Cancer Research UK First Year Students' Meeting

By Ana Sredic-Rhodes*, PhD Student

On Friday 30 September I travelled down to London to attend the Cancer Research UK First Year Students’ Meeting. The day began with an ice-breaker activity, which thankfully involved no “fun facts” about yourself, instead we were put into groups and tasked with having a go at a “genetic taste test”. People with a mutation in a gene called TAS2R38 cannot taste the bitterness of a chemical called PCP whereas some people can taste some bitterness and to some it is extremely bitter; this can be used to describe concepts such as genetic susceptibility to cancer and personalised medicine, it was a really fun activity I’m excited to use it in future public engagement events!

We then had some great talks, ranging from why communicating with public and patients matters, to learning about where donations to Cancer Research UK come from and ways in which Cancer Research UK have influenced government policy through campaigns - there are so many things that happen within Cancer Research UK that I had no idea about and it was fascinating to learn more about the organisation as a whole. Overall it was a great day, I left with some new ideas and it was nice to chat to other students about their projects which were all so varied and exciting!

*Ana's PhD is adding genetic information to routine bowel cancer data to understand susceptibility and outcome.