X-ray crystallography lecture at the ESK by Kanchan Anand

On Monday February 9th, we had a visit and seminar by Ms Kanchan Anand at the school. Ms Anand is a Marie Curie fellow research scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL, http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/) in Heidelberg in the Structural Biology Programme and a SET-Routes ambassador. SET-Routes
(www.set-routes.org) is a EU funded programme aiming at motivating girls to choose scientific careers as part of an effort to tackle the problem of under representation of women in science, engineering and technology (SET).

Ms Anand talked to year 6 and 7 students (from the English, French and German sections, boys and girls) about protein X-ray crystallography for about 1:30 hour. She has used this technology to investigate the structure and function of virus proteins such as corona virus (common flu) and H5N1 virus (bird flu) and contributed to major advances in the understanding and treatment of those diseases.

She is now studying the structure of one of the HIV (AIDS) virus at the EMBL , with the ultimate aim to devise an antiviral drug therapy for this devastating disease. It was a very interesting and inspiring lecture, giving a better idea of the type of opportunities and careers in science. It gave students and teachers the chance to become aware about exciting developments in SET and how they contribute to the world we live in.

Sophie Chabanis-Davidson