LSI Cafe Scientifique

Taken from The Campus Resident – May 2010

The newest ‘cafe’ at the Universi­ty of British Columbia opens only once a month, and stays open for only 90 minutes at a time.

In these short sessions, however, the cafe offers members of the public looking for information about the latest scientific research (in the field of health sciences) a very tasty menu.

Welcome to the Cafe Scienti­fique at UBC, which held its third monthly session on May 25 (Un­derstanding Cardiac Disease) and which looks forward to offering further intellectually-nutritious sessions on campus in the months to come!

The global phenomenon called ‘Cafe Scientifique’ began in the United Kingdom over ten years ago, and based on the earlier Phi­losophers’ Cafe movement found­ed in France, its popularity quickly spread.

In Canada, Cafe Scientifiques have opened in a dozen cities, in­cluding Vancouver where one has been held at the Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street for the last two years.

Now, the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) has opened a Cafe Scienti­fique at UBC with sessions held in a real UBC cafe, namely the Cafe Pe­rugia, a 40-seat establishment locat­ed in the Life Sciences Centre, the largest building on campus, located at 2350 Health Sciences Mall.

The growing engagement of the public in science, particularly life science given its direct impact of health and life, provides the plau­sible basis for Cafe Scientifiques, says Christian Naus, LSI director. “In the midst of hearing about the devastating effect of many illness­es, people are seeking information about the causes of disease and im­provements in treatment.

“The LSI Cafe Scientifique will provide meaningful opportunity for the public to interact with not only the expert scientists, but also ‘special guests’ who will share their personal experience with the illness discussed. ”

The prestigious Life Sciences Insti­tute provides an ideal environment, both physically and scientifically, for a Cafe Scientifique. It stands at an easily-accessible part of campus, next to residential neighbourhoods which are home to a growing popu­lation of all age groups-including both elementary and high school students. Scientifically, research at the LSI spans a wide range of health-related scientific topics, and for these reasons, Dr. Naus and As­sociate Director Linda Matsuuchi successfully applied for funds to underwrite the Cafe program from the Canadian Institute of Health Research.

The innovative, multi-department LSI employs 87 principal investi­gators from fin departments in the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Science, and its stated goal “is to generate and sustain interdisciplin­ary research dedicated to discover fundamental biological processes of life.”

The LSI research groups focus on several major themes, including cardiovascular systems, diabetes, oncology, developmental biology, microbiology, infectious diseases, immunity, inflammation, cell biol­ogy and gene expression. Dr. Mat­suuchi says, “Most projects have a strong relevance to the public and are well suited for outreach activi­ties such as the Cafe Scientifique.”

The noble objectives of the Cafe Scientifique at UBC, said its LSI promoters in their application for funding from the Canadian Institute for Health Research, “is to provide an integration point where the pub­lic will meet expert scientists, train­ees and individuals who are suffer­ing from the health concerns.”In an informal setting, the science behind the diseases and its impact will be discussed.

“As such, it is consistent with CHIR objectives to ‘establish an accessible/informal discussion be­tween the general public and scien­tists about the value and impact of health research on the health of Ca­nadians, the health care system and the economy as a whole.”

The first Cafe Scientifique at UBC on January 26 drew 30-40 people to the Cafe Perugia to hear two researchers from the LSI answer questions and provide the formation about ‘Diabetes: Causes, Consequences and Cures?’ A similar event followed April 13 when two LSI researchers reported the latest information from ‘inside the fight against the Flu pandemic’. The May 25 session-held after publication deadline-bears the title ‘Electric Signaling in the Heart and Body: Understanding Cardiac Disease.’

The newest cafe at UBC provides not only intellectual fare for free. Coffee/tea/juice and tasty sand­wiches and cakes come with infor­mation about the latest news from the world of medical research. Those wishing to register for a Cafe Scientifique session should contact the Life Sciences Institute.

(Readers should contact Theresa Lung at tlung@interchange.ubc.ca or 604-827-4781 if they wish to get an invitation to attend a session at the Cafe.)

Recently diagnosed with diabetes? Did H1N1 take you by surprise? Worried about bacteria in the food you eat? If you attended Life Sciences Institute’s (LSI) Café Scientifiques in 2010, you would have learned about new treatments for diabetes, preparations for future pandemics, how to minimize food contamination and more.

LSI is a research institute based at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Their goals include generating and sustaining innovative, interdisciplinary research dedicated to discovering fundamental biological processes of life; advancing our understanding of disease processes; and developing potential therapeutics. The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) is proud to co-sponsor LSI’s newest endeavour — the Café Scientifique program.

The Café Scientifique concept — informal gatherings where scientists talk in lay terms about a wide range of science topics, and where questions from the audience spark discussions — is popular in health research. According to LSI’s Director Dr. Christian Naus, this is the perfect time to introduce a café program within the UBC community.

“The public now, more than ever, wants to know about the impact of biological and medical research on their lives. The Café Scientifique provides an ideal forum for scientists to present the impact of their research in a format that allows for open dialogue with the public,” he says. “Our prime location [in Café Perugia, on the UBC campus] is also a great way to reach out to the local community living in the vicinity of the university.”

While café topics are often easily understood by research-oriented attendees, many of the audience members don’t have a science background. What makes the LSI cafés enjoyable, according to Naus, is the speakers’ humour, which helps engage a lay audience. Most café sessions in 2010 saw over 50 attendees, including students, faculty and community members of all ages. At a session on antibiotic resistance, a 10-year old boy raised his hand when the presenter asked the audience about the timing of the most bacterial food poisoning. “In the summer!” he said, citing summer picnics and less refrigeration of food.

Other LSI Café Scientifique topics covered in 2010, equally engaging for a wide-ranging audience, were Diabetes: Causes, consequences and cures; Inside the fight against the flu pandemic; Electrical signaling in the heart and body: Understanding cardiac disease; and Fingerprinting cancer for personalized medicine.

LSI is gearing up for their 2011 café series, which promises to be equally exciting. Sessions are typically held every other month and begin March 29 with a café on Memories in your genes; this is followed by one in May on E-natomy. Future topics include streamlining drug development, innovations in safe blood products and blood substitutes, and brain development. Exact dates and session topics are available soon on the LSI website. Sponsoring partners for 2011 are MSFHR, and UBC’s Faculties of Medicine and Science.