Expert panel to explore viruses, vaccines and immunity with Midlands Science

Midlands Science has announced the third event in its virtual Science Communities series will take place on Wednesday, October 20 at 10am (on zoom) and this interactive forum will focus on all things related to viruses, vaccines and immunity.

The event is free of charge and open to everyone. The forum will feature a talk from Professor Luke O’Neill from Trinity College Dublin.

Now widely recognised as being one of the world’s most influential scientists, Luke is passionate about engaging people on scientific topics.

The Science Communities project is funded by Science Foundation Ireland through the Discover Award programme and is designed to build impactful dialogue and discussion between community groups in the Midlands and those involved in science and public policy.

CEO of Midlands Science, Jackie Gorman, commented: "Through these community forums, which explore science, evidence, health and medicine, we want to create an open conversation about how scientific evidence informs public health advice.

She said: "We are delighted to host this particular topic given its relevance to the international pandemic and we will be encouraging conversation between members of the audience and our panel of experts who will look at viruses and vaccines, explaining what they are and how they work in our body.

"We will also be discussing vaccines, immunisation and the national immunisation programme along with vaccine hesitancy and the psychology behind this."

Professor Luke O’Neill holds the Chair of Biochemistry at Trinity College Dublin, is an author and expert on Immunology and has been a positive voice on how science will beat Covid-19 since March 2020.

Professor Karina Butler, was a Consultant Paediatrician at Children’s Health Ireland specialising in Infectious Diseases for many years. She is a Clinical Professor of Paediatrics at UCD and was appointed to NPHET in late 2020, is a member of the Covid-19 Expert Advisory Group of HIQA and a member of the High-Level Task Force for Covid.

Professor Jamie Murphy is a Professor in Psychology and a member of the Psychology Research Institute at Ulster University.

Trinity College Dublin Professor of Biochemistry, Luke O’Neill said: "This has been a most alarming period for all of us, but the legacy of this pandemic will be that science delivered on its promise.

"There comes a great level of responsibility when informing the public of health information relating to Covid-19 and it is so critically important to get the facts out and to get the right information across to people because everybody wants to know about it.

"Understandably, people have so many questions, even now after all this time. The bottom line though, is that science delivered highly effective, safe vaccines and vaccination truly is the only way out of this pandemic."

If you are interested in taking part in this project, please email outreach@midlandsscience.ie for more information.

For registration details, please check: https://www.midlandsscience.ie/