MRC CIR Away Day

The second MRC Centre for Inflammation Research at the University of Edinburgh away day was held on 25^th June in the David Hume Tower (George Square, Edinburgh).  Great attendance, high levels of participation and excellent science made sure it was a real success.

The day began with welcoming presentations by new Director, Professor Chris Gregory, and a Centre report from Dr Paul Fitch.

Twelve research group leaders, some who recently joined the CIR, gave entertaining and informative talks on a wide range of organs and diseases.

• Professor Will Wood – Imaging inflammation in the fly
• Professor Elaine Dzierzak – Hematopoiesis --> Inflammation --> Hematopoiesis
• Dr Calum Bain – Macrophages in chronic inflammation: when the good guys turn bad
• Dr Clare Pridans – Rats, mice and CSF1R
• Professor Chris Gregory –  Sinister self-sacrifice: tumour-promoting effects of cell death in aggressive lymphoma
• Professor Ian Dransfield –  Clearing up after the party – macrophage removal of dying cells
• Dr Henry McSorley –  You're a wizard, ARI: How worm products cast a spell on the immune system
• Dr Sonja Vermeren – Regulation of neutrophils by cellular signaling
• Professor Julia Dorin – Are defensins a fat lot of good?
• Professor Jurgen Schwarze – Innate immune mechanisms in viral bronchiolitis and asthma development in young children
• Dr Robert Gray –  Investigating inflammation in cystic fibrosis
• Professor Kev Dhaliwal –  Better together: Team Science

Dr Donald J Davidson gave an update on the excellent work by the Public Engagement and Communications team, including all the public events the team have been involved in, such as the Edinburgh International and Dunbar Science Festivals, school visits, the Science Insights programme and Supercytes resources.

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Over lunch, everyone had the opportunity to join in the "Lab Olympics" with fierce competition to beat their colleagues in each activity!

Shonna Johnston, QMRI Flow Cytometry facility manager launched the facility’s new website and introduced a public engagement game demonstrating the capacities of cell sorters and their significant impact within immunological research. 

QMRI Flow Cytometry facility

Finally, the day ended with concluding remarks from Centre Director Professor Chris Gregory, followed by presentation of the 2018 award for "Trainee Award for Excellence in Public Engagement" to PhD student Lisa Kelly for her work with Supercytes and Science Insights projects, and the medal ceremony for the “Lab Olympics” with Nick Ogryzko clinching Gold.

The CIR Away Day was a great success, and it was clear at the drinks reception that new links were being forged, with a better appreciation of the excellent work that goes on in the CIR. Many thanks should be given to the CIR Away Day committee, especially Steve Jenkins, Henry McSorley and Sheila Marshall - without their hard work and organisation the event would not have been the success that it was.