Denny and the T-team Fight Cancer
November 2017: Researchers from the MRC CIR went to Dunbar Science Club to explain how our own body protects us from infection and how future treatments for cancers might work.
Scientists from the Medical Research Council Centre for Inflammation Research at the University of Edinburgh took their new pilot activity "Denny and the T-team fight Cancer" to Dunbar Science Club.
In three hour-long sessions with different age groups from Primary 1 to Senior school (and a few adults), the team explained how the immune cells in our body that protect us from infection can also identify and kill cancer cells. The participants became "Denny the Dendritic cell" in the ball pit challenge finding new "antigens" on cancer cells and rushing to match them with a "T-cell". If successful, the T-team army of cells then attacked the cancer. The CIR researchers also explained how, in the future, new treatments could help make this attack even more effective. A sticker story was also made by everyone to take away. A brilliant day for all, with invaluable feedback for fully developing this activity with our recently awarded British Society for Immunology 'Communicating Immunology' grant.
