https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/news/inspiring-next-generation-scientists-gosh/
Inspiring the next generation of scientists at GOSH
23 Oct 2017, 5:38 p.m.
On Saturday, over 300 visitors had a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).
Now in its third year, the event gave young people and their families the chance to visit real labs and watch science experiments in action, learning how doctors and scientists find treatments for some of the sickest children in the world.
Activities on the day included taste testing chocolates in a clinical trial with a twist, extracting DNA from strawberries and performing vegetable biopsies.
Vegetables await their 'biopsy' at the BRC Family Fun Day 2017
Wearing lab coats, doing experiments
Tours of the Cell and Gene Therapy labs proved popular, allowing guests to view a hidden, but crucial, part of the hospital. Young people and their families dressed up as scientists, used microscopes to analyse blood cells and even tested some pretend urine samples for serious childhood illnesses.
The NIHR Great Ormond Street Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) is the only BRC in the UK dedicated to children’s health and is currently running 300 research projects focusing on some of the rarest childhood conditions in the world.
Researchers from the BRC developed a state-of-the-art treatment to fix the immune system of children unable to fight off simple infections like a cough or cold.
As part of the pioneering 100,000 Genomes Project, scientists from the GOSH BRC are also studying the DNA of people from across the UK to help us understand why some children are born with rare diseases.
Deirdre Leyden, GOSH's Patient and Public Involvement in Research Lead, said: “This open day was really important to show children how medical research works and hear their opinions on what we do to improve the lives of those with rare and complex diseases. We hope the day provided visitors with an insight into the groundbreaking work that our researchers are undertaking every day.”
The NIHR GOSH BRC is a collaboration between GOSH and the UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Find out more.
-
Visitors worked with an artist to create artwork for a new research building
-
Visitors spent time creating their artworks.
-
The artwork produced fused architectural drawings with patterns found in biology.
-
Scientists were on hand to answer any questions from the young visitors.
-
Visitors learned about the areas of the brain involved in memory...
-
...they practiced mixing fluids for the microbiology lab...
-
...and they discovered (with sweets) how the autoimmune disorder juvenile dermatomyositis affects a patient's muscles.
Joint GOSH and UCLH service named as a Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence for Children
After a detailed review process across the UK, the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission has announced that our joint GOSH/UCLH service has been designated as a Centre of Excellence.
New treatment for brain tumour approved after over 20 years of research
The first-ever targeted treatment for brain tumours in children has been approved for NHS patients, following decades of research by a Great Ormond Street consultant.
Kidney swap for GOSH patient who’s spent over 3,600 hours on dialysis
A five-year-old patient, who has spent almost 10% of her childhood on dialysis, has successfully had a transplant thanks to a kidney-swap scheme.
New cheek swab test helping to monitor children with rare heart condition
A cheap and simple test, being developed with funding from the British Heart Foundation (BHF), will allow quick and safe monitoring in children with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies (ACM).