Curious Minds: RGU launch series of cutting-edge research talks

Showcasing their cutting-edge research and with a focus on public engagement, each event will bring together academic staff and a panel of experts drawn from policy and practice communities to explore different topics.

Launching on Thursday 23 February, at the Atrium in the Sir Ian Wood Building on RGU's Garthdee Campus, the first event in the series will explore tackling the public health crisis.

Speakers at the event include Flora Douglas, Professor in Public Health at RGU, who will discuss how rising levels of poverty and food insecurity in the UK negatively impact health and Giovanna Bermano, Professor of Metabolic Nutrition at RGU, who will focus on ways to improve human health through nutrition.

Commenting on the upcoming event, Professor Nick Fyfe, Vice Principal for Research and Community Engagement said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our researchers to connect with the community. Professors Douglas and Bermano are experts in their respective fields, and it is great they will have a chance to showcase their work to a wider audience.

“Focusing on an important issue like public health at our first Curious Minds event means we all have an interest in this topic. 

“As well as our own leading academics, the invited panel bring their very own knowledge and insight to help us better understand the current public health crisis.

“Curious Minds is the perfect showcase for our researchers to shine a light on issues that impact on people every day and highlight how they are tackling them with their expertise.”

An invited panel will also reflect on RGU’s public health research and what this means for people in Scotland as well as across the wider UK. 

The series is the first of its kind to showcase RGU’s research expertise and making research more accessible to the wider community.

The panel will include Susan Webb, NHS Grampian’s Director of Public Health, Lyndsay Graham, OBE Deputy Chair of the Poverty and Inequalities Commission Scotland, Dr Gillian Purdon, Head of Nutrition at Food Standard Scotland and Professor John Mathers, Newcastle University.

Curious Minds took place on Thursday 23 February.