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Science in Health

Science in Health

The Science in Health programme has been running for many years and aims to inspire the next generation of talent in medicine, healthcare and science.

The programme comprises:

  • Public Lectures – open to all
  • Science in Health Live! – for year 12 students
  • Work experience scheme – for year 12 students
  • Life Sciences Challenge/Her Gwyddorau Bywyd – for year 10 students

Public lectures

The public lecture series runs monthly between October and April in the form of free Zoom webinars. The lectures attract a diverse audience, including members of the general public, secondary school students and professionals.  The aim of the series is to highlight areas of concern in healthcare and to present new research in science and health to the public.

Details of the latest series of lectures can be found below. Use the links provided to register and you will be sent details of how to join the Zoom webinar. Past lectures can also be viewed via links below.

2024/2025 Public Lecture Series

Date and timeTitleSpeaker

Thursday 17 October 2024

19:00

What can we learn from rare diseases?

Watch the recording

Dr Elaine Dunlop, Cardiff University (in conjunction with Wales Gene Park)

Thursday 14 November 2024

19:00

Whooping cough vaccines: a century of good science and bad

Watch the recording

Dr David Miles, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

Thursday 16 January 2025

19:00

Medicine for an ageing population: where art and science meet

Register

Dr Lucy Pollock, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust

Thursday 6 February 2025

19:00

Amnesias: Real and Simulated

Register

Prof John Aggleton, Cardiff University

Thursday 20 March 2025

19:00

Co-developing digital mental health support with young people

Register

Dr Rhys Bevan-Jones, Cardiff University

Thursday 10 April 2025

19:00

The applications, and implication, of AI in Medicine

Register

Dr Athanasios Hassoulas & Professor Marcus Coffey, Cardiff University

Science in Health Live!

This event has been welcoming students to the School of Medicine at Cardiff University for over 30 years.  It takes place at Wales’s largest teaching hospital within National Science and Engineering Week.  It is aimed at Year 12 students studying science and maths A-Levels and gives attendees the opportunity to discover more about the latest internationally recognised science discoveries taking place, as well as finding out about the wide range of career opportunities available in the fields of science and healthcare.

2025 date

We are pleased to announce that Science in Health Live 2025 will take place on 12 March 2025.

Register now

Science in Health Live - 25th anniversary

Video of Science in Health LIVE 2019.

Lab work experience

A coordinated and evolving programme of schemes to inspire year 12 students that are interested in a science or medicine-related degree.

Work Experience
Some of our work experience students getting hands on in the lab environment.

The students receive a general introduction to the week including an outline of the nature of the work undertaken in the research laboratories.

The remainder of the week is set up whereby the students have a range of experiences working in teams with a number of different investigators and their research groups.

The students have opportunities to experience cutting edge-technologies like molecular biology, flow cytometry, DNA sequencing, egg micro-injection, virology, mass spectrometry, X-ray crystallography, pharmacology and cellular immunology with research groups from across the school.

Importantly, the students have the chance of meeting PhD students and post-doctoral fellows many of whom are in the early stages of their career. On the final afternoon, the students come together to describe what they have learnt from the week and information is also provided on the UCAS application process.

Application form

Work Experience 2025 will take place from 30 June to 4 July.  Please download the application form below.

The closing date for applications is 30 April 2025.

Science in Health - work experience application form

Please read this form carefully and fill in all sections.

Life Sciences Challenge

An inter-school competition for year 10 pupils consisting of a quiz designed and delivered by both PhD students and early career researchers (Post Doctoral Researchers and Junior Fellows).

Life Sciences Challenge
Pupils taking part in the Life Sciences Challenge quiz.

These are individuals who are passionate about science, and have chosen to dedicate their lives to scientific research. They want to share this enthusiasm for trying to understand the natural world with pupils in Wales.

We hope that by giving pupils the opportunity to meet young scientists working locally, we will inspire them to consider the possibilities of scientific careers.

Some of the questions will follow the National Curriculum, but others may require knowledge gained from further reading/investigation.

Importantly, some questions will test pupils’ ability to analyse data and apply logic and learned knowledge to unfamiliar concepts. Questions will be largely Biology and Chemistry based, but could involve aspects of Physics and Geology where these pertain to understanding the living world.

How to enter

To enter a team (or several teams) in the preliminary online round, please email medicengagement@cardiff.ac.uk. Closing date for entries is the end of January 2025.

For further information about any of these activities please contact:

Medic Engagement