Alice Coomer and Chile Siachisumo from Elliot group at the IGM delivered a laboratory skills and career workshop at the Haberdashers’ Adams School in Shropshire in October, performing hands-on experiments and talking about their PhD projects, about applying for a PhD and about pursuing a career in academic research.
Looks like they had fun too!
The Cultural Negotiation of Science (CNoS), Northumbria University are hosting a one-day workshop and evening event in collaboration with the Biochemical Society and Newcastle University’s Institute for Creative Arts Practice (NICAP) that will take a practical approach to exploring ways of working across the arts and sciences.
“Ways of Working” This workshop presents an opportunity to address questions that are common to both artists and scientists – broader, ethical questions around ways of seeing, methods of working, and developing truly interdisciplinary practice. Whilst acknowledging that both practices are creative, the workshop will focus on ‘ways to practice’ that allow for time, space, error and specifically, what we can learn from questioning existing methods of working. Often, workshops that bring together researchers in the arts and sciences focus on illustrating or interpreting science. CNoS aims to challenge this approach through finding ways in which, from a basis of common ground, the arts and sciences can learn from each other. With an ethos of open-ended experimentation, engaging in critical dialogue around common themes, we will host a workshop approach that is research-led and exploration driven rather than outcome driven. Through activities that focus on thinking and making strategies and film documentation of participant activities and discussions, workshop participants will develop communication techniques and form process-led methodologies that will help them to arrive at critical questions that can form the basis of longer-term projects.
The workshops will build on the strengths of the CNoS’ existing inter-disciplinary workshop capabilities drawing on the experience of CNoS researchers, such as Dr. Louise Mackenzie and Dr. Daksha Patel (availability tbc) as demonstrated in the interdisciplinary artist-led genetic modification workshops: Transformation – Thinking through Making with Life, participatory sound and bio-media workshops: Tentacular Resonances, the perception of medical data capture: Biorhythmic Drawing, visual literacy workshops: The Art of Observation and the recent Bio-Aesth-Ethics mini-masterclass led by Mackenzie as part of ASCUS and Edinburgh University’s Bio Design Lab. This one-day event will draw on the broader network of CNoS practitioners and other members of Northumbria and Newcastle arts faculty in working with scientists towards innovative approaches to interdisciplinary research.
Objectives
This workshop is intended as a primer for ongoing collaborative relationships, leading to new interdisciplinary ways of working that will inform project-based outcomes. For example, CNoS has established a new format of art/science collaboration through Black Box, an ongoing science-themed sculptural cinema and performance project. During development of this project we identified the need to pose questions, rather than generate answers, in the public transmission of art and science. This collaborative workshop therefore could provide a means to connect artists and scientists towards the production of collaborative public-facing outputs (film, performance, sculpture, sound works, etc) that may be premiered at a future iteration of Black Box.
Provisional Outline Programme:
Morning (09:00 – 14:00): BALTIC 39 Experimental Studio
Introduction
Guest Presentation/Case Studies
Group Activity – Meet/Mix ‘Speed Date’ style session to share ideas around common themes
Networking/Idea Exchange over Lunch
Afternoon (14:00 – 18:00): BALTIC 39 Experimental Studio and Northumbria University Campus
In pairs/teams:
Brief research exploration exercise to set pace for afternoon
Thinking through making: self-directed activities in film / sculpture / performance / lab-work etc.
Presentation and feedback to group
Continued research exploration
Evening Event (19:00 – 21:00): BALTIC 39 Experimental Studio
Film screening and/or performance (guest presentation)
Discussion/drinks
To register, please visit: CNoS website or survey: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TNWHBF8
Alice Coomer and Chile Siachisumo from Elliot group at the IGM will be delivering a laboratory skills and career workshop at the Haberdashers’ Adams School in Shropshire on the 7th of October, performing some hands-on experiments and talking about their PhD projects, about applying for a PhD and about pursuing a career in academic research. More details to follow shortly.
This semester, we were invited by St Peter’s School students to present a series of seminars at their school in York, around the world leading work done at the IGM.
The first four talks are:
19/09 Dr Ricardo Gouveia – “A (Cell Culture) Room with a View”
27/09 Dr Simon Ramsbottom – “Gene therapies for kidney disease”
03/10 Dr Kasia Pirog – “How do long bones grow? From mutation to therapy”
10/10 Chile Siachisumo – “”Mapping RNA-Protein interactions to understand cancer”
Thank you to all the speakers for volunteering to present their work! If you’d like to be involved and/or present at a later date, please email us at IGMengagement@ncl.ac.uk
The Graduate School is seeking nominations for the University’s INSIGHTS Public Lecture Prize 2019 – Deadline 30th June 2019
We are inviting nominations for research students (PhD, MD, DClin.Psy… including those who have completed their thesis in the previous 6 months) to present at this year’s Insights public lecture series. Judges will be looking for students who have a talent for presenting and are capable of delivering a public lecture with clarity, professionalism and in an engaging way. The best six of the nominees will receive specialist training in public speaking and content selection, after which a shortlist of three final winners will be chosen to present their work in the Public Lecture series.
Nominations must be from supervisors or other academic members of staff and we encourage you to discuss this opportunity with any students you are considering nominating for the competition. This really is a fantastic opportunity for students to present their research at a high-profile public event so we would urge you to put someone forward.
This year the INSIGHT’s Public lecture prize will take place on 21st November 2019, 17:00-19:00
N.b. If the student has submitted their PhD (and passed) by this date, they are still eligible to take part.
Nominate someone using this form – https://forms.ncl.ac.uk/view.php?id=1357
The International Rare Disease Day Symposium on ‘Bridging Health & Social Care’ organised by the John Walton Muscular Dystrophy Research Centre and the IGM explored the often hidden needs & burden of rare diseases and showcased examples of how patients can receive more integrated, joined-up and holistic care to help them navigate health & social systems, receive high quality info on their conditions, and feel empowered 
On Monday the 25th of February 10am-4pm join us for a free International Rare Disease Day symposium on “Bridging Health and Social Care in Rare Diseases” in Newcastle University’s Armstrong Building.
To book your free place, please click https://forms.ncl.ac.uk/view.php?id=3748464 …
Our popular Genetics Matters event is back!
Save the date and come see us on Saturday the 24th of February for a fun afternoon filled with science and cake.
This year we are meeting at the Banqueting Centre at Centre for Life and will be talking about the cancer gene therapy, male infertility, sequencing and the 100,000 genomes project, mitochondrial donations and many more hot medical research topics which may have caught your eye in the news. The event is FREE but please book to secure a place by clicking here: https://forms.ncl.ac.uk/view.php?id=1156232.
Please spread the news amongst your friends and colleagues, the more the merrier!
