On the 23rd and 24th June, I had an exciting opportunity to take part in the ‘Technicians takeover’ event in the David Salisbury gallery in the Science Museum , London.
It was a 2 week national initiative which was delivered in partnership with the UK Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy and the Science Museum group.
The event was dedicated to showcasing the vital work that technicians do behind the scenes. As a Pancreatic Research Project Technician, working in the Department of Molecular and Clinical Cancer Medicine I showcased with the support of our PhD student, Juan Lin, one arm of the research work we do in our group: Drug Discovery.
Acute pancreatitis has no current targeted drug treatment and patients are usually given supported treatment such as anti-emetics (to reduce sickness) analgesia (to reduce pain) and fluids with nutrition.
With 3 microscopes, 3 cameras and 3 monitors, kindly loaned to us by Imperial College London for the event and slides we showed the difference between;
- a normal pancreas
- a damaged pancreas caused by acute pancreatitis
- a compound-treated pancreas
along with some knitted pancreases (!) and posters.
We were set up in the Technician’s gallery, to showcase the work we do in Drug discovery and the work that I contribute too, as the research groups’ technician to school-age children and the general public.
It was a very busy 2 days for me, as discussions with the general public led me to discussing work other than the drug discovery work that we do and the vital role I play as a technician in the group.
There were challenges for me to overcome, such as Juan Lin having to leave early to attend a European conference in Turkey and the heatwave! But it led to a very enjoyable experience engaging with the public.
People from all over the world (Eg: Brazil, Greece, India, USA, Canada, China, Korea etc) stopped at our stall to listen to the work we do. A number were clinically trained staff from their own country and asked questions about the disease in general. People also asked about my vital role specifically as the technician in the group.
School parties stopped by and listened as I explained the work and the kids loved looking down the microscopes at the different stages of pancreatic injury cause by acute pancreatitis. They very much liked the knitted pancreases, and some children even took them away to keep!
Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience to have been a part of this event. It was an honour and a privilege to have been invited to be a small part of this event at the Science museum, helping to inspire the next generation of researchers to study this disease with no current drug targeted treatment.