Warwick Medical School opens its doors to explain how our cells work

The University of Warwick will be opening its doors to explain how we all got here.

For the first time Warwick Medical School is holding a public science evening to explain the journey we all make from one cell to a human being. The free event called How to Build a Human is taking place on Tuesday 1 May 2018, 6–8 pm at Warwick Medical School’s clinical trials unit on the University’s Gibbet Hill campus.

Some of Warwick Medical School’s leading academics will be providing insights to the fascinating workings of our cells and there will be opportunities to have tours round working scientific labs and view the University of Warwick’s state-of-the-art microscopes.

The event is presented by Dr Andrew McAinsh, professor of cell biology, who holds a Wellcome Trust senior investigator award and Royal Society Wolfson merit award. Professor McAinsh said: “We really want people to come and learn all about the origin of life.

“Human’s undergo a fascinating journey from one cell which turns into the trillion needed to make a person. During the event my colleagues and I will explain how all the different parts of the body are created from the one initial cell and ultimately what happens if cell division goes wrong.”

The event aims to open up the intriguing world of human cells to the public and will cover topics such as the ‘immortal’ or HeLa cells which were taken from a cancer patient in 1951 and the same cell line is still used in scientific research across the world.

Professor McAinsh added: “Our Wellcome-funded research community is committed to communicating our knowledge of the origins and spread of human disease to the wider community.”

For further details visit www.warwick.ac.uk/qbppublicscience

17 April 2018

For more information, contact Nicola Jones, Media Relations Manager, University of Warwick 07920531221 or N.Jones.1@warwick.ac.uk