Tiny Bubbles to Clean up Disease at TEDxUCD 2016
Friday, 6 January, 2017
University College Dublin (UCD)’s fourth annual TEDxUCD event, organised by volunteers from the UCD Research and Innovation team based at NovaUCD, took place in December in the UCD Dramsoc Theatre.
Among the TEDxUCD 2016 speakers was Associate Professor Patricia Maguire, an associate Professor of Biochemistry at the UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science and at UCD Conway Institute.
Speaking after her TEDxUCD 2016 talk Associate Professor Patricia Maguire said, “For decades scientists thought that very tiny bubbles found in our blood and made in the millions by every cell in our body, were nothing more than biological rubbish bins. We now realise that these tiny bubbles, correctly known as Extracellular Vesicles or EVs, actively communicate and carry important messages in the human body and that when these EVs ‘go wrong’ they can cause disease. However as I outlined in my TEDxUCD 2016 talk these tiny bubbles also have the potential to be used both to diagnose and also to treat disease.”
The 10 speakers who took part in TEDxUCD 2016 were members of the UCD community of researchers, students, alumni and friends who spoke on a wide range of ideas worth spreading on the overall theme of ‘contemplation’.
Opening this year’s event, Professor Orla Feely, UCD Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Impact said, “Following the success of our previous TEDxUCD events I am delighted that we are hosting our fourth annual TEDx event at University College Dublin. Organising and running TEDxUCD is an excellent example of how we engage with the general public, not only in Ireland but across the world, to share the ideas, knowledge and expertise emanating from members of the UCD community.”
At TEDxUCD 2016 a combination of live speakers and a selection of TED Talks videos were combined to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group of 100 attendees. The TED conference provides general guidance for the TEDx programme, but individual TEDx events, including TEDxUCD, are self-organised.
The videos of the 10 TEDxUCD 2016 talks are available to view via (opens in a new window)https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6IzR3CqaV8E-gZ17a3GgpTXuI-MlNbST