UCL Lunch Hour Lectures: Spring 2023

Date: 26 October 2021
Speaker: Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth System Science at UCL Geography Department

About the UCL lunch hour lecture:
Climate change is the most critical and controversial issue facing the world in the twenty-first century. Everyone agrees we must keep global warming to under 2˚C, and under 1.5˚C if possible. But how can we do this while dealing with the other great challenges of our age: global poverty, population growth, environmental degradation and global security. COP26 in Glasgow is almost upon us and Prof. Maslin shows us how we can save our Planet from climate change while improving everyone’s lives.

This event is part of UCL’s climate campaign ‘Generation One’.  Together we are the new generation taking responsibility for climate action and turning science into actionable ideas. 
Join our new era of climate action at ucl.ac.uk/generation-one

How To Save Our Planet

This week we are talking COP26: what happened, what it means and where we go from here. Join our hosts Helen Czerski and Mark Maslin in conversation with Prof Kate Jones, Dr Priti Parikh and Ryan Phillip from the St Kitts and Nevis delegation, and they are discussing the COP agreement, what was missed, the big wins and the big misses.  

Helen and our guests cover the main takeaways from COP from deforestation to adaptation, loss and mitigation. We get into who was left out of COP, the impacts on the Small Island Alliance and the problem of western countries causing damage and expecting others to fix it.  

For more information and to access the transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/podcast

To get involved and pledge your action visit: www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/generation-one

Date of episode recording: 10/11/21
Duration: 28:48
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Helen Czerski, Matt Winning, Mark Maslin
Guests: Prof Kate Jones, Dr Priti Parikh and Ryan Phillip
Producer: Adam Batstone

UCL Generation One

Post COP26: Where are we now?

Does the earth have to be a fashion victim? This week host Mark Maslin chats with Juliet Russell, Head of Sustainability at Stella McCartney and Max Bittner, CEO of Vestiaire Collective about all things fashion.  

 We’re discussing the fashion industry, from greenwashing to fast fashion and how you can shop more consciously. Join Juliet Russell and Max Bittner as they discuss the current problems in the industry and what needs to change.   

For more information on Generation One and to access the transcript: www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/podcast

Date of episode recording: 19/11/21
Duration: 29:40
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Helen Czerski, Matt Winning, Mark Maslin
Guests: Max Bittner, Juliet Russell
Producer: Adam Batstone

BCC Generaton One

Does the earth have to be a fashion victim?

Date of lecture: Thursday 12 January 2023

About the Lecture:
UK science has chronic diversity issues and shortages of specialist teachers in schools. Orbyts is a multi-award-winning movement founded at UCL, and now running across the UK, that creates partnerships between scientists and schools that are proven to address these issues. The programme provides school students with relatable science role models while empowering them to conduct original research projects. This structure of regular interventions, inspirational role models and active ownership of research is proving to be transformative; dispelling harmful stereotypes and profoundly shifting perceptions of science and scientists. It is particularly impactful for groups historically excluded from science. For example, our partner schools report 100% increases in girls uptake of A-level physics, following participation in an Orbyts project at GCSE. The programme has enabled more than 220 school students to become authors of scientific papers in the last 5 years. 
This year, Orbyts researchers will partner with schools to support research projects on: medical physics, exoplanets, aurorae, AI and machine learning, plasma, space weather and quantum physics.  Dr William Dunn will showcase a whistle-stop tour through some of last year's Orbyts projects, where possible letting recorded presentations by the schools do the talking.  

A﻿bout the Speaker:
Dr. William Dunn, Ernest Rutherford Fellowship at UCL Astrophysics group

Orbyts: Research-with-Schools Projects that Transform Inclusivity in Science

Date of Lecture: Thursday 19 January 2023

About the Lecture:
After the Second World War new international rules heralded an age of human rights and self-determination. Supported by Britain, these unprecedented changes sought to end the scourge of colonialism. 
Yet in the 1960s, a secret decision was taken to offer the US a base at Diego Garcia, one of the islands of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, create a new colony (the ‘British Indian Ocean Territory’) and deport the entire local population. 
For four decades the government of Mauritius fought for the return of Chagos. In 2019, the World Court in The Hague, which ruled that Britain illegally detached Chagos, that the islands belonged to Mauritius, and that the UK must end its illegal occupation. 
For three years Britain resisted the ruling. A few weeks ago, however, it changed its mind, and began negotiations with Mauritius to return the islands and allow the Chagossians to resettle. 
Philippe Sands shares a story about the making of modern international law and the fight for justice, as told in his new book The Last Colony.

A﻿bout the speaker:
Philippe Sands QC is Professor of Law at University College London and Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard.

Lunch Hour Lecture | The Last Colony

Date of Lecture: Tuesday 24 January 2023

About the Lecture:
Ukraine’s Jewish history has come into focus in multiple ways since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russia has abused the history of World War II and the Holocaust in justifying its aggression, while the fact that Ukraine has a wildly popular Jewish president challenges notions of the country as antisemitic. Meanwhile, Russian bombs have fallen on important Holocaust memorial sites inside Ukraine. To better understand the significance of all this, it is important to examine the long, rich, and often difficult history of Ukrainian-Jewish cultural interaction and tension that lies behind it. The lecture will outline how Ukrainian and Jewish cultures, as they struggled to assert themselves within repressive imperial contexts, grew apart, yet also managed to find surprising moments of dialogue. This history, if it is recovered with sensitivity and openness, can be a great cultural resource in forging a new Ukraine after the ongoing war.
A﻿bout the speaker:
Uilleam Blacker, Associate Professor of Ukrainian and East European Studies at UCL SSEES.

Together & apart: remembering Jewish Ukraine in the context of empire & war

Date of Lecture: 31 January 2023

About the Lecture:
The UCL Energy Transitions Modelling Lab has developed a series of energy system models over the last 20 years that have had a profound impact on UK energy policy.  The most recent model, UK TIMES, was used by the UK Government to develop scenarios for both the Clean Growth Strategy and the Net Zero Strategy.  These models straddle the boundaries between economics, engineering and the natural environment.  In this lecture, we will dissect the UK TIMES model to explore how it works, its strengths and weaknesses, and how it can be used (and misused) by policymakers and researchers.  We will then consider future developments of the model and how it could help us to plan a low-carbon transition where you live.

A﻿bout the Speaker:
Paul Dodds, Professor of Energy Systems at UCL Energy Institute

Lunch Hour Lecture | Building the foundations of the UK’s Net Zero Strategy

Date of Lecture: Thursday 15 June 2023

About the Lecture:
Several neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric circuit disorders are characterized by intermittent episodes of pathological activity. Although genetic therapies offer the ability to modulate neuronal excitability, a limiting factor is that they do not discriminate between neurons involved in circuit pathologies and ‘healthy’ surrounding/intermingled neurons. Dr Lignani will present his recent study where he described a gene therapy strategy that down-regulates the excitability of overactive neurons in closed loop and tested it in models of epilepsy as proof of principle. This novel way of thinking can be applied to many neurological diseases such as schizophrenia, autism and migraine. Activity-dependent gene therapy is a promising on-demand cell-autonomous treatment for all brain circuit disorders. 

A﻿bout the speaker:
Dr Gabriele Lignani is an Associate Professor at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology in the Department of Clinical and Experimental Epilepsy. He received his PhD in 2012 in Experimental Neuroscience from the University of Genoa and he did his first postdoc at the Italian Institute of Technology. Then he moved to UCL for his second postdoc and was awarded a Marie-Curie individual fellowship to develop new CRISPR-based editing tools to treat epilepsy. In 2018 he started his own lab as Epilepsy Research UK Emerging Leader to further develop novel gene therapies for epilepsy. He then obtained an MRC New Investigator Award to develop new CRISPR-based technologies and obtained several other discovery and translational grants. He is board member of several committees and Associate editor for Frontiers in Gene Editing and Contributing Editor for Epilepsy Currents; he also leads the Athena Swan initiative for gender balance in his Institute. Recently he has been awarded the Harinarayan Young Scientist Award by ILAE for his research in gene therapy for epilepsy, and the Michael Prize 2023 for the best scientific contribution to progress in the field of experimental epilepsy. The focus of his lab is to develop gene therapy and editing techniques for neurological disorders, to study the role of homeostatic plasticity in epilepsy and understand the basic epileptic mechanisms.

Novel ways to treat the brain with gene therapy

Date of Lecture: Thursday 18 May 2023

About the lecture:
This lecture will describe recent research that exposed the fact that there is no convincing evidence to support the claim that depression is caused by low serotonin. It will describe the author’s previous work which challenges the general idea that the drugs prescribed for mental health problems work by targeting an underlying biological abnormality. It will present an alternative explanation for the action of these drugs that highlights how they are substances that change normal brain chemistry and thereby modify normal mental activity and behaviour. Finally it will consider what this means for the use of drugs such as antidepressants, and suggest that we need to fundamentally re-evaluate the pros and cons of using them. 

A﻿bout the speaker:
Joanna Moncrieff is a Professor of Critical and Social Psychiatry at University College London.

Debunking the chemical imbalance theory of depression

UKCTOCS (UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening) is one of the largest screening trials in ovarian cancer. More than 200,000 women from England, Wales and Northern Ireland took part in it, and it ran for almost two decades. Designing and running such a large and lengthy trial came with its own challenges. In this episode, Professor Usha Menon discusses the key challenges that UKCTOCS faced in its design, conduct an analysis, and how the team addressed them.

Further information is available on the UKCTOCS website at https://ukctocs.mrcctu.ucl.ac.uk/
Listen to the episode about the UKCTOCS trial results at https://bit.ly/48pK94J
For questions or feedback on the series, message us at mrcctu.engage@ucl.ac.uk
For more information and to access the transcript: https://bit.ly/45XRyWT
As a listener, your opinion is very valuable to us. Please help us to improve the podcast in the future by filling in this short survey: forms.office.com/e/PjfjQ5Mn6g

Lessons from UKCTOCS, a large-scale trial in ovarian cancer screening

In this special episode, we look back at the year through some of our favourite moments from Series 4. 

Our hosts Mark Maslin and Simon Chin-Yee explored climate action in a multitude of forms: from groundbreaking climate science and AI, to innovative policy solutions and inspiring stories of individual activism. With fantastic guests spanning multiple disciplines and industries.  

Reflect with us on what’s been done, and what there is still to do, with our Series 4 highlights.  

Transcript link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/podcasts-videos/generation-one-climate-podcast

Date of episode recording: 28th May 2024 
Duration: 27.16 minutes 
Language of episode: English  
Presenter: Mark Maslin and Simon Chin-Yee  
Guests:   
Ian Townsend, ONS 
Pierre Cannet, Client Earth  
Sims Witherspoon, Google Deep Mind 
Buffy Price, Carbon Re 
Louise Harris, Just Stop Oil 
Annabel Rice, Green Alliance 
Versha Jones, The Climate Reality Project 
Kris de Meyer, Department of Earth Sciences, UCL 
Shirley Rodrigues, previous Deputy Mayor, Environment and Energy at Greater London Authority   
Mark Watts, C40 Cities 
Producer: Adam Batstone

Season 4 - The Highlights

This is Generation One, the climate podcast from University College London – turning climate science and ideas into action. 

Hosted by Dr Simon Chin-Yee from the School of Public Policy, and Mark Maslin, Professor of Earth Systems Science at UCL.

We’re going to be tackling climate action in all its forms, from innovative business and tech solutions, to inspiring stories from the frontlines of collective activism. With fantastic guests and top UCL experts.

Look out for Series 5, coming soon on your favourite podcast platform.  

Learn more about UCL’s Generation One campaign and access the transcripts here https://www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/podcasts-videos/ucl-generation-one-climate-podcast. Or find us on X using #UCLGenerationOne.

Presenters: Prof. Mark Maslin and Dr. Simon Chin-Yee
Producers: Adam Batstone, Caitlin Mullin, Jane Yelloly

Welcome to Generation One - Trailer

In this first episode of Little ears, big challenges: navigating mild and unilateral deafness in children, we introduce you to the voices of parents, young people and adults who feature in our series. We’ll meet parents who open up about what mild or unilateral deafness means for their children and the impact it has on their day to day lives. You’ll also hear how parents approach explaining mild or unilateral deafness to friends and family. Listen in as we begin the series.

Transcript link: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ear/episode-1-what-does-mildunilateral-deafness-mean

Date of episode recording: 2024-12-02T00:00:00Z
Duration: 31:53
Language of episode: English
Presenter:Hannah Cooper; Amanda Hall
Guests: Abby; Clodagh; Kim; Joe; Louise; Waqas; Sophie; Mia; Rachel; Jonathan
Producer: Hannah Cooper

Episode 1 - What does mild/unilateral deafness mean?

As summer kicks-off, UCL Generation One dives into the intersection of sport and sustainability – exploring how sport contributes to climate change, and how the climate crisis is already affecting how and where we play. 

Mark and Simon are joined by Sofie Junge Pedersen, professional footballer and climate campaigner (Inter Milan, Denmark national team) and Dan Hall (Sustainability Engagement Officer at UCL, Communications Manager for Football For Future). Dan and Sofie discuss the role of grassroots initiatives and player-led advocacy in promoting climate consciousness in the beautiful game. 

We also hear from Dr Russell Seymour, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Sport Business from Loughborough University, and the Chair of the British Association for Sustainable Sport. Russ breaks down the impact of climate change on sport, and the necessity for stronger government and organisational regulation to tackle climate change. 

From grassroots campaigns to global initiatives, tune in to hear what clubs, venues, and fans can do to build a more sustainable future for the sports we love. 

Link to Action FC actionfc.org/aramno-campaign

Transcript: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/climate-change/podcasts-videos/ucl-generation-one-climate-podcast 

Date of episode recording: 12 and 23 May 2025 

Duration: 49:51 
Language of episode: English  
Presenter: Professor Mark Maslin and Dr Simon Chin-Yee  
Guests: 
Dan Hall (UCL Sustainability, Football For Future) 
Sofie Junge Pederson (Inter Milan, Denmark national team) 
Dr Russell Seymour (Loughborough University, British Association for Sustainable Sport) 
Producers:  
Adam Batstone 
Caitlin Mullin

Season 5, Episode 7 - From sidelines to solutions: Tackling emissions in sport

Join us for the first episode of UCL’s new podcast, ‘Coronavirus: The Whole Story’ with Vivienne Parry. Each week, we’ll be looking at coronavirus through a different lens. This week we’re exploring what happens inside intensive care. With special guests Professor Hugh Montgomery, Director of the UCL Institute for Human Health and Performance and Mervyn Singer, Professor of Intensive Care Medicine. 

For more info and transcripts, visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ucl-minds/podcasts/coronavirus

Date of episode recording: 18/03/2020
Duration: 29:37
Language of episode: English
Presenter: Vivienne Parry
Guests: Hugh Montgomery, Mervyn Singer
Producer: Cerys Bradley

Coronavirus: The Whole Story - What happens to you in intensive care?

UCL (University College London) is consistently ranked among the world's top ten universities (QS World University Rankings 2010 - 2021). Our excellence extends across all academic disciplines, from one of the world's foremost centres for research and teaching in the biological sciences to world-renowned centres for architecture (UCL Bartlett), education (UCL IOE) and fine art (UCL Slade School).

UCL is London's leading multidisciplinary university, with more than 13,000 staff and 43,000 students from 150 different countries. Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, UCL was the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to welcome women on equal terms with men.

UCL Minds brings together UCL’s knowledge, insights, and ideas through events, activities, and digital content open to everyone. Find out what’s on UCL Minds: www.ucl.ac.uk/minds

Debunking the chemical imbalance theory of depression

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