Public Engagement Provision (360G-Wellcome-107609_Z_15_A)

The Department of Veterinary Medicine in Cambridge takes an active part in theannual Cambridge Science Festival. This event attracts many visitors and is a wonderful opportunity to share our enthusiasm about our work and its medical relevance with the general public. In the Griffiths lab we have invested much effort into the development of activities, presentations, and information packets for visitors to take home. I intend to continue in this spirit and take an active part in the Science Festival in Cambridge. Over the last 3 years I have given multiple science presentations and workshops at local primary schools and am always amazed about the incredible interactions, enthusiasm and input the young children have. I plan to pursue this rewarding activity in the future. During my time in the Fearon and Griffiths lab I have supervised several pupils doing work placements and have witnessed the benefit and enjoyment theygot out of their time in the lab and will continue to prioritize these mentoring opportunities. In order to take an active part in public engagement events in Cambridge (Cambridge Science Festival, Schools) I plan to develop activities around the T cell immune response. For this I want to obtain a portable microscope to be able to give the general public an idea what the cells look like that I am working on. I will design arts and crafts and microscopic activities, sticker,and information booklets for young and old explaining the incredible properties of our body's T cells. A very effective way to communicate science to the public is via movies. My work in collaboration with Prof. Kevin Brindle at the Cancer Institute in Cambridge will lead to movies of CD8 T cells tackling tumour cells and will be visually engaging. (f)