We are officially halfway through LIYSF 2022! Today was an action packed day, filled with lots of learning, fun and songs!
Today was the annual specialist study day, a day where students get to choose a scientist to learn from for the day that is in their
area of interest. The day was led by Dr. Gemma Bale, a medical physicist at Cambridge University who looks into a novel method of brain imaging, using light. Dr. Bale gave her plenary lecture to the entire forum before everyone was split into their respective groups. Annabelle went to Dr. Freya Blekman’s lecture on particle physics and her work at CERN. I stayed with Dr. Bale and got to take an even further look into the work she has been doing.
At Dr. Bale’s specialist lecture we learned all about the current ways of imaging (MRI etc.), why they are not always ideal and what we can use instead to be less invasive and harsh on vulnerable populations. Dr. Bale has created a technology called CYRIL, to look at activity levels in the brain, using only light. She attaches wires to the head of the patient where light is shone through their scalp and skull and into the brain. This light then reflects back into a spectrophotometer, where absorbance can be used as a proxy for measuring a number of metrics. This device can measure levels of oxygen in the brain as well as the relative rates of metabolism. This technology can be used to test if brain injury has occurred and how ailments such as malnutrition may affect the brain. CYRIL is currently being used to image vulnerable babies in African countries that would otherwise be too frail for testing.
After receiving our specialist lectures, each group was given the challenge of creating a unique presentation to teach the content to the rest of the members of the forum. My group decided to create a short skit followed by a song to explain our ideas. We created a parody of the popular song “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd to explain CYRIL and its benefits. Other groups created comedy sketches, plays and more to convey their ideas!
We then had a bit of a break before dinner and our final plenary lecture of the evening. We were joined by Dr. Sally Day, a chemist at the University College London who looks at liquid crystals. She gave a fantastic demonstration of these crystals and explained their uses in TVs, phone displays and maybe even one day holograms!
It’s hard to believe we’ve been in London for an entire week, time really does fly when you’re having fun!
Until next time,
Rhien