This research spotlight event is open to all students within the College of Life and Environmental Sciences.
Book your place now.
Join us for talks over two days, both from within your own subject area and from across the College. Explore a fantastic range of topics, discover new ones, and expand your horizons in your degree and beyond.
As part of UoB Xtra, we’ll be celebrating our themes of Lifestyle and Human Health and Resilient Environments and Health. With 14 talks on everything from climate change to healthcare, hangovers, video games, feeding the world, elite athletes, curing cancer, and controlling pain, there’s something for everyone.
Programme
09:00-10:00: Past societies and climate change, Dr James Bendle
In the coming decades, climate change will threaten human societies already confronted with rising social inequality and political and economic uncertainty. But what can we learn from responses to climate shocks in our shared past? This talk will present critical case studies on societal responses to climatic change and asks – can we take hope from this resilience?
10:00-11:00: Cinderella Cancers: our translational efforts to help improve outcomes in cancers deemed less ‘Sexy’ by mainstream academia and industry, Professor Chris Bunce
Research into blood cancer has had a huge impact on cancer therapy and has led to breakthroughs in areas such as chemotherapy, antibody therapies, mutation directed small molecule therapies and cell based therapies. Despite this, we have failed to shift the dial for many patients with blood cancer. In our research we seek to redeploy existing drugs to improve outcomes in those cancers that have been stubborn, or in ‘Cinderella’ cancers that have been relatively ignored by researchers.
11:00–12:00: Breathing in exercise, Dr Joe Welch
This talk describes some of the major challenges the respiratory system faces during physical exercise, and highlights examples whereby the respiratory system may limit exercise performance. Similarities and differences in respiratory responses to exercise between males and females are also discussed.
13:00–14:00: The wounded healer: using our own pain to help others, Dr Owen Forster
Our choices in what we study and where we work are often strongly influenced by our lived experiences. Many of those who pursue helping professions are motivated or inspired by their history of being hurt and then healed. This talk will explore the roots of this pathway, the benefits of putting ourselves into our work as well as the possible pitfalls of doing so.
14:00–15:00: Psychological insights about virtual reality, Dr Max Di Luca
Dive into the captivating world of Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality with Max Di Luca to discover how the brain processes sensory cues to orchestrate immersive experiences. Hear about the technology and explore cutting-edge research to unravel some of the secrets behind VR. Ideal for curious minds with a technical interest.
15:00–16:00: ‘Drug triggers’ and other ways you learn how to see, Dr Clayton Hickey
We learn how to see the world around us, and this depends on the brain’s systems for reward and learning. This is mostly healthy and adaptive, but can also go wrong, as when drug use directly stimulates reward centers to change how we see drug-related objects.
16:00–17:00: The neuroscience of antisocial and aggressive behaviour, Dr Stephane De Brito
This talk will describe a small group of individuals who show severe antisocial and aggressive behaviour across the lifespan and highlight how neuroscientific work has increased our understanding of what might be the factors behind their behaviour. We will touch on topics like psychopathy and childhood maltreatment, among others.