10 Dec 2019
HEIDI DOUGLASS | h.douglass@unsw.edu.au
Aspiring Year 10 students from schools across New South Wales have been given a taste of research life in CHeBA’s Brain & Ageing Research Laboratory.
Matthew Wong, together with Leader of the Brain & Ageing Research Laboratory – Dr Nady Braidy, and fellow CHeBA PhD students Yue Liu, Marina Ulanova and Gurjeet Kaur hosted up to six high school students across two separate days in November.
The sessions, led by Mr Wong, introduced CHeBA's team and research vision and objectives, while highlighting the need to identify biomarkers to facilitate early detection and possible intervention strategies for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
The year 10 students also learnt about some of the current PhD research projects through Mr Liu’s presentation on vascular dementia and Ms Ulanova’s talk on application of nanoparticles to enhance amyloid MRI.
The eager students were given a private tour of a School of Medical Sciences (SOMS) PC2 laboratory and the Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry Facility (BMSF) laboratory, where they were given an introduction to some of the analytical tools commonly used to investigate healthy ageing and disease, including mass spectrometry/omics, cell culture and protein gels.
Many students who attended reported an interest in pursuing science beyond their current studies.
“We hope this experience will be of great benefit to this year 10 group as they navigate the future – perhaps our next generation of leading researchers,” said PhD student Matthew Wong.
CHeBA’s Co-Directors Professor Henry Brodaty and Professor Perminder Sachdev wished the students all the best for their future.
