Biology: Understanding & Tackling Diabetes – What The Latest Research Tells Us With Dr Rebecca Cusack From University of East Anglia

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In this Biology session, Dr Rebecca Cusack, Lecturer in Biomedicine in the School of Biological Sciences at University of East Anglia will run an interactive talk for students on Diabetes – What The Latest Research Tells Us About Understanding & Tackling Diabetes.

In this session, Rebecca will cover:

• Global Incidence and Impact
• What is Diabetes?
• What causes Diabetes?
• Who is at risk?
• Other Specific Diabetes Types (e.g., Gestational/Autoimmune/Infections (Covid-induced))
• Symptoms of DM
• Is it really a big deal?
• Are Diabetic people at high risk of complications? What could these be?
• Main cause of death
• Main areas of impact
• Current management Strategies
• Issues/challenges with current strategies.
• Diabetic Ketoacidosis/Hypoglycaemic Crisis
• Can Diabetic people lead normal lives?
• Future Strategies/Current Research:

1. SMART INSULIN
2. Artificial Pancreas
3. Novel delivery methods and management (athletes and on expedition)

• Further questions?

The session will develop thinking, skills and approaches to support students in their Biology studies and future aspirations.

Lecturer Profile (Please Click): Dr Rebecca Cusack was originally a Biomedical science graduate, furthering her studies in anatomy and histology and completing a medical degree. Rebecca then went into research in the field of neuropsychiatry focusing on Autism, Epilepsy and Vagus Nerve Stimulation and is currently specialising in polar medicine. Rebecca is a para-athlete due to meningitis complications and says ‘but this does not prevent me from living my best life and flying the flag for disabled doctors worldwide’.

Our events are designed so that a group of students can take part from a classroom or students and teachers can take part as individuals, either from school or from home. This means that sessions will continue irrespective of possible school closures.

As a live, participative event, this session will not be recorded but slides and other resources will be shared after the event, where available.

Suitable for: Year 12 & 13 students (and equivalent) studying, or with a possible interest in studying, Biology and related disciplines.

Preparation/Pre-Reading: Students may wish to consider the topic in advance and questions they have. Students can also think about questions about studying Biology at university level.

The IT Setup: The event will be run on Bluejeans (similar to Zoom) and participants will be able to join using laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. If you are joining as a school group, we recommend connecting with one device and projecting on to a whiteboard. You will be able to interact with the university via a microphone and/or typed comments and questions. Full details will be sent to those who have registered (see below) prior to the event.

Booking a Place: This is free for schools and colleges. If you would like to take part in this event, please register your interest using the link to the registration form below:

Register here