13 Mar 2014
Loughborough students feature on BBC at Big Bang Fair
A Loughborough University student appeared on the BBC Breakfast programme this morning (March 13) featuring the Big Bang Fair at the NEC in Birmingham.
Emma Neale-Edwards, who is in the second year of a four year PhD with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Doctoral Training Centre in Regenerative Medicine, was interviewed while showing an experiment to school pupils.
She said: “We are teaching students about the research we are doing to help the body heal itself.”
Emma was part of a team running a stand called Alive which is sponsored by the EPSRC.
The team was coordinated through the EPSRC-funded Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine which is based at Loughborough and collaborates with other universities at Nottingham and Keele.
The stand, manned by a 17 strong team of Doctoral Training Centre and EPSRC Centre members, features hands-on exhibits to encourage engagement by learners and includes topics such as cell biology, cell culture bioreactors and microcarriers, GMP manufacturing and the production of scaffolds and polymers.
They aim to get students aged 7-19 interested in science, technology, engineering and maths, including regenerative medicine, and also promote a blog they have created called HEART: Healthcare Engineering and Regenerative Therapies (www.heartblog.net).
The first two days of the Fair are for school visits and the second two days are open to the public. Professor David Williams, the Director of the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine, will be on the stand on Saturday.
The Big Bang Fair started in 2012 and is the largest youth event for science, technology, engineering and maths.
The Fair aims to bring those subjects alive for young students, putting their classroom learning in context and taking them on a journey to discover the best they can be.
Meanwhile, Loughborough student Elizabeth Cheeseman has won a national competition run by the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine to fund a place on the summer internship programme at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute in America.
Elizabeth was awarded an internship bursary following a review by an independent judging panel. The judges hailed her excellent application which highlighted her interests in engineering, stem cells and regenerative medicine and her enthusiasm to attend Harvard.
Elizabeth said: “I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I’m thrilled at the prospect of undertaking a regenerative medicine research project at Harvard, one of the world’s most prestigious universities, as well as living in the USA for 10 weeks.”
Dr Sophie Dale-Black, Head of Business Engagement and National Outreach for the EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Regenerative Medicine, said: “Elizabeth has secured an amazing opportunity to further develop her skills in regenerative medicine, and we wish her the best of luck.
“Elizabeth will be acting as an ambassador for our Centre and will contribute to the continued development of our Centre’s international relationships.”