Pembroke College Cambridge

Pembroke MS Research at the Cambridge Science Festival

Multiple Sclerosis research by Pembroke Fellow Professor Robin Franklin is the focus of a one-day exhibition, 'What a Nerve', at the Cambridge Science Festival. Dr Franklin will also be giving a free talk as part of the event. Register here.

Photos and words by the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell institute

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a lifelong condition that often causes serious disabilities to those it affects. Often thought of a as an ‘older persons disease’, it is most commonly diagnosed in people in their 20’s and 30’s. As part of the 2019 Cambridge Science Festival, the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell institute, in partnership with the MS Society Cambridge and District Group and Growing Art Partnerships, are putting on a free one-day exhibition and talk series exploring all aspects of living with Multiple Sclerosis.  Collaborations between MS researchers, artists and people living with MS provides an all-encompassing view on the condition, highlighting, among other things, current research into MS and the issues around disabled access within Cambridge.

 

To be held on Sunday the 17th of March, 2019, ‘What a Nerve’ will be a stimulating exhibition of art expressing disease, science and cells through acrylic, glass, paper, paint and sound by artists Kelly Briggs, Elizabeth Fraser, Virginia Mayo, Charlotte Morrison and Jo Tunmer. The exhibition, held inside the historic Cambridge Union Society Debating Chamber, will be free, open all day and fully accessible. 

An accompanying series of talks and Q&A from researchers, artists and individuals affected by Multiple Sclerosis will allow visitors to hear more about MS and the inspiring science and lived experiences behind the artwork. Two of the speakers, Robin Franklin, Professor of Stem Cell Medicine at the Wellcome- MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, and Susan Kohlhaas, Director of Research at the MS Society, will delve deeper into the research going on at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and the need for further funding.

Professor Robin Franklin and his team at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute are working towards stem-cell-based therapies for myelin regeneration, called remyelination, putting myelin sheaths back on nerve fibres.

“For us to understand how to manage the disease we must first understand how myelin regeneration takes place. Once we understand that, and why it fails, we can understand how to fix it. Continued investment from the MS Society and other funders of medical research is critical at this stage. It’s an extremely optimistic time for MS research, but we need to build on the foundations we have already laid” said Professor Franklin.

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Pembroke graduate student Myfanwy Hill (2015) is part of Professor Franklin's research team, and told us more about the inspiration behind the exhibition, and the work carried out in the lab.

"This exhibition sprung out of conversations with the artists about the work the lab does on a particular brain stem cell. As a lab, we’re interested in how this brain stem cell becomes a mature cell in response to injury in the brain, and in particular we’re interested in understanding what might stop the cell from maturing normally in response to injury.  This is interesting because in diseases like Multiple Sclerosis we see damage occurring in the brain which, early in the disease, usually repairs very well, but later on seems to stop, and we want to understand why."

The exhibition and talks are completely free, but booking for the talks is required. Please see https://www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk/events/what-nerve for more details.

Location: Cambridge Union Society, 9A Bridge Street, CB2 1UB

Date: Sunday 17 March: 10:00am - 5:00pm

The Wellcome - MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute is a world-leading centre for stem cell research with a mission to transform human health through a deep understanding of normal and pathological stem cell behaviour.   Bringing together biological, clinical and physical scientists operating across a range of tissue types and at multiple scales, we explore the commonalities and differences in stem cell biology in a cohesive and inter-disciplinary manner. In 2019, we will relocate to a new purpose-built home on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.  Housing over 350 researchers, including a critical mass of clinician scientists, the Institute will integrate with neighbouring disease-focused research institutes and also act as a hub for the wider stem cell community in Cambridge.  www.stemcells.cam.ac.uk

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