10 November 2011

College of Life Sciences to opens its doors to the public

Members of the public have the chance to learn more about the pioneering scientific research being carried out on their doorstep when the University of Dundee’s College of Life Sciences throws its doors open this weekend.

Researchers will be on hand to showcase the range of cutting edge, world class work taking place on campus at the CLS Open Doors Day 2011, which takes place on Saturday, 12th November.

Taking place at the Wellcome Trust Building, the event forms part of the Dundee Science Festival which celebrates the city’s as a centre of excellence for science and innovation.

The Wellcome Trust building will be open to all, and visitors will be able to meet the scientists and discover exactly what goes on inside Dundee’s landmark blue-and-white building. The day’s programme will include tours around the research labs where scientists work tirelessly to better understand, and hopefully cure, cancer, diabetes, alzheimers and other diseases.

The Open Doors Day is run by the College of Life Science’s Postdoc Association and PhD Student Association. Event organisers Amy Gerc, Helen Woodroof and Anne Seifert said they were excited to be introducing people of all ages from across Dundee to their research.

'Visitors will be able to participate in hands-on demonstrations, including isolating DNA from raspberries, learning about diseases such as diabetes, and using microscopes to view living things invisible to the naked eye,' said Amy.

'There will also be a number of workshops run by Centre for Anatomy and Human Identification where scientists will demonstrate how they can determine the age, sex and height of a victim in a murder case.'

Helen added, 'The Open Doors Day is a fantastic event that enables members of the public to engage with science, get a flavour of the work carried out within the Wellcome Trust building and to immerse themselves in the daily life of a research scientist.'

Doors will be open to the public from 10am until 4.30pm on the 12th November. Visitors are welcome to attend the in-house Garland Café for food and refreshments, and car parking is available.

For further information and to book free lab tours, please visit www.lifesci.dundee.ac.uk/opendoorsday or call 01382 585828.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277