• Question: Has you research help further our knowledge?

    Asked by Nature Boy to Alex, Laura, Lesley, Richard, vediacan on 13 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Richard Prince

      Richard Prince answered on 13 Jun 2015:

      Hi Nature Boy,
      I can’t boast that I have made any startling discoveries that have changed the world. Most of what I’ve contributed have been small steps forward in the field (and it’s like that for the vast majority of scientists). There are a couple of areas that my work contributed to that I’m quite proud of though. One is working out how a mutation in a protein involved in nerve to muscle signalling caused a really serious muscle disease called “congenital myasthenic syndrome”. I was part of quite a big team on that project and my contribution was to write the computer software that allowed the data to be analysed. The software was used by the team for years after I left the lab in lots of different projects and it’s saved them huge amounts of time.
      Best wishes
      Richard

    • Photo: Laura Newton

      Laura Newton answered on 13 Jun 2015:

      Hey!

      I’m still just starting out in my career so I haven’t had time to do as much as I want to yet but I’ve found a few things.

      During my undergraduate degree I worked with someone who had discovered a new drug by accident and I helped find out how it worked and that it was safe for humans.

      Then I worked in a lab looking at diseases during pregnancy and I found out that babies born after certain complications don’t have such good blood vessels so we can give them medications to help them.

      Now I’m nearly a year into my PhD and I’m looking at how to detect damage in your skin when it’s exposed to UV light. I’ve started making some tools and if they work then that will be a big discovery so fingers crossed!

      Thanks for your question!
      Laura

    • Photo: Vedia Can

      Vedia Can answered on 14 Jun 2015:

      Hey Nature Boy!!

      Well, I hope that at the end of my PhD, my research will definitely help further our knowledge in understanding the pathways involved in initiating the process of Osteoarthritis, which will allow companies to produce drugs that will specifically treat Osteoarthritis. I have attended a few conferences where I have presented my findings to my peers. My research shows that Osteoarthritis is an inflammatory mediated disease (some of my peers may disagree), and I plan to identify the key components responsible for initiating this process.

      Hope this helps!

      Best Wishes,

      Vedia

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