BCHC talks chemistry with local Brownies

In mid-February, Dr Jo Forde-Thomas delivered a virtual outreach session to 1st Llanilar Brownies group. Dr Forde-Thomas talked the girls through the basic properties of acids and bases before they all got stuck in with some hands-on learning, testing the pH of whatever household substances they could find in the kitchen. The girls had great…

Research from helminth EV workshop published as Special Issue of IJP

The study of helminth extracellular vesicles (EVs) and the roles these membranous structures play in the complex processes of migration and maturation in infected hosts has become an area of growing research in recent years. In support of this growing field the BCHC was privileged to support a two-day workshop held in association with the Parasitic…

Aberystwyth University takes part in British Science Week

In Early March Undergraduate, Masters and PhD students together with University staff came together to deliver a series of activities related to different aspects of parasitology and drug discovery as part of Aberystwyth Universities commitment to British Science week. Over the course of 3 days over 2000 pupils from local primary and high schools visited…

BCHC members present at British Society for Parasitology spring meeting

This April researchers from the BCHC travelled to Manchester to take part in the British Society for Parasitology spring meeting. This year’s meeting was held in partnership with the Belgian Society of Parasitology and Protistology (BSPP) and the Dutch Society for Parasitology (NVP). Keynote speakers included Prof Joanne Webster (Royal Veterinary College) and Prof Patricia Wright…

BCHC engages with local students

As part of a programme of lectures organised by the West Wales Association of Young Scientists (WWAYS) our very own BCHC Director, Prof Karl Hoffmann took to the stage this week to present a lecture on his career path and how parasites and Schistosomes in particular, became the focus of his work. Prof. Hoffmann delivered…

Aberystwyth hosts second drug discovery meeting

In mid-July, the BCHC hosted a second drug discovery mini symposium. Again, our colleagues Professor Andrew Westwell, Professor Andrea Brancale and Dr Salvatore Ferla travelled up from the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University to listen to presentations delivered by staff and postgraduate students of the Hoffmann laboratory. With plenty of time…

Taking Schistosomes to the stage

At the end of May, BCHC members from the Hoffmann lab travelled to Builth Wells to deliver interactive science experiments to children of all ages competing at one of Europe’s largest cultural youth festivals, the Urdd National Eisteddfod. We took our custom made ‘plush parasites’ along to explain the Schistosome life-cycle and encouraged members of…