Therapeutic strategies for preventing Parkinson's Disease

On the evening of Monday 22 May RSC Belgium welcomed Professor David Dexter, Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK to talk to us about ‘Therapeutic strategies for preventing Parkinson's Disease’. The event was held at the British School of Brussels in Tervuren.

Parkinson's disease is the fastest growing neurodegenerative condition with some 10 million people affected worldwide. Classically, Parkinson's is defined by the presence of motor symptoms such as tremor, limb stiffness and slowness of movement but there are many other non-motor symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, cognitive decline which greatly impact on quality of life. Whilst there are drugs which treat the motor features of Parkinson's, these drugs lose effectiveness with time, are associated with significant side effects and importantly they cannot slow the progression of the condition. 

Over the last 20 years there has been a revolution in our understanding of what causes Parkinson's and this has translated into a growing pipeline of novel therapeutic approaches to slow/stop the condition. In addition, biomarkers have recently been discovered that can accurately predict who will develop Parkinson's and prevention trials are on the horizon.

Professor Dexter's talk covered the role of biomarkers for early detection and what treatment strategies are being trialled in Parkinson's.

Biography

Professor Dexter joined Parkinson’s UK as Associate Research Director, overseeing scientific programmes, in March 2017. In April 2023 David was promoted to Director of Research at Parkinson’s UK. As Director, he is responsible for the charities grants programmes, strategic partnerships, research communications and patient involvement programmes. He is also the biology lead for Parkinson’s Virtual Biotech, the drug discovery arm of Parkinson’s UK. David has 38 years research experience in Parkinson’s disease research, 23 years of which was spent at Imperial College London where he was Professor of Neuropharmacology and Deputy Head of The Division of Brain Sciences.

YouTube Video

Professor Dexter's talk was recorded and can be found on our dedicated Youtube channel or as an embedded video below. Enjoy!

Sustainable Solar Fuels

On the evening of Thursday 11 February 2021 Prof. James Durrant, of Imperial College London gave the section an online talk on 'The solar driven synthesis of sustainable fuels: photochemistry meets catalysis'.

In the webinar Prof Durrant talked about the increasing interest in the development of artificial photosynthetic systems for solar driven fuel synthesis. He started by discussing the challenge of the solar driven synthesis of sustainable fuels and chemistry, and its potential role in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. He then went on to review approaches to artificial photosynthesis, and the lessons which can be learnt from biological photosynthesis. 

Prof Durrant introduced his own particular research interest, the role of charge carrier dynamics in determining the efficiency of such systems, focusing on photocatalysts and photoelectrodes for water oxidation and reduction. His talk primarily focused on metal oxide materials, although he also covered organic polymer photocatalysts and hybrid molecular / inorganic systems for solar driven proton and CO2 reduction. Experimentally, these studies are based around transient absorption spectroscopy on timescales from femtoseconds to seconds, which are correlated with the results of photoelectrochemical analyses of device efficiency. These studies address the dynamics of charge separation and recombination, as well as the kinetics of water oxidation / reduction at semiconductor / liquid interfaces.

During the talk Prof Durrant addressed issues including the underlying photochemistry of oxides, the role of the space charge layers at electrochemical junctions in spatially separating charges, and the role of heterojunctions and catalysts layers in enhancing system efficiency. Particular consideration was placed on the mechanism of water oxidation / reduction, and the extent oxide surfaces function as heterogeneous catalysts for this reaction.

The presentation given by Prof Durrant can be accessed here and you can relive the entire event above or via our dedicated YouTube channel! Enjoy!

TOTB 2012 - The Inside Story

Thanks to Giulia Greed from the European School Brussels II in Woluwe for writing up her Top of the Bench (TOTB) experience for us.

The Scientists (Giulia, Caitriona, Nora, and Thomas - see above) met up with Mrs Deegan at around midday, at Gare du Midi, where we would take the Eurostar to London. Once we had arrived in London, Mrs D bought us underground tickets, and we left for our hotel, which was directly opposite Hyde Park.

We settled in, had a short rest, then we set off again - to Leicester square, to buy tickets for the theatre. We looked at the available shows, and we decided on one of them. Mrs D returned from the ticket booth, clutching the Wicked tickets. The Scientists were all getting hungry, so we went for a meal near Covent Garden, then for an ice cream. Next, we went to the theatre to see Wicked, which was really good. Afterwards, we took the Underground back to the hotel, and then went to sleep.

The next morning, we had breakfast, got ready, then we then left the hotel and set off walking through Hyde Park, to Imperial College (where the competition was being held). While we were walking, Mrs D tested the Scientists and talked to us on chemistry.

Brussels crew
Once we were at Imperial, we were talked through the safety announcements, and soon afterwards we were ushered into a lecture hall, where we would be having the written exam. It only lasted half an hour, then we all had a snack.

Next, was the practical team exam, so we went into the labs. The judges explained: the envelope on the table contained the first challenge. The papers on the side made up the second challenge. Everything we needed was in our workspace. We were given lab coats and gloves. We were known to the judges as “the Brussels crew”.

After the first challenge, we had a one minute break. Then the judges described the second challenge. Both challenges went well. After that we ate lunch, followed by a short break, and then the scientists attended a short lecture on the chemistry in mobile phones.

Next: the award ceremony. Our team came 14th out of 30 - a result we were very pleased with!

Woluwe at TOTB Final

RSC Belgium was represented at the RSC's Top of the Bench (TOTB) final on 31 March by European School Brussels II at Woluwe (see team photo below). The winners of our own 'national' competition and holders of the Keith Price Cup had a great time at Imperial College London and secured an excellent 'mid-table' result.

"The team came 15th out of around 30 competing schools," reported Julie Deegan, the team's teacher and head of chemistry at Woluwe. "The higher placed teams were all prestigious UK grammar or private schools."

In the highly competitive final each student had to sit an individual written test designed by the RSC and together each team carried out two practical activities: one set by RSC and the other by Imperial College staff.

"The students thought the written test was very traditional and GCSE-like," says Julie. "Questions about the Haber and Contact process, and others about recalling the chemical symbols for less well-known elements were not so popular with our students!"

Practical posers
This year's RSC Belgium eliminator had, for the first time, included a practical element, so the problem-solving laboratory element of the final was not a surprise to the Woluwe team. "The practical task was in two parts," continues Julie. "The first to identify three unknown liquids or solutions using no additional reagents. The second part was a titration, for which the older students had to take a leading role."

The TOTB Final practical session in full swing (image copyright © michele panzeri 2012).

Chemistry Challenge
The next major schools' activity for RSC Belgium is about to commence: the Chemistry Challenge. The papers are being printed for distribution to participating schools. This individual chemistry puzzler is open to 16-17 year old students and we hope to involve well over 100 students in this year's competition.