What do Weetabix, dinosaurs, and the MND Association have in common? They were all present at New Scientist Live, held in London on 18-20 October!
New Scientist Live is a festival of science and technology, showcasing everything from space to agriculture to medical science. It’s a place for budding young scientists to discover more about their interests and to be inspired by the amazing science going on all around the UK.
Here at the MND Association, we are passionate about supporting and engaging young researchers at all stages of their career. Whether through our fellowship programme or through organising events such as MND EnCouRage UK, we want to encourage the brightest minds to pursue and stay in MND research. We saw New Scientist Live as an opportunity to not only raise awareness of MND and the work of the Association, but to also capture the attention of young people at the very beginnings of their career, encouraging them to consider MND research from the start. Visitors to our stand were able to take part in four different activities, demonstrating different aspects of MND research. You can read more about our activities on our website.
“It’s been very educational and inspirational.“
“This is really cool. I really like this stand. You get to build genes from Lego and that’s amazing.“
Visitors to the stand
Members of the research team were joined at the event by Dr Simon Judge, from the Assistive Technology team at Barnsley Hospital, and three fantastic early career researchers (ECRs), Jade Lucas, Emma Dyke, and Hamish Crerar. Both Hamish and Emma are funded by the Association, and all three have attended our MND EnCouRage UK event – Jade and Emma both attended this year, and Hamish attended the very first event in 2022. You can read more about Emma and Hamish’s work on our research we fund pages, and about Jade’s experience at MND EnCouRage UK in her guest blog. Having real life scientists at the event was a great way to bring the research to life for the young people who attended, giving them an insight into life as an MND researcher. A huge thank you to Simon, Emma, Jade, and Hamish, for giving up their time and being so fantastic at the event.
“As a teenager, I went to New Scientist Live. My friend and I used to literally count down the days to it. Walking around the stalls, seeing the latest science discoveries, and actually talking to scientists made me feel: “Wow, I want to do this too.” It was the first time I realised science wasn’t just something in textbooks, it’s alive, exciting, and full of people trying to answer big questions.“
Jade Lucas – ECR
Over the three days of the event, we spoke to over 2200 people! We had conversations with a wide range of people – from young children learning about genes for the first time to people who have been personally affected by MND. Something that really stood out was the conversations we had with students doing their GCSEs and A Levels and considering a career in science. It was great to hear their enthusiasm for all kinds of scientific fields, from biology to technology, and to be able to showcase how each of these fields can contribute to MND research.
“Thanks for being informative, it was amazing. Thanks for an insight into research and MND, not just about the disease but also the technology, it’s amazing to see.“
Visitor to the stand
Take a look at the video below to see some of the highlights from the event!
“I thought that it was an eye-opening experience, and it really furthered my knowledge of neurodegenerative disease and furthered my interest in the field. I am going to look into the charity further.“
Visitor to the stand
Overall, we had an incredible time. We hope that by sparking an interest in MND research at such an early stage, we have sown the seeds for a new generation of enthusiastic and bright scientists to be the future of MND research. We raised awareness of MND and the work of the MND Association through countless conversations, and even introduced science and research to young kids through Lego and games. It was great to represent the work of the Association and MND researchers in amongst the Weetabix and the dinosaurs, and show that MND research is an exciting and optimistic part of the wider scientific community.
