Young people from east London educated on air pollution
In the latest Big Question Lecture at the Centre of the Cell, Dr Abigail Whitehouse engaged a future generation of scientists in the Blizard Institute’s air quality research.
The Big Question Lecture series are created for young audiences from age 14, and gives them the chance to hear from leaders in science and healthcare about the cutting-edge biology and innovative front-line medicine going on right here in east London.
As Londoners, air quality is an important issue that is having a very real effect on the everyday lives of the young people that joined us for the event. Dr Abigail Whitehouse's lecture introduced them to what air pollution is and how it affects us all from childhood through to adulthood. She then explored what we as individuals and clinicians can do to improve awareness of air pollution and hopefully make meaningful change to our air quality.
Abigail is part of a rich research culture in the field of air quality at the Blizard Institute, as a researcher and NIHR clinical lecturer in the Centre for Genomics and Child Health. She is not only an expert in her field, but she is also passionate about getting children and young people to lead and promote research, through education, public and patient involvement (PPI) and engagement. Making her a perfect speaker at the Centre of the Cell, the university’s science education centre.
"It was a great experience." Abigail comments. "Often I give talks to clinicians or scientists, but the group that I really want to engage and inspire are young people interested in science. This talk gave me a great opportunity to share the current research into air pollution, but most importantly raising its profile and making everyone aware of the health implications and the need to act now!"
Sharing Abigail’s ambition to engage young people in exciting new research, the Centre of the Cell’s Learning Team were thrilled to see the return of educational events.
"This was our first Big Question Lecture since the pandemic," comments Learning Officer Myfi Williams. "We had a great time both organising and running such a successful event and it was brilliant to see so many young people in attendance. Dr Whitehouse was engaging and did a great job answering some really interesting questions about air pollution!"
The Centre of the Cell offers a wide range of education and public engagement opportunities. Visit www.centreofthecell.org to stay up to date with all their news and events, and look out for the next Big Question Lecture.