Research project: LifeLab
2008 - current
2008 - current
LifeLab is a science education intervention designed to change young people’s attitudes and behaviour towards their own health, and the health of their future children, through a hands-on, science-oriented teaching package. LifeLab has been developed since 2008 by researchers in the University's Education School, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Mathematics and Science Learning Centre . LifeLab draws on these researchers' findings and combines them with research evidence from elsewhere to raise teenagers' awareness and interest in the science underpinning health issues, and make positive changes to adolescent health-related attitudes. LifeLab’s aim is to help achieve reduction in the likelihood of developing chronic health problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, asthma and some cancers by raising young people’s awareness of health through an exciting educational experience using modern technology at a hospital based laboratory classroom. Our primary focus is on science for health literacy in relation to lifestyle-related non communicable diseases. LifeLab works in close partnership with LENScience in Auckland, and this was recently strengthened further through the awarding of funding from the BUPA Foundation to carry out an international evaluation of the intervention in both locations. We have a number of funded research projects running as part of Lifelab.
These include: