Spotlight on the brain
Researchers from Biological Sciences, Medicine, Psychology, Health Sciences, Computer Sciences and Engineering came together to showcase their work in an outreach day for people interested in the workings of the brain and diseases such as dementia.
Postdoctoral researcher Ursula Puentener chaired the steering group, which organised and ran the event; around 30 early career researchers were involved.
Professor Lindy Holden-Dye from Biological Sciences says she was delighted that so many people wanted to find out more about this research at Southampton. “We have built on the success our first outreach day last year which was part of the BBSRC’s Excellence with Impact competition. Events like this help our postdoctoral researchers develop their communication skills as they explain their work to members of the public.”
Around 50 A level students from local schools and colleges were among the visitors. ‘Hands-on’ exhibits included opportunities for people to try out memory games, examine worms affected by alcohol under the microscope and see how new rehabilitation techniques can aid stroke patients. An innovative collaboration with Winchester School of Art called Changing Minds has encouraged scientists to work with fashion and graphic arts students to represent images for mental health. One dress, inspired by stroke, featured butterflies and prompted visitors to enquire about the links between science and art.
The day ended with a public lecture from Professor Nick Donnelly in Psychology on how research into perception is helping improve airport security systems.
Neuroscience researchers across the University of Southampton are members of the Southampton Neuroscience Group, known as
SoNG
.
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Professor Lindy Holden-Dye BSc, MSc, PhD, FRSB, FBPhS
Professor Lindy Holden-Dye holds a personal Chair in Neuroscience within Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton. Her interests focus on fundamental processes of neuronal communication and she has established research expertise in invertebrate preparations. Through this interest she has contributed to research relevant to a number of important areas of neuroscience that inform understanding of mental health. Her expertise in invertebrate neuroscience, and in particular nematode neural systems and the model genetic organism Caenorhabditis elegans positions her well to participate in drug discovery and mode of action programmes for novel antiparasitics. For the last two decades she has collaborated with industry to improve prospects for parasitic nematode control. Her research group identified the molecular target for the resistance breaking anthelmintic emodepside showing it acts through a calcium-activated K+ channel SLO-1 to bring about neuromuscular paralysis in nematode worms. This discovery has paved the way for the pursuit of new approaches to the treatment of human filarial disease. The experimental approaches deployed in her research group encompass genetics through to whole animal physiology and incorporate novel methods for tracking animal behaviour and signal processing.
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