Science Writing Competition 2022 – joint 3rd Place
by Helen Stoelting, PhD Student, National Heart and Lung Institute
If Dr Seuss wrote my PhD
Blog posts
Science Writing Competition 2022 – joint 3rd Place
by Teodora Rînciog, MSc Student, Centre for Environmental Policy
Hyenas – misunderstood villains?
Hideous creatures with a demon-like laugh, hyenas definitely meet all the criteria for a classic cartoon villain. I certainly thought so when I was a child, as did all of my childhood friends. None of us even thought twice about this judgement, even into our adulthoods. But, was this fair?
Why do we hate hyenas?
Since the premiere of the exceeding-popular cartoon “The Lion King” in 1994, hyenas were globally established as the silly enemies of the noble lion. Considering the unpleasant appearance of hyenas, the young audience didn’t find this hard to believe. However, this influenced adults too. The New Scientists magazine had hyenas in their cartoon confess: “We’re scavengers, we’re ugly and we smell bad, if we didn’t laugh, we’d crack.” Ernest Hemingway, the world-renowned author, wasn’t a fan of hyenas either. He created many hyena myths in his writing that continued to degrade their reputation (3).
People are easily influenced by the graceful appearance of the lion and thus typically hold positive opinions on the lion’s role in nature. But, looks aren’t everything. The fragile balance of the ecosystem depends on hyenas’ “dirty work” as the garbagemen of nature (4). Fittingly, garbagemen also have negative reputations in competitive human societies, but are an equally crucial part of it. As carnivores and scavengers, hyenas’ main diet consists of corpses of all kinds. These corpses can become a source of microbes that can reach humans and spread like wildfire. Thus, they have the potential to cause serious diseases. Luckily for all of us, hyenas eat these ticking biological timebombs before they can hurt us (4).
Losing the main scavenger is devastating for an ecosystem and also catastrophic for us. For instance, in India, vultures were hunted intensely due to their negative reputation among farmers. The suppression of this central scavenger led to a dramatic increase in infections that transmit from animals to humans (5).
Their cruel destiny
Despite hyena-and-human co-existence for thousands of years, farmers have been poisoning hyenas because they claim hyenas attack their livestock. But hyenas actually target old or ill animals, and are often just caught eating animals that have died from another cause. Hyena’s have been poisoned at an industrial scale with the arrival of European settlers, leading to the extinction of hyenas in South Africa (4). According to The Red List, the population of the most numerous hyena species, the spotted hyena, is estimated at 27,000– 47,000 individuals worldwide, yet it is in in continuous decline. Along with lack of data, this could put the spotted hyena on course to becoming vulnerable to extinction (6).
Hyenas are a crucial link in the food chain and maintain the delicate balance of nature. Sometimes, fairy tales, like the Lion King, can’t show us the true heroes. Heroes can have messy fur instead of red capes. We need to see past our prejudices and take action so that nature does not pay for our mistakes again.
Disclaimer: All the illustrations except the photography (2) and the lion silhouette are created by me using Inkscape software as a tool (3); the thought bubble (cloud) is generated using Microsoft Office shapes. The lion is generated using Microsoft Office Word’s icons.
Science Writing Competition – People’s Choice Award Winner
by Soteroulla Ellina, PhD Student, Department of Brain Sciences
Lab grown heart cells: Keeping the beat up
– Sorry, I am running late at the lab so I will have to raincheck today’s meeting…
This is probably something I have said more times than I wanted… Sometimes in confidence that the other person would understand and sometimes- especially with someone that I haven’t known for long, in a more apologetic way, hoping that they would not judge me. Good for me, this time, my friend belonged in the first category- he has known me for more than 15 years- so we quickly rescheduled.
A few days later, we finally met. After apologising once more for cancelling, I started talking about how unpredictable the lab can be, and how time flies once you are in your lab coat. That was when he looked at me puzzled asking:
– So, what is your PhD about…? Seeing the distress in my face when I realized that one of my best friends did not know what I had dedicated my life for the past 3 years, he tried to calm me down adding:
I know it has to do with Genetics and you are using cells that you take care of everyday. But why?
In his defence, he knew the basics and he was genuinely asking for more information. How could I be mad at him? So, for the first time, I started explaining the science- rather than the practical difficulties and the stress that come with it.
– As you said, I am interested in Genetics, the way that the information about all our traits is transmitted from one generation to the other. More specifically, I am working on an inherited disease- Friedreich’s ataxia- which is incurable and frequently devastating. It usually starts in childhood and mainly affects the nerves causing loss of balance, slurred speech, while the patients die early due to heart failure…
I could see he was stunned… so I quickly switched to the bright side.
– Our aim is to cure the disease. To achieve that, we need to understand the exact mechanism that leads to it. Previous research has shown that the problem within the gene is that its code has 3 letters that are repeated too many times – GAA. This GAA repeat, in patients, switches off the gene when it should be on. The gene is switched off by triggering an ancient defence system which packages the DNA making it inaccessible. Understanding how to overcome this trigger leads to the possibility of switching the gene back on using enzymes that mark the affected gene as ‘active’. That is why I am using these demanding stem cells. They have the capacity to turn to the affected cell type- heart cells- so we can study the disease in a system that resembles the heart, without using the actual organ! Let me show you a video of the beating cells.
– That explains the long hours – he whispered – you keep up the hope along with the beat!
Motivation boosted instantly.
Science Writing Competition – Joint 2nd Place
by Adwoa Sarfo-Bonsu, MSc student, Department of Metabolism, Digestion & Reproduction
The more, the merrier: Cells have social lives too
There are certain processes that occur inside us that can only happen effectively when our cells are in close contact with each other. Our cells are ALWAYS communicating. Sometimes they check in on each other to make sure everyone is alright (tissue homeostasis), other times they might even team up together to fight an infection (immune response), and sometimes cells come together to make a whole new embryo (fertilisation).
To achieve all these things and many more, cells need to be able to constantly send and receive messages and instructions to each other. This communication is crucial to the healthy maintenance of our cells and our bodies. If cell communication goes wrong, this can lead to many diseases including dysregulated cell growth (cancer).
Growing human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in the lab has helped us understand many mechanisms in the processes that happen inside us. Using hESCs we can model some of the events that happen during human embryonic development.
During development, BMP4 is a growth factor that has a role in generating the cells (mesendoderm cells) that will become our future lungs, liver and heart, amongst other organs [1]. We can model and monitor this period in the lab by treating hESCs with BMP4. When treated with BMP4, hESCs which are grown in cell clusters develop mesendoderm cells. However, when grown as single cells, hESCs do not develop mesendoderm cells.
My project was to find out more about why these differences occur and how cell-to-cell contact plays a role in the early stage of embryonic development.
From the difference between the responses to BMP4 in cell clusters and single cells, we know that how cells contact each other affects how they develop. For hESCs to develop into mesendoderm cells, they need to communicate with each other, and we believe that the further away cells are from each other, the less likely they can hear and respond to instructions.
What we don’t know is if the number of cells plated in a dish together can affect how strongly the cells contact each other, and in turn, how that influences cell communication. Finding this out could help us understand more about how cells interact in our bodies.
My experiment consists of plating both low and high numbers of hESCs into dishes and measuring the amount of connecting proteins they present with their neighbouring cells. The more connecting proteins, the stronger the cells are connected. The less connecting proteins, the weaker the cells are connected.
I think the more cells put in a dish together, the more connecting proteins they will have and the more strongly connected they will be. This in turn allows hESCs to communicate better and respond to instructions (such as BMP4) appropriately.
Overall, my project highlights the link between cell-to-cell contact and cell communication. It might be easy to overlook something like how many cells to put in a dish, but let’s be honest, cells have social lives too.
Science Writing Competition 2022 – Joint 2nd Place
by Nicola Robson, MSc student, Department of Life Sciences
The Fossil Gallery
My life in this museum may
Seem rather dull to you,
100 years stuck on a wall
Sounds tiring, it’s true.
But if you knew my story, you
Would soon begin to see
That epochs pass like seconds
When you’re as old as me.
I watch you humans flit about
Like ants, from my display,
And I confess, I do enjoy
To people-watch all day.
And so I’m quite content here, in
The Fossil Gallery – yet
I often reminisce about
My old life in the sea.
My ancestors were lizards
Slinking through the sun-kissed sand,
‘Till one day they decided
They were not content on land.
A major mass extinction meant
All sea creatures were killed;
The ocean was an empty niche
Waiting to be filled.
This drove their evolution,
And scales turned into skin,
Their fingers became flippers
And tail turned into fin.
And so my kind invaded
Any ocean that they pleased.
The ichthyosaurs were reigning
Every corner of the seas.
The Mesozoic Era
Was when I lived and died.
When reptiles ruled the oceans,
Land, rivers, seas and skies.
As powerful as any tide,
My tail swept to and fro,
Wide eyes made for the darkness, so
Into the deep, I’d go.
But I was made for swimming –
Chasing prey in open sea.
You wouldn’t find another who could
Swim as fast as me.
But then there came a time when I
Could chase my prey no more,
I knew my time was over
And sank gently to the floor.
I lay there for millennia,
Upon the ocean bed,
As sediment, like sands of time
Built up upon my head.
And as the heaviness above
Pressed down upon my bone,
Rock soon replaced my body,
And turned me into stone.
The continents all shifted –
Either merged or broke apart.
New species rose and fell, just like
The beating of a heart.
And all the while I stayed there
‘Till my rocky tomb unfurled –
And I gazed upon the landscape of
An unfamiliar world.
You dug me up and hung me on
The wall for all to see.
No living soul had seen a stranger
Animal than me.
A funny fish, or crocodile,
Were both bandied about.
Sea-dragon, dolphin, dinosaur,
You couldn’t work me out.
But science has progressed, and so
You know me now, it’s true.
But just think, I’ve had lots of time
To get to know you, too.
Your climate’s getting warmer, you’re
Held captive by your phones,
Will you only stop to see it
When all that’s left of you is bones?
So as the day comes to a close here
In the Fossil Gallery,
I watch you down below me, and
You look, but do not see.
So I look on with interest
Because stay on this wall I must –
Until you come to join me
Or I crumble into dust.
Science Writing Competition 2022 – 1st Place
by Thea Mainprize, PhD Student, Department of Life Sciences
The Trial of the Red Gazelle
The thylacine, aurochs and countless more, What is another knocking at Heaven’s door? One more quietly met their maker,
The red gazelle (Eudorcas rufina).
Bright rufous pelts – such beauty, such grace! But all we know about are skin and face,
No genetic studies, no records in the wild, Only two specimens worldwide on file.
Three, there once were, shot 19th century, Allegedly Algerian – though this is speculatory, Upon inspection, an imposter! Begone!
One red-fronted gazelle (Eudorcas rufifrons). With the IUCN denouncing its legitimacy1, The red gazelle faded into obscurity,
A true species, or all imposters? Court in session to settle the matter.
“Last expert, please!” The judge demands, I swear my oath and begin at the stand,
“Ringed horns, large pocket for scent glands, Undeniably Eudorcas, no doubt about that”. “It is slightly similar”, remarked I,
“To Thomson’s gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii), But most features and short, straight horns,
It completely resembles Eudorcas rufifrons.”
But what of its real affinity? Distinct, rufifrons or thomsonii?
Measurements done, the analysis complete, The jury reached a verdict, drum roll please. Several points clustered together,
Eudorcas rufifrons and Eudorcas rufina, Also grouped in the evolutionary tree, Unanimous decision – defendant guilty.
The defence lawyer rumbles, suddenly erupts, “Explain yourself!” The judge interrupts, “Objection, your honour!” Cried he,
“This trial is based only on morphology!
I beg you, your honour, you must reconsider, Else my client be condemned forever,
To the vast depths of purgatory, Remaining anonymous to humanity.”
The judge ponders, slowly speaks, “A trial with DNA is what you seek?”
“Yes, your honour, for anatomy can lie – Birds and bats – unrelated – but both fly.” The judge, moved by impassioned plea, Adjourns the court immediately,
This creature, thought I, imposter or not, Should not be one Father Time forgot.
At time of writing, I patiently await,
DNA results – species or not will they state? The judge arrives, bangs the gavel,
“Order! Order!” The plot unravels, Prosecution ready, the accused tense Defence determined, courtroom suspense, Soon, once again, I take to the stand,
The red gazelle’s fate rests in my hands.
(1) From left to right: The skulls of Thomson’s gazelle (E. thomsonii), red gazelle (E. rufina) and red-fronted gazelle (E. rufifrons). Note the prominent horn rings and large, deep dip in front of the eyes. This is called the pre-orbital fossa and houses important scent glands. These features are hallmarks of the Eudorcas gazelles.
(2) A plot constructed from measurement data taken from skulls of Eudorcas gazelles. This type of cluster analysis, called ‘principal component analysis’ is often used in morphological studies, and when points group together it can be indicative of the same species – as can be seen for the red gazelle (E. rufina) which is nestled within the E. rufifrons group. The two were also grouped in my evolutionary tree based on morphological features.
1. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (2008). Eudorcas rufina (Red Gazelle). Available at: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8974/12944313#assessment-information
Urban Resilience Dialogues: Growing an online community through a research podcast
By Corina Angheloiu, PhD Student, Centre for Environmental Policy
As the pandemic has unfolded, as PhD students we’ve had to rethink the ways in which we conduct our research, share and discuss findings, as well as build networks and seed collaborations. In this blog post, I’ll share my experience of co-developing a podcast in this attempt to adapt.
Why a podcast?
I’m a third year PhD student in the Centre for Environmental Policy and my research focuses on the ways we can tackle increasing gaps between the knowledge and the implementation of urban resilience. As a field, urban resilience has never seemed more vital over the past year – we’ve seen the ways in which different cities have dealt with challenges posed by a shock such as the pandemic, as well as challenges arising from the overlap of shocks (such as hurricanes or wildfires) or the overlap between the impact of the pandemic and existing underlying stressors such as air pollution, demographics, or inequality.
However, as researchers, practitioners, and policy makers we’ve been lacking spaces to pause and reflect and to dig deeper into the tricky topics that we usually discuss on the sideline of conferences, official events, trainings or social gatherings. With most events being moved online, we’ve been overwhelmed by the volume of urban resilience webinars and conferences. Although these are valuable contributions, I sensed a gap in facilitated dialogues and smaller scale spaces for discussion and connection.
How did we do it?
With this in mind, myself and urban resilience practitioner Chiara Tomaselli decided to start a podcast where we can explore key urban resilience issues with different guests, as well as facilitate discussions among the wider community of resilience professionals. To do so, we decided to record our podcasts using Zoom, and invite members of our wider urban resilience community of practice to join us live for the recording sessions and stay for a conversation and reflections afterward.
So far we’ve produced four episodes and have plans for two more and one recap as part of this first season. In episode 1, we travelled to Santiago de Chile to explore the role of memory in urban resilience with Cristobal Reveco, episode 2 took us to Calgary where we talked about all things feminism with Jenna Dutton, while in episode 3 we discussed the topic of vulnerability in the context of Wayanad with Mrudhula Koshy. Our fourth episode is just out – and this time we interrogate the meaning, application, scaling (and failure) of urban experiments with Federico Savini.
What we’ve learnt
We started thinking about this idea of a podcast with no knowledge of the production skills required so it has felt like a steep learning curve! We’ve found that producing one episode a month is a manageable rhythm with our other commitments, and we usually plan one episode ahead. We’ve also found it really valuable to have a warm up chat with our guest of the month, to bounce ideas about the topic we want to explore and get to know each other.
When we started we thought our topics were relatively niche compared to many other podcasts, especially ones that explore wider urban issues. However, we were blown away by the success so far – we’ve had more than 400 listeners, while the live recording sessions have built a regular attendance of about 10-15 urban resilience professionals with whom we’ve had great conversations at the end of the live recording. This has been a great encouragement and we’re now already thinking of the structure for our next season.
In conclusion, I’d really recommend podcasting as a format for dissemination and engagement – and why not, as a research method in its own right!
You can listen to all the podcast episodes on your app of choice by following this link.
This research podcast has been made possible with financial support from the Graduate School Research Community Fund.
Department of Infectious Diseases PhD Student Welcome
At the beginning of October, PhD students from the Department of Infectious Diseases were able to come together at a welcome event. Students from all year groups and based across multiple campuses met at a local pub for a friendly drink. 
At the first of what we hope are many events throughout the academic year, we laid the base of a strong foundation to create a supportive, engaging and friendly network of students from across the department. We were able to discuss lab problems and share career planning advice, as well as stories from the lockdown and our favourite local take outs! This was a wonderful reminder of the community to be found within our department, and as the year progresses the student reps hope to continue to build an inclusive environment for PhD students.
Please watch your emails for future DoID PhD cohort events, which allow you to meet and make connections with your fellow students from across the department.
Walking Tour in London
By David Uribe Saenz De Camara, PhD Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Friday 22nd October saw 13 tribology PhD students joining the “London City of Sin” walking tour and discovering that darker history that cannot be learnt from books. This activity was undertaken as a team building exercise to help integrate new students into the group as mingling in a non-academic environment has not been possible since the Covid outbreak.
Around 6PM, the group headed to Waterloo and stocked up on refreshments as preparation for the 2.5-hour walk. At 7PM, they met their tour guide Vincent and started the stroll along South Bank -now an iconic area but once a medieval red-light district-. They walked through both landmarks and some of the lesser-known side streets, and heard fascinating stories from history, of Shakespeare, vice, gore, and lust. Around 9.30PM, the walking tour came to an end, and some energetic students finished the day with a drink in the iconic pub “The Mudlark”.
We are thankful to the Graduate School Research Community Fund for their financial support to sponsor the walking tour and help us improving the engagement in the Tribology research community.
The SynBIC goes to the Isle of Wight
By Javier Cabello Garcia, PhD Student, Department of Bioengineering
After a really tough year, the members of the SynBIC decided to organize a trip to bring back together PhD and Master’s students. This way, we could give a proper welcome to the new arrivals in the team! After thinking about what the best place for our meet and greet would be, we reached the logical conclusion that there is no better place than a garlic farm! So, we headed to the Isle of Wight to visit its garlic farm and the island surroundings.
The day trip to the Isle of Wight took place on Friday 2nd of July, 2021. Our voyage started at 8.30 when we got a coach from Victoria station. During the 2 hours trip, we hang out talking with each other and playing card games. Once in Portsmouth, we walked to the port where we rode the hovercraft that brought us to the Isle of Wight. The hovercraft was an experience itself! You do not fly over the water every day.
Later that morning, a bus transported us to the Isle of Wight garlic farm, a place of international renown. There, we enjoyed lunch (always respecting current COVID restrictions!). We visited the farm afterwards, taking a stroll through the garlic while listening about all the different garlic variants that they grow.
After that, we took a bus back to Ryde beach. This bus also happened to be a tourist bus, so we could quickly see other attractions of the isle of Wight, like the big cat sanctuary or the vineyard. The discovery of the latest caused a small mutiny among some members of the expedition, that questioned why we went to the garlic farm instead of the vineyard (Author’s note: Even when garlic is far superior). After putting down mercilessly the insurrection, we arrived at Ryde beach where we hiked and carried out some team building activities. There, we had some time to know each other better and give a warm welcome to the newcomers! We even had some time to talk about our current projects, which sparked some collaborations between the members of the centre!
After a full day of activities, we took the hovercraft back to Portsmouth, where we took the coach back to Victoria. On the trip back, some were chatting, others fast asleep, but most of us were simply watching Spain obliterate Switzerland in the Euros!
The atmosphere in the trip back was completely different from the outbound journey. We were more talkative, and the groups mingled together. So I guess the trip was a success! We had a great experience meeting new people and participating in the activities. New arrivals could introduce themselves and get to know their new lab mates. On the other hand, senior members were able to reencounter in a more relaxed and ludic environment. At the end of the journey, we all had a clearer idea about other members’ research and who they are outside the lab. Additionally, the experience increased our sense of belonging to a group. Everybody (even the vineyard insurgents) concluded that the trip was a great experience from a professional and personal point of view.
And of course, we especially acknowledge Imperial College London Graduate School for sponsoring our day trip to the Isle of Wight. Their funding has been vital for the PhD and master students at the SynBIC!