On Friday, 15 January, Greg Hands visited Imperial College’s National Heart and Lung Insitute.
Member of Parliament for Chelsea & Fulham, Greg Hands, visited Imperial College’s National Heart and Lung Institute at the Royal Brompton Hospital in his constituency. Greg was welcomed to the Institute by Imperial College’s President, Prof. Alice Gast.
The National Heart and Lung Institute’s primary focus is research, and in 2001 it became part of Imperial College London’s Faculty of Medicine. Led by Prof. Kim Fox, the Institute’s research involves all aspects of heart, lung, and cardiovascular disease, and it has five divisions and seventy professors working in respiratory and cardiovascular research. The Insitute has sites not only at the Royal Brompton and Harefield, but also at Hammersmith, St Mary’s, South Kensington, and Charing Cross.
During his visit, Greg had the chance to tour the genetics department, and he heard about the 100,000 genome project, which received the support of the Prime Minister and £300m of extra funding to help make Britain the world leader in genetic research on cancer by mapping 100,000 DNA sequences. Greg also heard about the Insitute’s outreach programme, and he was interested to hear about the Greenlight for Girls programme, an international effort to encourage girls of 12-16 years to study STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics – and the Crest Awards for 11-19 year olds, offered by the British Science Association at Queen’s Gate.
Speaking after the visit, Greg Hands said: “I am really grateful to Imperial College’s President, Alice Gast, for welcoming me to the National Heart and Lung Insitute at the Royal Brompton. I was particularly interested to hear about the ongoing efforts involved in the 100,000 genome project, as endorsed by the Prime Minister.
“I was also impressed by the Institute’s outreach programme, and would like to draw your attention to the forthcoming Imperial Festival on 7-8 May, which is designed for children and parents, as well as the Imperial Fringe events, which attract 500 visitors per month, and the Imperial Lates evening events, increasingly popular with adults who have daytime commitments.”
Details of Imperial College’s outreach programme and events can be found here.