Biology in Action

Students in the Lower Sixth studying A Level Biology enjoyed a day of lectures held at the Emmanuel Centre in London. The lecturers were engaging and interactive, using an electronic voting system which allowed pupils to participate in activities in real time, as well as submit questions that could be selected for the lecturer to answer at the end of each presentation. Each presenter also remained for 10 minutes during the breaks, giving pupils the opportunity to speak with them personally.

The favourite lectures included From Bench to Biotech: Translating Gene Therapy into Treatments by Professor Bobby Gaspar, which explored how gene therapy has been used to give a young boy with a rare genetic condition, Leukodystrophy, a normal life. Another standout was Nothing in Biology Makes Sense by Professor Laurence Hurst, who demonstrated that only by considering evolution and selective pressures can we truly understand human biology.

All lecturers discussed the role of their research and the increasingly important role AI now plays in their field, where it is used to build learning models that can analyse vast quantities of data incredibly quickly. We hope pupils feel inspired by the lectures and encouraged to explore concepts beyond the syllabus to deepen their understanding.