Join Us for the Clarendon Science-Slam!
Date and Time: Wednesday, Feb 19th
Venue: Magdalen College Auditorium
We are thrilled to announce the Clarendon Science-Slam, taking place on Wednesday, February 19th, at the Magdalen College Auditorium!
Here is what to expect:
Short, engaging talks: 8 of our scholars will showcase their research in about 8 minutes, combining humour and accessibility.
Audience-voted prize: A special prize will be awarded to the best presentation!
Pizza and networking: After the talks, join us at the Magdalen MCR for pizza and great conversations.
List of speakers and abstracts:
Asymmetry in Hominid Hand Bones
Speaker: Rachel Hurwitz
What can the bones of chimpanzees, gorillas, bonobos, and orangutans teach us about the evolution of tool use and handedness in our own species? I’ll answer those questions in this talk! I’ll explain how bones tell the stories of how their owners lived, how weird it is that most humans are righthanded, and how studying tool-use in other species is crucial to understanding out own tooldependant behaviour. The great apes are our closest living relatives and studying their anatomy and behaviours, then comparing them to our own, can help answer questions about our evolutionary history.
Why are care policies still exclusive even today?
Speaker: Seonwoo Yoon
Why are certain older and disabled people still excluded from policy benefits even though care policies have been developed for several decades and the number of people who need them has been increasing? Is it because of welfare state retrenchment or budget problems? This talk suggests that the politics of care across countries is one significant reason for explaining the exclusion process by elaborating on extant examples, such as the gendered nature of caregiving, poverty and care receiving, and the way welfare states recognise differential care needs.
How Should We Share Randomised Trial Results?
Spekar: Sanjana Choudhury
Insights from Patients and Researchers Abstract: When randomised trials finish, it’s important to share the results with patients and the public in a clear and meaningful way. However, this doesn’t always happen effectively. In this study, we interviewed researchers and members of the public to understand their views on how trial results should be shared. We found that patients want information that is easy to understand, accessible, and relevant to their health. Researchers recognise these needs but face challenges in making results clear and widely available. Our findings highlight the need for better communication strategies to ensure trial results are shared in a patient-friendly way.
Decoding Huntington’s Disease: One Cell at a Time
Speaker: Sanskar Ranglani
Huntington’s disease is often described as having the cruel combination of symptoms of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, causing devastating neurological decline with no available treatments. The challenge? We don’t fully understand what happens to neurons before they die—and once they’re gone, they can’t be replaced. My research tackles this mystery using a novel mouse model and single-cell technology to uncover what goes wrong in the brain’s complex cell populations before neuronal dysfunction. By decoding these early changes, I aim to identify new strategies to protect neurons and, ultimately, prevent the progression of this devastating disease.
Ovarian cancer: cracking the LARP1 “phosphocode”
Translational programme: Using LARP1 as an early warning signal of ovarian cancer
Speaker: Alexander Colton
High-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary (HGSC) is a gynaecological malignancy with poor prognosis, in large part due to its late presentation and frequent development of drug resistance. La-related protein 1 (LARP1) is an RNA-binding oncoprotein whose ovexpression in multiple cancers, including HGSC, drives their development and progression. My research aims to determine whether, and how, phosphorylation by upstream kinases contributes to LARP1’s oncogenic activity within HGSC. Ultimately, this is part of a wider translational programme within my DPhil laboratory which aims to market LARP1 as a biomarker (early-warning signal) of this cancer to enable its earlier diagnosis.
Proteolipid code: what?
Speaker: Troy Kervin
We should give up on explaining how biological membranes work. They are too complex. Yet suddenly, a new theory appears: "proteolipid code". But surely, we have not overlooked a cellular code on the same magnitude of importance as the genetic code. Troy Kervin is insane.
Can We Protect Children Amidst War?
Speaker: Sydney Tucker
Today, 2 billion people are living in countries affected by war, fragility, or violence. More people are displaced than ever before in history, and the highest number of countries are at war since World War II. In this era of polycrisis: Is it even possible to protect children, amidst increasing war, crisis, and displacement? In this talk, Sydney will unpack data-driven mechanisms of extreme risks for children, while also presenting evidence-based solutions to demonstrate that we CAN interrupt the causal pathways placing children at disproportionate risk of detrimental outcomes — to ultimately increase protection and flourishing for children, even amidst horrific crises.
Guest tickets are now available.