Amy Smith studies glial cells in the brain. Named from the greek word for glue, because they were initially thought to just hold the more important cells together, recent research has found them to be vital in protecting other brain cells from various types of damage. Amy researches a particular cell type called microglia; the immune cells of the brain.
Amy’s lab group culture (or grow) these cells from human brain tissue samples donated from epilepsy sufferers who have had brain surgery. Here, Amy is showing her artist partner Dane Edwards a flask of these cells in culture down the microscope. She also showed him our walk-in coldroom (4°C) through which you can reach the walk-in freezer (-20°C) – which always brings to mind some sort of horror movie…
