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IDRM Scientists at Oxford Open Doors 2023
IDRM scientists joined Oxford Open Doors 2023 on Saturday 9th, at Old Road Campus Research Building in a bid to engage with the local community with their research on developmental biology and regenerative medicine.
The IDRM volunteers joined the Old Road Campus exhibition with their own interactive stall, for which they had prepared a variety of hands-on activities and lab demonstrations for all ages.
Researchers at the event from the Department of Paediatrics and the Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics included Tomoko Watanabe, Claudio Cortes, Christophe Ravaud, Sarah Sigal, Ambra Speciale, Catherine Wang, Christina Yan, Jerry Huang.
The volunteers engaged visitors with conversations about the work happening at the Institute of Developmental and Regenerative Medicine.
One of the key activities presented at the stall was the interactive Muscle Switch game, in which users grip a handheld dynamometer to power an astronaut in space. The aim of the game is to help users gain important understanding of muscle damage and repair.
The game was developed by the Rinaldi research group, from IDRM’s Neurology theme. The Rinaldi group, represented at the event by volunteer Ambra Speciale, seeks to investigate how disease genes affect the homeostasis of the motor unit and the causes of harm to motor neurons and muscle tissues.
The stall exhibition at the Old Road Campus Research Building was part of the larger Oxford Open Doors 2023 initiative, which aims to promote free public access to institutions across Oxford and Oxford University.
The IDRM participation at the event was organised by volunteers who conduct research in one of IDRM’s three core themes: cardiology, neurology, and immunology. The activity was in-line with IDRM’s commitment to increasing our public engagement with science and involving diverse audiences in our research activities.