Pint of Science – Sex in Our City
May 2017: PhD student Phoebe Kirkwood delivered a presentation about her research in Reproductive Biology as part of Edinburgh’s 'Pint of Science' public engagement event.
In May 2017, Phoebe gave a 30-minute presentation to members of the public based on her PhD Project 'Mechanisms contributing to endometrial repair and remodelling' alongside Professor Richard Sharpe – though because she was presenting to a lay audience, she named the talk "And when I get that feeling, I want Scarless Healing".
Her biggest challenge was describing her work in a way that was easy to understand: she investigates the role that stem/progenitor cells play in repairing the tissue that lines the womb in such a way that leaves it scarless, and why this is important in tackling both gynaecological conditions and the more widespread issue of scarring.
Phoebe thoroughly enjoyed taking on the challenge, and her presentation was really well received – there was a lot of laughter and appreciation from the audience during the talk, and many insightful questions followed.
The whole event was really well organised and a lot of fun. All 25 tickets were sold out. It provided the perfect platform to interact with the public in a relaxed, friendly environment. Phoebe says:
I would highly recommend scientists at all stages of their career to get involved in 'Pint of Science'!
During the Pint of Science week, Edinburgh hosted 18 events in six different venues, attracting 99% capacity with 719 attendees. The 'Our Body' sessions (of which 'Sex in Our City' was a part) had 86 events worldwide with 3659 attendees, making it the second most popular themed session to attend.
Article about ‘Sex in Our City’ in Edinburgh University Science Magazine