On October 21st, students from grades 10 to 12 who signed up in Ms. Mulji or Ms. Gill's class were chosen to go to the Gairdner Symposium in the Child & Family Research Institute located in the University of British Columbia. This symposium, now running for more than 50 years, was created to celebrate the advances of health technology and the obstacles doctors, researchers and patients had overcome together. Furthermore, students were treated with two, high-up-on-the-ladder guest lecturers as well as some of the facilities used in medical and health research in UBC. Unfortunately, we were not allowed any pictures in the Symposium, however, I will tell you my experience about this grand, internationally acclaimed event.
The first lecturer was Mr. Kim Nasmyth, a 2007 Gairdner International Award Recipient who is currently a Whitley Professor of Biochemistry in Oxford University, England. He lectured students about two main things: What him and his team of researchers are working on right now, and the principles he thinks are important when you're doing science. So firstly, what him and his team are researching about right now. Mr. Nasmyth and his researching team are trying to find out how our cells know how to go through mitosis. Mitosis, if you haven't learned it yet (or have forgotten) is the process in which cells' DNA splits apart in order to make new cells in order to create a new living organism. Mr. Nasmyth's team was trying to answer these questions in their research: Why do they split apart? How do they know to split apart? How do they know to do certain steps? And many more.
The other idea that Mr. Nasmyth talked to us about were his principles to science. By that, I don't mean "make sure to wear gloves" or "don't run in the lab". (However, those ARE still important!) By "principles", I mean morals, values and virtues. In this part of the lecture, Mr. Nasmyth basically said this: If you believe something is worth researching, stay with it. If you believe it's not, don't be afraid to stop and do something you think is worth your time. Many students listening to his lecture agreed that his message of sticking to what you believe in was very uplifting and motivating.
The second lecturer was Sir Gregory Winter. He won a Gairdner International Award this year, and is currently the Master of Trinity College; the same college Sir ISAAC NEWTON attended, located in England. Specializing in therapeutic antibodies, Sir Winter lectured about this and told the group of students one of his favourite success stories. The antibodies that he creates with the many companies under his wing are made in order to combat the deadly and sensitive issue of cancer. In fact, these antibodies were the reason that he was knighted for his life-changing and ever accepted results by the Queen of England. A quick summary of these antibodies, they are 95% humanoid antibodies and 5% mouse antibodies. By a very difficult process; so difficult that he himself said that if he told us "how (they) changed these antibodies, (we'd) be both confused and stuck (in UBC) for days", they were able to genetically engineer these antibodies together, and create a concoction of DNA that ate away and eradicated cancer.
One of the success stories he told us was of an elderly woman who had a large, cancerous tumor in her pancreas. After 1 day, it dramatically decreased in size. Being one of the test patients, Sir Winter recalled asking her why she wanted to try this treatment. He told us that her reply was to see if it would help her live just 2 months more. When he questioned, he explained to us that she told him her husband was dying of dementia, and that he had only 2 months. She then said; and Sir Winter quoted this, that "I'd like to die right when he does so I don't have to feel lonely". Needless to say, some tears were shed in that lecture. Sir Winter explained that that was why he did his research. He told us, and we agreed, that those are the people that make the hard work feel so worthwhile.
After the lectures, students were then put into groups and were given tours around the research facilities available at UBC. The facilities ranged from specializing in microbiology, the study of pregnancy, nutrition, technology in artificial limbs, and more. All the while, students were treated with kindness as they questioned about many things such as college life, courses and is it scary to have college homework?
For a bit more on the Gairdner symposium and the award itself, check out their website!
http://www.gairdner.org/
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