See what CBMR got up to on Culture Night
Obesity and deadly epidemics – CBMR researchers let the public in under the skin of diseases, old and new
CBMR took full advantage of this year's Culture Night and the unique opportunity to interact with the public. More than 200 of the city's museums, venues, institutions and businesses took part on Friday, October 11, inviting in tens of thousands of visitors who braved the wet and windy weather.
Our researchers are split between two sites – the University of Copenhagen's Maersk Tower and the museum of medical history Medical Museion. On the 6th, 7th and 8th floors of the Maersk Tower, researchers carry out basic research into metabolism, while the museum carries out research into science communication.
On the night, researchers crossed over between the two sites. Associate Professor Adam Bencard from the Medical Museion could be found in the Niels K. Jerne auditorium for a live recording of the podcast 'Død og Diagnose' (Death and Diagnosis), in which he featured as an expert on the gruesome history of diseases such as smallpox and polio.
CBMR postdoc Leonidas Lundell swapped places and held a lecture in the Medical Museion about the prevalence of obesity causing genes, and how much these genes contribute to the development of obesity. Using the distribution of obesity in the Danish population, Leonidas illustrated how prevalent obesity causing genes actually are, and how much of the observed obesity can be attributed to our genetics.
Leonidas held his lecture in the museum's anatomical theatre, which was originally built in 1787 when the building belonged to the Royal Academy of Surgeons from 1787, and where generations of students have been trained in dissection and anatomy. At CBMR, Leonidas researches the interaction of circadian rhythms with exercise, obesity and metabolic health.
For more photos inside the Medical Museion, follow this link.