How many cells do we have in our body? How many red blood cells are made every minute? Why is a zebrafish like a human? These are just a few of the fascinating questions discussed during a public engagement evening held at WMS this week.

Around 50 members of the public joined staff and students from our Division of Biomedical Sciences on 1 May to learn ‘how to build a human’.

Following a welcome from the evening’s host Professor Andrew McAinsh, Head of the Division of Biomedical Sciences, attendees were given an overview of ‘the magic of cells’ by Professor Jonathan Millar, followed by a talk on cancer and what happens when cell division goes wrong by Dr Stephen Royle.

Over the next hour attendees were given the chance to discuss some of the great research happening here with some of our PhD students and academics while enjoying refreshments, before being a given a tour of the labs to take a look at some of the high-tech equipment used in our cell research, including a look inside the tissue culture room.

The event ended with two more talks, with Professor Karuna Sampath explaining why zebrafish can be used to study human diseases, and Dr Kristen Panfilio discussing how tissues of the body take shape.

Attendees were given the chance to ask questions before the event came to a close.

Thank you to everyone who came along to the evening and to all those who helped make it happen. It’s hoped that this will be the first of many public engagement events at WMS, so look out for more information about future events coming soon.