Connecting research interests across the college
The objective of this network is to enhance scientific discussions and collaborations in Gonville & Caius college. One of the advantages of being in a college is the interaction with many leading experts across a range of disciplines. Scientists in different fields often study similar problems, but this is done with different approaches and in different departments. As a result, many potential overlaps of interests remain unexplored owing to lack of exposure. This network aims to bring to light intra-Caius common interests in the hope that this will generate further fertilising scientific discussions and interactions.
Caius students are encouraged to attend these meetings not only to be exposed to the forefront research carried out in the college, but also to take part in the discussions and possibly collaborate with the wide range of experienced researchers we have.
The main activity of the CSN is termly meetings, usually taking place toward the end of every term, in which college researchers make short presentations of particular research problems. The definition of 'research problem' is broad, anything from a solution to a stubborn equation to a search for complementary skills for a joint project or a proposal collaboration.
The talks are informal and occasional interruptions with questions are encouraged. Each talk will be about 25-30 minutes and will be followed by a discussion. The main aim of this series of talks is to facilitate intra-Caius useful discussions and potential collaborations.
Below is a list of past titles and synopses of the talks. If you see something that grabs your attention feel free to contact the relevant researcher. If you would like to give a presentation please send me an email with a title and a 3-4 paragraphs synopsis, comprehensible to others outside your field. If you would like me to link here your presentation, please send ot to me as a pdf file.
The talks
- Meeting 1: June 21, 2017, Caius college Senior Parlour, 20:30
Tim Pedley: A new squirmer model for swimming micro-organisms?
Abstract:
Not available
Anthony Edwards: How many n-set simple Venn diagrams are there?
Abstract:
Not available
Gareth Conduit: Future applications of machine learning
Abstract:
Not available
Rafi Blumenfeld: Can we use a recent quantitative structural characterisation of disordered foams for early detection of metastasis risk?
Abstract:
I have developed a method to describe quantitatively local structures of disordered granular, cellular and porous media. The method works both for 2D and 3D structures and it turns out to be sensitive to subtle differences in structural characteristics, which are difficult to capture by eye. I would like to explore application of the method to detect precursors to metastasis, based on the hypothesis that, prior to metastasis, tissues undergo structural changes. Specifically, the idea is to compare normal and pre-metastasis tissues for significant differences, which can be used as a warning sign.
My aim is to interest someone, or more than one person, with access to good resolution images of such tissues. The scale of the project may vary from a small test of the hypothesis on a specific type of quasi 2D tissue to a PhD, or larger, project. Positive results could be considered as a basis for a funding proposal.
Presentation
- Meeting 2: November 23, 2017, Caius college Fellows dining room, 20:30
Rob Miller: Loss, Irreversibility and Ideal Machines
Abstract:
The aim of the talk is to introduce a new method for analysing the performance of engines (e.g. jet engines or internal combustion engines). Rob is interested in the possibility of applying the method to other areas science such as biological systems.
Jeremy Prynne: Scientific Apophthegms
Abstract:
The aim of this presentation is to entice scientists to collaborate with Jeremy by providing either apophthegms (smart aphorisms/sayings) from their fields or valid scientific insights/models/ideas for Jeremy to construct apophthegms from. These would be included in his growing anthology. This should appeal to all of us, as I believe that Jeremy is open to accommodate any field of science and technology.
- Meeting 3: Wednesday, March 14, 2018, Caius College Bateman Auditorium, 20:30
Joe Herbert: Gender has personal, social, psychological, legal and medical implications
Abstract:
Transgender is very much in the news. It questions the traditional definitions of binary two genders. Gender has social, psychological, legal and medical implications. It also poses a challenge for neuroscience: how much do we know about how gender is determined? What are the roles of genes, hormones or the environment? Are there patterns in the brain that might represent gender? And what is the relation in the brain between gender and sexuality?
David Summers: The morals of a microbe: prudence vs the prodigal bacteria
Abstract:
The many microbiomes associated with the human body are increasingly recognised to have significant effects on the functioning of our bodies both in sickness and in health. I will briefly review the extensive effects of the bacterial signalling molecule indole, the current focus of research in my laboratory. The complexity of the gut microbiome presents a serious barrier to understanding its function. Many big data approaches are being undertaken but in this presentation I want to demonstrate the complexity that can arise from just a single bacterial species (E. coli) and a single signal (indole). Building upon such a simple beginning is one route towards an understanding of complex microbiomes in vivo.
- Meeting 4: Monday, June 11, 2018, Caius College Senior Parlour, 20:30
Malcolm Smith: Mechanisms and passivity. What is it possible to build
Abstract:
A brief glimpse into the history of circuits will be used to illustrate that, even in the 1920s, electrical engineers were able to elegantly answer abstract questions on which "impedance functions" could be built and which could not. Modern-day consequences for mechanical devices will be briefly recalled. The talk will discuss a current research question of the speaker: is it possible to build a “lossless adjustable spring”? Indeed, what is it, and what could it be used for?
Glen Vinnicombe: The Poisson box
Abstract:
For a simple birth death process (constant birth rate, exponential deaths) it is well known that the variance equals the mean. We conjecture that for two coupled birth death processes it is not possible for both processes to simultaneously beat this bound. That is, if X is controlling Y, and vice versa, then in order for the variance in Y to be reduced below the Poisson limit then the variance in X must be above it. For cell biology, this suggests that large fluctuations in the population of one molecular species might be a natural consequence of it being implicated in regulating a second. The conjecture is known to hold at high numbers, ie the diffusion limit, and at very low numbers - a general proof remains elusive though.
- Meeting 5: Thursday, November 29, 2018, Caius College Senior Parlour, 20:30
Patrick Chinnery: Cracks in the mitochondrial bottleneck
Abstract:
Mitochondria are sub-cellular organelles that are required to produce energy inside our cells. They are semi-autonomous by containing multiple copies of their own genome (mtDNA). MtDNA is inherited exclusively down the maternal line and is prone to mutate, but there is limited capacity for mtDNA repair. How, therefore, do we prevent the relentless accumulation of mutations that, if left unchecked, would lead to a failure of energy production, and extinction of our species? Work in my laboratory has cast light on some of the underlying mechanisms, taking our group into the world of stochastic systems and feedback loops. Can we predict the likelihood a mutation is transmitted, does the cell nucleus or the environment influence this, and what are the implications in the short and long term? I am looking for new ways to analyse and model these complex biological datasets to generate new hypotheses we can test in the human population.
Dino A. Giussani: Intergenerational transmission of cardiac protection via maternal mitochondria
Abstract:
The parental environment can influence the offspring wellbeing via both paternal and maternal lines. However, mechanisms of intergenerational transmission remain poorly understood. While transmission of advantageous traits across generations is established in plants and invertebrates, the majority of examples in vertebrates relate to non-genomic intergenerational inheritance of detrimental traits, such as increased disease risk. Work in my laboratory has now shown that transmission of overt advantageous traits, such as cardiac protection against a future heart attack across generations is possible in mammals. The transmission occurs across the maternal line and is mediated via the mitochondria. We suggest the work offers a possible mechanism of natural selection driving environmental adaptation from generation to generation in mammals.
- Meeting 6: Thursday March 7, 2019, Caius College Senior Parlour, 20:30
Will Handley: Cosmological Bayesian inference
Abstract:
Over the past two decades, observational cosmologists have pioneered the widespread use of Bayesian inference techniques in astrophysical analyses. In this talk, I shall cover the fundamental theory of Bayesian model comparison and parameter estimation using examples from cosmology and exoplanet detection. Emphasis shall be placed on how to generalise these approaches to other fields, and the numerical tools which represent the current state-of-the art for performing these analyses.
Kay-Tee Kaw (in collaboration with Nicholas Wareham, Nick.wareham@mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk): What can we learn from population studies? 25 years of the European prospective investigation into cancer in Norfolk (EPIC Norfolk) cohort study
Abstract:
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition in Norfolk (http://www.srl.cam.ac.uk/epic/) is a prospective population based study of 25,000 men and women resident in Norfolk, United Kingdom, who were aged 39-79 years when first recruited in 1993-1997 and followed up to the present with repeated health assessments and ascertainment of health outcomes. This cohort is part of a 10 country half million participant collaboration. The overall aims of the study are to understand the lifestyle and biological determinants of health and chronic disease in the population to inform prevention and treatment strategies. This cohort is well characterised in terms of behavioural and lifestyle: (diet, physical activity, psychosocial factors), biological and metabolic profiling including blood and urine biochemistry, genetic data, environment (residential postcode) and, in subsets, imaging, including retinal photography and whole body DEXA, and subsequent health outcomes through record linkage with mortality and health records and disease registries such as cancer registries as well as objective measures of functional health including physical and cognitive performance. Current projects are to conduct metabolomic and proteonomic profiling on stored samples from the cohort to identify markers predicting future health outcomes and to understand mechanisms and trajectories of disease and health. There is substantial potential for further collaborations developing approaches using new analytic technology using the data available in the cohort, in particular the imaging data.
- Meeting 7: Wednesday June 12, 2019, Caius College Green Room, 20:30
Alex Routh: Using neutrons to examine soft matter
Abstract:
Objects which are smaller than the wavelength of light cannot be seen using conventional microscopes. Other forms of radiation can be used, with x-rays being common through techniques such as x-day CT. Neutrons have a wavelength of a few nm and so are perfect for examining nano-materials. A parameter called scattering length density is the neutron analog to refractive index for light and a difference in scattering length density is required to be able to see any component. Because hydrogen and deuterium have near identical chemistries but very different scattering lengths, we can tune the scattering length by selectively deuterating materials. Neutron beams are available at national facilities. The two sources for UK users are the Rutherford lab in Oxford and the Institut Laue Langevin in Grenoble. In this talk two examples of projects which involved neutrons will be shown Engine oil is often saturated with water and by using D2O we were able to track how water partitions in oil Proteins interact in solution. By selectively deuterating an intrinsically disordered protein we were able to investigate how it protects a globular protein from denaturation.
Emilie Ringe: Plasmonic Nanoparticles
Abstract:
Interest in nanotechnology is driven by unprecedented means to tailor physical behavior via structure and composition. Most properties, including optical, catalytic, and electronic, can be fine-tuned through choice of composition, size, and shape of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles of free-electron metals, typically gold and silver, can in fact concentrate light via a phenomenon called localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs). LSPRs provide an attractive platform for enhanced photon absorption and scattering (far-field effects) at their (size, shape, and composition-dependent) resonance frequency, while concurrently generating a strong electric field close to the NP’s surface (near-field effects). This talk will first discuss the fundamental science and established applications of LSPRs , including refractive index sensing and surface-enhanced spectroscopies. Then, it will address opportunities related to earth-abundant metals that provide cheap, sustainable alternatives to silver and gold. These include aluminum for UV applications and the very recently discovered nanostructured magnesium for enhanced light-matter interactions in the visible range. Together with the well-known noble metal structures, these new metals offer opportunities to harvest and manipulate light at the nanoscale to probe the world around us as well as drive chemical reactions.
- Meeting 8: Tuesday November 19, 2019, Bateman Auditorium, 20:30
Ian Henderson: The importance of sex
Abstract:
Most plants, animals and fungi (including humans), retain the capacity for sexual reproduction. At the centre of sex is a variant of the normal cell division (mitosis) called meiosis. Meiosis divides the cells chromosomes twice, producing gametes with half the number - these cells become gametes, for example sperm and eggs. During meiosis chromosomes also undergo a tightly choreographed process of pairing and recombination. Due to these features reproduction via meiosis has a profound effect on genetic diversity and is believed to accelerate adaptation of species. We investigate the mechanisms by which meiotic recombination occurs, using plants as a model system. We are interested in why different regions of the chromosomes recombine at high frequency (hotspots), whereas other regions, including the centromeres, are coldspots. We are interested in how sequence diversity between the interacting chromosomes may feedback onto recombination. Equally we are testing the role that epigenetic information plays in shaping the recombination landscape. I will present some of our latest findings and future directions.
Johanna Rees: Novel proteomic methods to establish therapeutic targets and the design of effective drugs
Abstract:
Designing therapeutics for different types of diseases can be challenging unless the local environment of the target cells is known and also the downstream effects and consequences. Our lab develops novel proteomic tools to establish the protein microenvironment on the surface of cells that can inform us of downstream signalling pathways. This enables us, and drug companies, to fine-tune development of therapeutics, in particular `blocking antibodies', for the treatment of several cancers and heart conditions. We can also predict `cis interactors' especially in the context of how immune cell proteins interact and respond to cancer cell proteins. In both cases we use biotin (aka Vitamin B7) to decorate proteins followed by Mass Spectrometry for their easy identification. So far we have investigated several cancers, heart and Alzheimers diseases and this technology is proving valuable in less well understood diseases.
- Meeting 9: Tuesday March 10, 2020, Bateman Auditorium, 20:45
Tevong You: Future colliders for particle physics
Abstract:
The discovery of the Higgs boson at the CERN laboratory's Large Hadron Collider marked a historical milestone in particle physics. What have we learnt and what comes next?
Michelle Ellefson: Using Measurement Invariance to Compare Cognitive Psychology Results Across Cultures
Abstract:
I will use some of the data that I have from a study comparing children and their parents from Hong Kong and the UK on cognitive tasks to illustrate the types of statistical analyses that we’ve used to make these comparisons (namely measurement invariance). A couple of my PhD students did some analyses on this same dataset, one of whom for her thesis and is now doing a new study looking specifically at language assessments. They will contribute to the presentation.
- Meeting 10: Monday November 22, 2021, online, 20:45
Peter Robinson: Being human in an age of machine
Abstract:
Continuing improvements in computer technology are allowing machines to perform in ways that model human activity, to the extent that many people now treat machines as if they were people. There is discussion of machine rights, moral machines, and even spiritual machines. Why is this? What is it about humans that causes them to endow mechanical artefacts with personhood? Why, indeed, is there often an assumption that the machines will be malicious and turn on their human creators?
Emily Sandford: Order or randomness in stellar light curves?
Abstract:
Stars fluctuate in brightness on many time scales. The Sun, for example, experiences global acoustic oscillations every 5 minutes; surface convection cells with 20-minute lifetimes; larger, deeper convective "supergranules" that last approximately a day; sunspots, which last from days to months and rotate into and out of view as the Sun rotates (with a period of 27 days); and an 11-year cycle over which the average number of sunspots varies. On other, more distant stars, we can resolve none of these effects spatially; we must interpret time series measurements of the integrated brightness of the whole stellar surface. I will review some history of this interpretation with an eye to one main question: can we determine if the dynamics underlying these fluctuations are a) stochastic, or b) driven by low-dimensional deterministic chaos?
- Meeting 11: Wednesday February 23, 2022, 20:45, hybrid: Bateman auditorium and zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87906488253?pwd=Q3pJb3NZMStGai9lcFo2V2wvZ2FZdz09
Arif Ahmed: Free speech today
Abstract:
In this short talk I'll outline the fundamental importance of free speech and academic freedom to scientific enquiry considered as a value-neutral activity (which it often is and always should be). I'll illustrate with examples, both recent and historic, of how badly things can go wrong when these freedoms are compromised for political ends.
- Meeting 12: Wednesday March 9, 2022, 20:45, hybrid: Bateman auditorium and zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86957157585?pwd=OGxIa01GbkNlUVFoK0dCc3lpaFJFUT09
Christina Faraday: Tudor Neuroscience: or, How To Not Give Birth To A Mouse
Abstract:
What did Tudor people think happened in the mind? In this talk we'll explore the period's most popular model of perception, when seeing involved a physical connection, when thoughts were images, and when a worm controlled your memory. We'll discuss the superstitions and folklore surrounding these ideas, including their implications for pregnant women (the 'doctrine of maternal impressions'). We'll also discuss the ramifications of these theories for Tudor attitudes to visual art.
Joe Herbert: What determines gender? Does the brain have a gender?
Abstract:
Gender, in particular gender identity, is a controversial subject. Its tendrils reach into personal, social, economic, political and emotional life. What do we know of how and where it is formed? Can we separate `gender' and `sexuality'? What do we know of the way the brain constructs a gender identity, or may fail to do so? What is the role of hormones and how do they affect the brain? How important are upbringing and social expectations? Is the division of humanity into `male' and `female' still valid and satisfactory, or is there a more nuanced view?
- Meeting 13: Thursday, June 9th, , 2022, 20:45, hybrid: in the JCR and zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83366671285?pwd=Q2ZEc1JCN3c0NUxEbnU4K3U2QVhlQT09
Zi-Kui Liu: Zentropy
Abstract:
Entropy drives changes in all systems from quantum, organizations, societies, to black holes. In the scientific literature, three categories of entropy are usually discussed, i.e., thermodynamic, statistical, and quantum. Thermodynamic entropy represents the total entropy of a system and in physical science is obtained by integration of heat capacity over temperature from zero K to the temperature of investigation. Statistical entropy usually refers to classical statistical mechanics in terms of Gibbs distribution. While quantum entropy includes contributions from electrons and phonons in terms of Fermi-Dirac and Bose Einstein distributions. The zentropy theory postulates that the combination of quantum and statistical entropies equals to the thermodynamic entropy and can be derived from the partition function when the internal energy of each configuration is substituted by its free energy when each configuration is a mixture of many pure quantum states. It is demonstrated that the zentropy theory can predict emergent phenomena including their limits at critical points where singularity appears (https://doi.org/10.1080/21663831.2022.2054668).
Rafi Blumenfeld: The (in)famous old random packing problem: my recent solution in two dimensions and the uphill struggle to extend it to three dimensions
Abstract:
Understanding how macroscopic objects pack is a centuries-old problem, dating back to Archimedes. Sir Walter Raleigh posed the problem how densely can canon balls be packed on a ship deck, which interested Kepler. This issue is relevant to a range of applications: the soil underneath structures, agricultural grains, packaging of goods, packaging of information, and more. A canonical problem is to predict theoretically the highest volume fraction that same-size discs in two dimensions and spheres in three can occupy. This problem is solved for ordered packs, such as the canon balls. Many experiments and numerical simulations, dating back to the 1950s, also suggest the existence of relatively well-defined highest volume fractions even for disordered assemblies. However, until recently, the general consensus was that, despite several attempts, a theory to predict these values is yet to emerge. I will first show my recent exact solution to the problem in two dimensions and then present my attempt (and struggle) to extend this solution to three dimensions (https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.118002).
- Meeting 14: Tuesday, November 15th, 2022, 20:45, hybrid: in the Long Room and on zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83366671285?pwd=Q2ZEc1JCN3c0NUxEbnU4K3U2QVhlQT09
Patrick Chinnery: Genetic invasion and evolution
Abstract:
Mitochondria are small compartments present in every cell and are essential for life as the main source of cellular energy. Mitochondria contain their own genetic code (mtDNA) which reflects their origin as primitive bacteria that associated with cells ~2.5 billion years ago. Since their association, mitochondria have transferred several functions to the host nuclear genome leaving fragments of their DNA which are embedded into our nuclear genomes. This transfer was thought to have happened in the ancient past, but recent evidence has shown this is not the case.
Jason Head: Cold blood in hot times: Using the vertebrate fossil record to understand biotic responses to climate change
Abstract:
Understanding the relationship of ecosystems to human-induced global warming is key to conservation decision-making, but long-term responses to climate change are poorly understood. Combining ecological data from the vertebrate fossil record over the last 60 million years with coeval palaeoclimate proxy data and metabolic theory allows for the development of thermometric models for inferring ancient climates and predictions of faunal susceptibility or resilience to environmental change through deep time. Examining equatorial vertebrate faunas from past greenhouse events constrains the impacts of climate change for the hottest latitudes during the hottest intervals. These results have important implications for conservation strategies in the face of future warming.
- Meeting 15: Tuesday, March 14th, at 20:45 in the Long Room and on zoom:
Fernando Quevedo: String cosmology: from early universe to today
Abstract:
A brief overview will be given about how string theory addresses some of the open questions regarding the early history of our universe and the accelerated expansion we observe today.
Zöe Fritz: Resuscitation, ReSPECT and empirical ethics
Abstract:
How medical ethics and the empirical method can change medical practice.
- Meeting 16: Tuesday, June 6th, at 20:45 in the Bateman Auditorium:
Ivan Smith: Billiards and beyond
Abstract:
The classical game of billiards - a ball bouncing on a table by the law `angle of incidence equals angle of reflection' — makes sense on any shape of table. Letting the shape vary, it connects to a range of interesting mathematical questions in number theory, geometry and physics. I'll discuss some of these, trying to keep to modest mathematical prerequisites.
David Summers: What Have Bacterial Plasmids Ever Done For Me?
Abstract:
Having recently fallen foul of the University EJRA, David Summers has been looking back over his 46 years in microbiology. For almost all of this time, the focus has been on research into the devices and desires of bacterial plasmids. These accessory DNA elements are extremely widespread in bacteria and are largely responsible for the terrifying rate of evolution exhibited by bacteria in response to the challenge of widespread antibiotic use since the Second World War. The talk will describe how curiosity-driven investigation of the strategies employed by plasmids to avoid being lost from their bacterial hosts led eventually to the formation of a spin-out company devoted to the development of anti-biofilm drugs to combat the serious problem of recurrent urinary tract infections.
- Meeting 17: Monday, November 20th, 20:45, the Bateman Auditorium:
Richard Nickl: Bayesian algorithms in data science. How they work and why we might trust them
Abstract:
Bayesian inference is being widely used in the statistical sciences and applied mathematics - systematically so since Laplace's `Theorie analytique' from 1812. It has seen a `dark age' of subjectivist thinking in the 20th century due to computational infeasibility, but then emerged, with the advent of modern Markov chain Monte Carlo methods in the 1990s, as a popular paradigm for data driven inference under uncertainty. Nowadays Bayesian algorithms are among the most commonly used methods in statistics and machine learning. We will discuss some mathematical theorems that explain when one can trust such algorithms in the high-dimensional context of modern data science.
Cristian Larroulet Philippi: Quantitative Measurement in the Human Sciences?
Abstract:
While contemporary physical measurement is widely considered a major scientific achievement, many measurements in the social and medical sciences remain controversial. One central point of contention is whether measurements such as reading comprehension tests, depression scales, subjective well-being scales, etc. deliver quantitative information or merely ordinal information. The practice of many researchers - e.g., making average comparisons with depression measurements for estimating the effectiveness of antidepressants - suggests the former. But many authors disagree with attributing quantitative status to such measurements. And some go on to argue that even the properties themselves (vs. our current measurements of them) are at most ordinal, concluding that any measurement of them cannot be quantitative. These debates are as old as the social sciences themselves. In this talk, I'll share a diagnosis of why we see so little progress on these debates and offer map of conceptual possibilities to make progress on them.
- Meeting 18: Monday, March 11th, 21:00, the Senior Parlour
Andrew Docker: New frontiers in molecular recognition
Abstract:
Molecular recognition, or the process of selectively binding a chemical entity with high affinity and specificity, is a pervasive feature of myriad biological, medicinal, and industrial processes. As such, significant effort has been directed towards developing systems capable of molecular recognition for purposes including pharmaceutical design, medical diagnostics and sustainable industry. Whilst the most elegant examples of molecular recognition are performed by nature, which typically employs highly complex and specifically constructed macromolecules, a feat currently synthetically impractical to emulate, modern synthetic chemistry has provided avenues otherwise inaccessible or unexploited by biological systems. My research focuses on exploiting these new strategies, namely, molecular topology (3D shape) and interactions (how recognition occurs) in the context of drug design, catalysis and chemical sensing.
Hudson Coates: Teetering on the brink: investigations of oxygen-regulated protein destruction
Abstract:
All cells experience an environment where nutrients are in constant flux. To ensure survival, these nutrients must be rapidly sensed and an appropriate adaptive response mounted. The most dynamic adaptations are possible at the level of individual proteins, whose fate is dictated by the ubiquitin-proteasome system - the 'garbage disposal' apparatus of the cell. While some metabolic inputs into the selection of protein targets by this machinery have been uncovered (and earned Nobel Prizes), there is yet to be a wide-scale study of which proteins are destined for, or spared from, destruction under certain physiological contexts, such as hypoxia (low oxygen levels). During this talk, I will discuss my previous work uncovering a case study of oxygen-regulated protein destruction in the cholesterol metabolism field. I will then introduce my current aims to scale up these investigations of oxygen-sensing and simultaneously survey the destruction of thousands of proteins using a state-of-the-art approach. This will offer new insight into the intricate web of mechanisms used by cells to respond to oxygen and other environmental factors, and potentially uncover novel therapeutic targets for diseases in which hypoxia is a hallmark.
- Meeting 19: Monday, June 3rd, 21:00, the Senior Parlour
Helene Scott-Fordsmand / Zoë Fritz: Uncertainty in Diagnosis: Asserting and communicating medical knowledge
Abstract:
Medicine is a high stakes practice – as patients we put our trust in the hands of doctors, and we assume that the assertions they make and the advice they give us is reliable. However, the human body is complex and medical knowledge comes with a host of uncertainties and probabilities that clinicians must navigate and help patients navigate. In this talk, philosopher Helene Scott-Fordsmand and doctor and ethicist Zoë Fritz follow the interdisciplinary prerogative of medicine and come together to discuss uncertainty in diagnosis from two perspectives. Helene will discuss how medical practitioners navigate uncertainty in the translation between generalised medical classification systems and the complexity and specificity of each individual patient. She invokes a case study from orthopaedic surgery, and suggests that in non-trivial patient cases, surgeons take classification systems as tools for analogical reasoning rather than as references to true facts about the patient. That is, they take the classes of the system to represent ideal types and make judgements about the patient case caveated by notes of similarities and dissimilarities. Zoë will present empirical studies on how and why doctors present diagnostic uncertainty, and the impacts that this has. she will examine how this relates to the importance of trust and expertise in the relation between patient and doctor, as well as the balance between giving the patient agency while protecting them from (unnecessary) anxiety.
Sanne van Neerven: Cell competition vs cell cooperation in driving intestinal tumourigenesis
Abstract:
The epithelial monolayer of the intestine is one of the fastest renewing tissues of the human body. Every week, the entire epithelium is replaced by intestinal stem cells (ISCs) that reside in crypt-like structures within the monolayer. Within these crypts, a small number of ISCs continuously divide to provide all specialized cell types necessary to maintain normal intestinal homeostasis, while simultaneously competing with each other for a position within the crypt bottom. This competition, characterized by neutral loss-and-replacement events, can be drastically disturbed when one of the ISCs acquires a mutation that confers a competitive advantage. As a result, mutant ISCs will replace all normal ISCs, colonize the intestinal crypt, and facilitate the initiation of colorectal cancer (CRC). We have recently demonstrated that Apc-mutant cells act as 'supercompetitors' that actively disadvantage normal stem cells by secreting factors that force them to differentiate. We revealed that boosting the fitness of normal stem cells using GSK3b-inhibitor lithium modulated the competition between normal and mutant cells, reduced the number of Apc-mutant crypts, and prevented adenoma formation. Importantly, it is becoming increasingly evident that intestinal adenomas do not form from a single Apc-mutant crypt, but instead require fields of multiple mutant crypts to facilitate tumour initiation. Although field cancerization by enhanced crypt fission has been observed for several oncogenic mutants in the gut (e.g. KrasG12D, PIK3CAH1047R), Apc-mutant cells are often contained within individual crypts. This indicates that multiple independent mutant clones may act cooperatively to facilitate tumourigenesis, thereby pointing towards a polyclonal origin of intestinal adenomas. Our current work investigates how Apc-mutant clones interact by modifying their local environment through reciprocal signalling with stromal and epithelial cells and escape the anatomical constraints of the crypt, thereby unlocking their oncogenic potential in the gut. Ultimately, unravelling the molecular mechanisms underlying clonal cooperation will inform potential chemoprevention strategies for CRC.
- Meeting 20: Tuesday, November 19th, 21:00, Senior Parlour
Jim P. Hambleton: When the earth gives way, for better or worse
Abstract:
The meaning of "failure" is apparent when a bridge or building collapses. But what about the earth upon which we build these structures? How do soils "fail"? And is this always a bad thing? In this discussion, we will delve below the Earth's surface to explore these questions and more, examining the ground below our feet as a foundation for our infrastructure, a medium in which to grow our food, and a commodity from which we extract valuable resources. "Failure" is both a potential catastrophe, as in the case of a landslide, and an absolute necessity, as in tunnelling and mining, where the earth must be broken up before it can be moved. Considering the latter, the quantity of earth that we move for agriculture, construction, and mining is remarkable: when distributed across the world's population, each individual effectively moves several hundred times their body weight each year. And yet this is nothing compared to ants, who move hundreds of times their weight in soil every day. We discuss new research initiatives dedicated specifically to the study of soil-machine interaction and terrestrial robotics, areas at the interface of geomechanics and robotics influencing the design of future, autonomous machines for applications in civil construction, mining, agriculture, and mobility.
Max Van Wyk De Vries: In the 21st century, are any Natural Hazards still natural?
Abstract:
Glacierized mountainous areas make up some of the most hazardous landscapes of our planet and are undergoing profound changes under 21st century warming. The answers to two fundamental questions are required in these areas: (i) what is the baseline hazard and risk, and (ii) are the hazard and risk likely to increase or decrease in coming decades. While these questions remain largely unanswered on a global scale, this presentation delves into the subject through a series of case studies of complex hazards in glacierized and high-mountain areas. In this talk, I will consider both the gaps in our current knowledge, and how novel techniques and datasets help bridge these. In particular, I will discuss the two-way interactions between landslides and glaciers, improving summit ice volume estimates at glacierized volcanoes, and new optical feature tracking approaches to map slope deformation the scale of mountain ranges. The evolving hazard profile intersects with a growing population and rapidly developing infrastructure networks.
- Meeting 8: Tuesday November 19, 2019, Bateman Auditorium, 20:30
caius-science-owner@lists.cam.ac.uk