Cardiff Met To Host Genetics Seminar

Cardiff Metropolitan University is holding a series of seminars around the theme of ‘Improving Health through Education and Research’, with the upcoming seminar in the series entitled ‘Genomics and Genetics in Health and Disease’. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Presented by the Cardiff School of Health Sciences (CSHS) and supported by the City of Llandaff branch of the Rotary Club of Cardiff, the event will explore how advances in the study of each individual patient’s genetic make-up are leading to a new era of ‘personalised medicine’. Attendees will have the chance to hear about the research being conducted into this exciting new area of science at CSHS and elsewhere. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Cardiff Met speakers will be Dr Maninder Ahluwalia, a biomedical scientist who is an expert in genetics research, and Dr Katie Thirlaway, a health psychologist who is an expert in patient’s perceptions of how their genetic make-up impacts upon their health and wellbeing. Both speakers will discuss the research work being carried out in the University, while external speaker Dr Rachel Butler (Consultant Clinical Scientist/Head of the All-Wales Genetics Diagnostic Laboratory, Institute of Medical Genetics, University Hospital of Wales) will explain how this research interfaces with clinically-related research being conducted elsewhere. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Previous lectures in the series include seminars named ‘Unfit for Ageing: Frailty and Neurodegeneration’ (which explored health problems arising from age-related conditions such as frailty and neurodegeneration), ‘Dealing with the Problems of Increasing Antibiotic Resistance’ (which looked in to the problems arising from anti-biotic resistance and finding alternative and innovative ways of controlling infection), and ‘Translating Exercise-linked Health Benefits from the Laboratory into the Community’ (which discussed promotion of exercise participation within the general public). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Dr Richard Webb, Head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cardiff Met, said: “We are very much looking forward to the next seminar to be held here at the University, and are particularly excited about the calibre of our speakers. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The ‘Genomics and Genetics in Health and Disease’ seminar will also involve a stimulating Q&A session where audience members can participate in an informal discussion about the topic. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The seminar is open to all and will be held on Monday 25th April at Cardiff Met’s Llandaff Campus (Room O023) from 6pm to 8pm. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​