting questions were asked with regards to drug targets and disease mechanisms.
Following David, Deepak talked about his research on visualizing neurons using various methods of imaging and microscopes of different resolutions. So many questions were asked we did not have time and the Q&A session had to re-convene on the padlet!
Her Royal Science Asma Bashir put the cherry on top by ending the day with a talk about diversity and inclusion in neuroscience all the way from the University of British Columbia! The session was the most well-received by the students/For most students it was the best thing since sliced bread, where they enjoyed learning about Asma’s journey and her contributions towards underrepresented researchers in the field.
After Asma’s sessions, each tutor group gathered to put the finishing touches on their project to prepare for their much-anticipated neuro-project presentations on…
…Friday! Guest speakers, tutors, members of the MRC and CDN gathered for an inspiring morning of amazing group presentations based on their chosen topics. The day started with a presentation on free will and “free won’t” coming from Free Will Thinkers, discussing whether we consciously make decisions, or the brain makes them for us. NeuroNews followed with a broadcast about phantom limb pain and its treatment. A positive review from a fellow peer said, “if this is a real news channel, I would definitely watch it!”.
Who would have thought “Kahoot!” could be used to make an interesting presentation? Team McVities did! The audience had the opportunity to explore gut-brain axis’ involvement in decision-making whilst at the same time testing out their knowledge on various nerve pathways (some of the undergraduates learnt that their brain no longer retains information after exams). The A Team then talked about how reliable our memories are, followed by Team Free, who took a super creative Stop motion deep dive into the various aspects of free will such as sleep, hormones and its involvement in criminality.
Coming up next was team Neurons explaining the science behind ADHD and its association with sleep, where Princess conducted an originalpiece of research with her classmates to compare the differences between ADHD in boys and girls. After a short break, team FISZZ returned to demystify dyslexia. Misconceptions of the learning difficulty is evident through a TikTok video made by Zoe, where she debunked the myths for her school friends. The concept of free will is once again discussed through the lens of team Tumornators, where Karina analytically criticized the Libet experiment. The series of presentations ended with DOPEamines, mixing the batter that is the neuroscience behind attraction, drug addiction and music.
After tutors and judges counted the points over lunch, finally we moved onto the awards! Best Presentation was given to NeuroNews with their television broadcast on phantom limb pain, while Most Creative Presentations were co-awarded to McVities for using “Kahoot!” and Team Free for their stop-motion videos. Team Neurons were awarded with Best Teamwork, and DOPEamines were awarded with Best Science Content with their presentation on sex, drugs and rock & roll. Best Backstage Producer awards (created by one of our tutors, Ben, to honour the behind-the-scenes hard work often over-looked) were given to Ayra from The A Team and Diego from DOPEamines. Zoe from FISZZ was given the Most Innovative Approach for her TikTok video on dyslexia. The end-of-day quick quizzes were a piece of cake for Princess, as she received the Quick Quiz Neuro Master for highest score in the daily DNA Quiz Quizzes. The Future Neuroscientist Awards were given to Jihane, Josheela and Miles, and the Spirit of Dev Neuro Academy Awards were given to Nadine, Shayaan, Atrin and Ayan for their engagement and excellent questions asked throughout the summer school. For their outstanding achievements, these students will receive various prizes including brain keyrings, neuroanatomy revision colouring book, tickets to the Old Operating Theatre as well as tickets to a New Scientist 1-hour talk on consciousness. Congratulations everyone!
Interacting with these smart cookies has been one of the most rewarding experiences for me. All of the students were as sweet as pie, being very supportive of each other despite not knowing each other before hand. I was thoroughly impressed by the questions asked, many of which I would not have come up with! The engagement the students showed is far better than any university seminars I have ever been in. I am immensely proud of every one of them for working diligently on their group projects despite full days of activities (and quick quizzes too!) to produce such masterpieces in such a short period of time. Many thanks for the neuroscientists involved for sharing their inspiring research and work with these amazing students. I have no doubt the future of the field will thrive and rise in their hands.
That is it from me, I am almost tearing up...it’s been emotional :)