Professor Michael Eddleston Science Assemblies

Grateful thanks to Sciennes' parent of Diya and Thomas, Professor Michael Eddleston, who delivered perfectly pitched talks to both our P1-3 and P4-7 Assemblies on Friday 27th February. Professor  Eddleston asked the question 'Why do people become Scientists?' and gave examples of some famous scientists and how their questions and discoveries have impacted on the world and helped us understand what happens inside the human brain.

Professor Eddleston is a Scientist of international repute who studied at Oxford, Cambridge and the equally renowned Scripps Institute in California. He is a practising physician as well as a Professor and Fellow at Edinburgh University who travels predominantly to Asia as part of his ongoing medical research. Professor Eddleston also explained to the children how he became a Scientist and that what drives him is his ambition to provide patients - his own and others' - with the best possible care he can. He encouraged all pupils to see themselves as scientists and to keep looking at the world and asking questions.

Thank you to Ms Anstruther for organising the visit, which supports her work with our children on how the brain helps us to learn, as well as supporting our ongoing promotion of Science throughout school.

Professor Eddleston provided the time lapse video below to illustrate how Scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini's research established Nerve Growth Factor's influence on controlling brain connections. Overcoming Mussolini's fascist suppression early in her career, this remarkable lady went on to receive the Nobel Prize for her discoveries.

Thank you very much for a fascinating talk, Professor Eddleston!