The ODA Paul Murray hosted a meeting at The Mitre where students were addressed by Mubeen Goolam (OD).

Dr Goolam's research focuses on using stem cells to model development and disease in culture.  He works at the Neuroscience Institute at UCT where scientists make use of a novel model system, cerebral organoids, also known as 'mini-brains in a dish'.  These organoids are generated using human pluripotent stem cells to investigate human brain development and neurodevelopmental disorders in vitro. 

Scientists are currently developing the first African-specific cerebral organoids which will generate a critical experimental resource to study the development of the human brain with a focus on the specific environmental and genetic factors prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and will be a powerful tool to investigate when brain development goes wrong. 

The talk elicited a great amount of interest from the students.  After the event, it was good to be able to socialise around comestibles, with more questions, and Dr Goolam left suitably impressed with the high level of interest and engagement from the students.  Also important is the fact that The Mitre can serve as a venue where the minds of Bishops boys are challenged in the latest scientific discovery, in this case, by someone who is an OD.