A newsletter for people who live or work in the Somers Town area SEPT 2014 | ISSUE 16
COMMUNITY
Science and sunshine at START
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
•Community
Update event
•Our mini-microscopists
•Science for
non-scientists
•Camden in Bloom
winner
•London Marathon 2015
ABOUT THE CRICK
The Francis Crick Institute
(formerly UKCMRI), is a
new medical research
institute being built at Brill
Place, Somers Town.
It’s named after one of the
UK’s greatest scientists,
who co-discovered the
structure of DNA.
The institute is a
partnership between
the Medical Research
Council, Cancer Research
UK, the Wellcome Trust,
UCL (University College
London), Imperial College
London and King's
College London.
Discoveries made in the
laboratories will speed
up the development of
treatments for major
diseases such as cancer,
heart disease and stroke.
The Francis Crick Institute
will bring new jobs,
community facilities
and other benefits to
Somers Town.
Above: Festival goers creating their very own cell cupcakes at the Crick stall at July’s Somers Town Festival of
Cultures © Wellcome Images.
Saturday 12 July saw the sun come out
and hundreds of people head to the
annual Somers Town Festival of Cultures
(START). Now in its 15th year, this
popular street festival sees Chalton Street
and the surrounding area come alive with
food stalls, live bands, arts activities,
a funfair, and sports and games for all
the family.
This is the fourth year the Crick has
taken part and with fun, science-related
activities on offer and our science buskers
out in force, we thought it was the
best yet.
Scientists from the Medical Research
Council’s National Institute for Medical
Research gave a science lesson with a
difference. Scientists explained all about
cells – what they are made of and how
they work – then challenged the children
and adults to make a model of a cell…
from cake. In just a few hours more than
200 cakes were transformed with icing
and sweets into ‘cells’ complete with
mitochondria, nuclei and endoplasmic
reticulum. Best of all, the cells could be
eaten afterwards.
Hannah Camm, Community
Engagement Manager at the Crick said:
“We had great fun making cell cakes with
the families at the festival. It was a very
simple and tasty way to explore what’s
inside our cells, and it was lovely to see
the parents getting just as involved as
the kids.”
Crick staff were on hand all day to
answer questions about the work the
institute will do and about the community
facilities, including the teaching laboratory
that local children will use regularly and
the Living Centre community facility.
One resident commented: “Now that the
building is nearly finished, there’s much
more interest in what will go on inside
and the things the Crick can offer us.”
Staff from Laing O’Rourke (our
building contractors) also came along to
START and brought Ivor Goodsite, the
Considerate Constructors Scheme mascot.
Ivor, as ever, proved to be a great success
with the children.
Our science buskers amused and
amazed festival goers with their science
demonstrations. The increasingly popular
team have already entertained at several
public events this year including the
Imperial Festival and the Science
Museum Lates.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE FR ANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE AT W W W.CRICK.AC.UK
Well done George!
Crick Community Update
Above: Cllr Samata Khatoon, who chaired the Community Update © Wellcome Images.
We all like to know what’s going on around us, so the Crick holds
regular Community Update events for residents. The most recent
one was held in July at the Somers Town Community Association.
John Cooper, the Crick’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), gave
an update on the institute’s plans. His talk included ways that the
institute would help with science education: from the Crick teaching
laboratory to partnership working with schools and colleges.
He also announced that Dr David Roblin will be taking over as
COO and Director of Operations in the autumn. John will stay
on until the end of 2015 to see the building project through to
completion then head off to enjoy a well-earned retirement.
Laing O’Rourke’s Project Director, Neil Smith, talked about
progress of the building work (see Construction Update) and
local resident Dr Melissa Gardner told us about Oakshott Court’s
successful gardening project. See the article below for more about
this project.
One of Cancer Research UK’s top research scientists, Dr Caroline
Hill, came along to talk about the science that would go on inside
the Crick. Cancer, tuberculosis (TB), infectious diseases (such as flu)
and malaria will all be studied at the institute. She also explained
how cancer works. See the ‘Research Focus’ article (opposite) to find
out more about Dr Hill and her research.
At the lively question and answer session, some residents asked
about the combined heat and power system planned for Somers
Town. For more information on this project email Camden Council
at [email protected]
Thanks to everybody who came along. The next Community
Update will be early in 2015 – look out for more information.
George Angeli has been working as a Business
Administration apprentice with Laing
O’Rourke (our building contractors) since
March this year. He recently won the title of
‘Best Team Player’ at Camden Apprenticeships
Big Thank You event.
George, who lives in Camden, was
presented with his award at a special event
on 17 July. He said: “My grandfather was
an architect, and I always had an interest in
technology and construction, but I never felt
that I was going to follow in his footsteps but
I do now. It’s my career.”
Apprenticeship opportunities
Apprenticeships are a great way to learn a
trade – and get paid while you do it. They are
paid and include on-the-job training as well as
day release to study at college. To apply, you
should live in Camden and want to work in
the construction industry. Find out more by
calling the Kings Cross Construction Skills
Centre (KXCSC) on 020 7974 5161.
Above: George Angeli (right) receiving his award from
Councillor Jones.
FROM GREY TO GREAT
At our Community Update event, Somers Town
resident Dr Melissa Gardner inspired us with a tale of
neighbours working together. Aided by a grant from the
Crick’s Community Chest, Melissa and her neighbours
transformed the drab communal gardens at Oakshott
Court into an attractive area packed with leafy shrubs
and bright flowers.
Melissa said: “Our goal was to create a pleasant outdoor
space. As the project progressed, we found it offered
so much more – we made friends, children and families
helped out, people learned new skills, and we had a whole
lot of fun! We’re all very proud of our estate and, of course,
what we have achieved.”
Above: Somers Town resident Dr Melissa Gardner
© Wellcome Images.
Science for
non-scientists
Interested in scientific matters but
don’t have a science background? Then
check out this year’s programme of free
evening lectures at the Working Men’s
College, starting in October.
This lecture series is a great way to
find out more about science subjects in
a relaxed and informal setting. Topics
range from ‘The extinction of the
dinosaurs’ to ‘The fluorescent future’,
so there’s likely to be something that
sparks your interest.
Scientists from some of the Crick’s
partner organisations will be talking
about their specialist areas in a way
that the audience will understand and
enjoy. And if you want to probe further,
there will be a question and answer
session at the end of each talk.
For more information on this lecture
series and all the other daytime, evening
and weekend courses on offer, go to
the Working Men’s College website:
www.wmcollege.ac.uk
A snapshot of life around King’s Cross
Larger than life pictures of real people living and working in the King’s
Cross area were on display earlier this year.
The portraits were created by 15 local young people taking part in a
global art project called Inside Out. They interviewed more than 100
members of the community then took some amazing photographs that
captured the essence of the everyday experiences of those who took part.
They’re all there: shop keepers, road sweepers, religious leaders, homeless
people, youth workers, teachers, and many more.
The photographs were enlarged then installed on the wall of the One KX
building on Cromer Street.
The King’s Cross project was a collaboration between One KX and South
Camden Youth Access Point. The Crick and Laing O’Rourke provided the
funding and expertise required to install the massive portraits.
See the photos being installed at www.onekx.org.uk/our-world-of-good/
INSIDE OUT
People in towns and cities
all over the world are taking
part in the Inside Out project.
Their photos are a way of
celebrating the lives, diversity,
challenges, hopes and dreams
of their local communities.
Find out more at
www.insideoutproject.net
Above: Installation of the photography project
outside One KX © One KX.
UCLH Foundation
Trust: MembersMeets Camden in Bloom winners
Did you know that you can become
a member of the UCLH Foundation
Trust? If you are a London resident,
have been a patient at a UCLH hospital
within the last three years or are an
unpaid carer of a UCLH patient, you
can get involved – and membership
is free. To join or find out more, visit
www.uclh.nhs.uk/members or contact
Ros Waring in the membership office
on 020 3447 9290 or by emailing
[email protected]
As a member you’re invited to attend
the MembersMeet seminars, sessions
that focus on the clinical and service
issues that are important to you.
Upcoming sessions are:
As the sponsor of Camden in Bloom’s Best Community Project, the Crick
team had the honour of helping to choose the winner in this category,
along with the organisers Project Dirt and the Mayor of Camden,
Councillor Pietragnoli. After much deliberation the judging panel decided
on the Kingsgate community garden club for their efforts to engage
many local people around the Kingsgate area – from homeowners to
local businesses – in planting and caring for communal flower beds.
Pain management
Thursday 23 October 2014
10.30 – 12.30
Caring for the nutritional needs
of patients
Wednesday 10 December 2014
10.30 – 12.30
Book your place via the membership
office, contact details as above.
Above: Local scout cubs commemorate ‘Lest we forget’ by planting poppy seeds, organised by
the Kingsgate community garden club, winner of Best Community Project, Camden in Bloom
© Kingsgate community garden club.
London Marathon 2015
Here at the Crick we’re especially excited
about next year’s Virgin Money London
Marathon. For the first time, our partner
Cancer Research UK is the official charity
for the 26.2-mile course. The Cancer
Research UK marathon team is hoping to
raise £2.5 million, and every penny will go
towards building the Crick.
We caught up with the Crick’s own Ruth
Attenborough, HR Business Partner, who
will be running next year.
Above: The Crick’s Ruth Attenborough, HR Business
Partner, who will be running next year’s London Marathon.
Hi Ruth! What made you decide to
take part?
Well, I’ve been part of the Crick team for
two years now and this opportunity to
support the project through fundraising is
just too good to miss. There are going to be
amazing discoveries at the Crick, and it’ll be
a privilege to know I’ve contributed.
Are you a seasoned runner then?
No, not at all! I ran the London Marathon
back in 2004 because a colleague at the time
said I could never do it – a red rag to a bull!
I wasn’t sporty at school, but I’ve learnt that
if you put your mind to it, make a plan and
stick to it, you can get there.
So have you started your training?
It’s too early to start proper training but I
am doing one long run each week and a few
gym sessions, just to build my fitness slowly.
I’ll kick off the real, structured training at
the end of December. If you are running
the marathon, it’s worth getting some race
experience by entering some other long
runs to prepare – before my first marathon
the longest race I’d run was a 10K and I
remember thinking “that was an oversight”!
Do you run alone, or with friends?
I’m definitely a lone runner as far as the
long runs are concerned, but I also like
running with colleagues at lunchtime when
I have time.
Any tips?
Listening to fast music and a decent app to
tell you how far and how fast you have run
are essential. My favourite routes are along
the Thames, with music blaring.
MINI-MICROSCOPISTS COMPETITION
Children all over Camden have been having fun exploring their
environment in great detail.
Nearly 3,500 primary school children from 16 schools in Camden
took part in our mini-microscopists competition. They were
encouraged to use a simple microscope, supplied by the Crick, to
inspect natural and man-made objects then create a picture of
what they saw.
Phil McIntosh, a teacher at Richard Cobden School, commented:
“The microscopes were perfect for the children to experiment
and learn with. They encouraged lots of questions and provided
many opportunities for independence and self-guided learning.”
Clare Davy, the Crick’s Education Officer, said: “We had a
wonderful response to the competition. Using the microscopes
allowed the children to investigate everyday objects in greater
detail and learn about a whole range of different materials.
The pictures were fantastic: we saw some really colourful
interpretations and well-observed line drawings.”
Choosing the best pictures was extremely difficult, but we had
to make a decision. The winners were: Mellia from Brecknock
School (best key-stage 1 entry) and Mahirah from Torriano Junior
School (best key-stage 2 entry). The prize was a microscope to
call their own and a book on the microscopic world.
Thank you to all the teachers and well done to all the pupils who
submitted entries. The microscopes used in the project were
shared out among the schools that took part.
You can see more of the children’s picture in the science
education activities section of the Crick website: www.crick.
ac.uk/engagement
Top: Mini-microscopists winner, Mellia, from Brecknock School (best key-stage 1
entry). Above: Mini-microscopists winner, Mahirah, from Torriano Junior School
(best key-stage 2 entry).
RESEARCH
FOCUS
Controlling growth
and development
Are you curious about how a fully formed human
being develops from a single cell? Or how cancer
cells manage to multiply and spread so rapidly?
Scientists working in a branch of research called
developmental biology explore what makes these things
happen. Dr Caroline Hill is one of them. Currently Head
of Developmental Signalling at Cancer Research UK’s
London Research Institute, she will be moving to the
Crick when it opens in 2016. We asked her to tell us
about herself and her work.
Why did you choose to work in this area of
science?
I have been a scientist for nearly 30 years. My interest
in biology started when I was working in a hospital
laboratory in my gap year before university and grew
while I was an undergraduate at Cambridge. What
inspired me then, and inspires me today, is a desire to
discover how complex living things develop from single
cells and how these processes go wrong in disease.
What are you investigating?
Our work is all about cell communication – an area
that fascinates me – and my team is investigating the
workings of molecules in the Transforming Growth
Factor beta (TGF-β) family. There are about 30 of these;
we are focusing on three.
These molecules act as chemical signals – or
instructions – sent by one group of cells to a nearby
group of cells telling them to change their behaviour in
some way. This could be the speed at which the cells
grow and divide; their shape or ability to move; or even
their type – for example whether they become a skin cell
or a blood cell.
This process is called cell signalling and these same
signalling molecules occur in all living creatures from
sea sponges, the simplest of multi-cellular animals, to
human beings which are very complex.
The particular signals we are studying are essential
for specifying different types of cells in embryonic
development – that’s the process through which a single
cell (the fertilized egg) develops into a baby. As the
single cell divides again and again, TGF-β molecules
command the creation of the right number and types
of cells – about 100 trillion of them – that make up
a human being.
Throughout our lives, our cells are continuously
dividing to allow growth and to replace old or damaged
cells as and when they are needed. For example, if you
cut your hand, TGF-β will signal to the appropriate cells
Above: Dr Caroline Hill, London Research Institute © Wellcome Images.
that they need to multiply faster to repair the wound.
Cell division is usually a very controlled process.
However, cancer cells contain faulty DNA and don’t
act in the same way as normal cells. Because of this,
TGF-β may be produced inappropriately, or the target
cells may respond incorrectly to a signal. For instance,
they may carry on growing when they are supposed to
stop. Signalling errors like these could result in tumours
forming and the cancer cells being able to move and
spread to other parts of the body.
Where do you hope your research will lead?
Our ultimate goal is for our research to be used to
develop better drugs to treat different types of cancer.
To do this, we first need to develop a better
understanding of how cell signalling works and why
cells respond to the chemical signals in the way they do.
What impact will moving to the Crick have on
your research?
A positive one. In the Crick we will be working
alongside scientists from NIMR (National Institute
for Medical Research). Together we’ll be a much bigger
group of people with an interest in developmental
biology: there will be more expertise in one place and
it will be much easier to share information, and discuss
different ideas and approaches to our research. We will
also have access to a wider range of equipment.
I’m really looking forward to it.
To read more about Dr Hill’s research go to the London
Research Institute website www.london-researchinstitute.org.uk/research/caroline-hill
In the past minute, your body has made:
•300 million new red blood cells
•40,000 new skin cells
•12,000 million new gut cells
FOLLOW US ON
For news about the Francis Crick Institute
follow @thecrick.
CONSTRUCTION
UPDATE
GET IN TOUCH
If you have any questions, please
contact us.
Email:[email protected]
Web:www.crick.ac.uk
Phone: 0800 028 6731
Facebook:facebook.com/
thefranciscrickinstitute
Twitter: @thecrick
Post: The Francis
Crick Institute
Gibbs Building
215 Euston Road
London, NW1 2BE
Visit: The Crick Visitor
Centre, Ossulston
Street (opposite
Hadstock House),
NW1 1HG
OUTLINE TIMETABLE
Early Summer 2011
Building work started.
Autumn 2013
Major external work
completed, internal fit-out
continues.
Winter 2015
Internal works completed.
The building is ready for
use and staff move in.
Construction questions? Call the construction hotline free
on 0808 165 0180, or email [email protected]
OPENING TIMES
Thursdays: 14.00-18.30
We can also open the Visitor
Centre for groups on request.
This newsletter tells you about
the Francis Crick Institute and its
plans to build a medical research
centre on Brill Place, Somers
Town. If you would like a copy in
Bengali, please send your name
and address to The Francis Crick
Institute, Gibbs Building, 215
Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE
or email [email protected].
© UKCMRI Limited 2014. TAP2309/18-09-14/V3
Whilst the exterior of the institute nears completion, there is still an
enormous amount of work to do internally, with the focus now being
on the fit out of the laboratories. On the second floor, one whole
quadrant of laboratories is largely complete, showing the established
benchmark standard for the rest of the institute. We are also starting
to install specialist laboratory furniture.
Elsewhere in the building, lifts (of which there are 22!) and stairs
continue to be installed and electrical power sockets are being fitted
throughout.
The Building Services team is working closely with the construction
team on site during the handover and commissioning process, and to
support the various quality inspections and site acceptance tests.
Practical completion of the institute is scheduled for early
November 2015, following which it will take approximately 6-8
months to move all the staff into the building.
Staff will be on hand to answer
your questions and you will be
able to see the latest designs
and plans for the building.