Impact of religion, spiritual beliefs and faith/non-faith on mental health and wellbeing. 

Come join us for an insightful discussion on the impact of religion, spiritual beliefs, and faith/non-faith on mental health and wellbeing. We'll explore how these aspects influence us through sharing our experiences in a safe and comfortable environment. 

This is a Research Culture Conversation Cafe funded by the Wellcome Trust. It is also part of our Black History Month 2025 celebrations. It is open to all students and staff of the University and Dundee and members of local communities, irrespective of your faith/non-faith. 

Light refreshments are provided.

As is the case with virtually every industry, the issue of equitable representation has become a chief concern in the medical field. As different communities and disciplines begin to reflect on their role in the pervasive Western-history-worldview, the personal, social, and societal impact from a lack of diverse perspectives has become apparent. 

As medical illustration is the art of conveying medical concepts, it too has a history of bias in favour of the 'false default" of a white male perspective. From diagrams to health outcomes, efforts are now being made to redress the balance and give skin of all tones the attention it deserves. 

This is an illustrated by Dr. Fawn Ilic, a UoD alumni.

Dundee has risen 13 places to 23rd= in the overall table in The Times & Sunday Times University Guide 2026.

In the subject rankings, we are top in the UK for Bioengineering & Biomedical Engineering and 2nd for Medicine and for Dentistry.

Other top ten placings include:

• Anatomy and Physiology 3rd
• Creative Writing 4th
• Social Work 5th
• Civil Engineering 5th
• Art & Design and Physics & Astronomy both 6th
• Archaeology and Forensic Science 7th
• Education and Pharmacology & Pharmacy both 8th
• Allied to Medicine 9th
• Biological Sciences 9th+

Our strong performance is boosted by the very positive outcome in the 2025 National Student Survey.

The Times & Sunday Times League table can be viewed in full on their website (note this is behind a paywall).

2nd in the UK for Forensic Science

1st in the Scotland for Overall Student Satisfaction in Anatomy

Host: Professor Angus Lamond & Professor Liz Miller

Venue: MSI Small Lecture Theatre, SLS

This Seminar is fully funded by external sources 

RNA Molecular Biology, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique, Belgium (F.R.S./FNRS)

Ribosome biogenesis is a complex pathway that assembles four ribosomal RNAs with ~80 proteins into two subunits of unequal size, each with specialized functions in translation. Proper ribosome production is critical: too few cause congenital ribosomopathies, while uncontrolled production drives cancer. Ribosome modulators have already entered anticancer clinical trials.

Key steps include the processing of polycistronic pre-rRNAs and their extensive covalent modification. These events serve as powerful readouts of ribosome assembly, revealing defects, defining biomarker signatures of disease, and providing molecular fingerprints that may trace tissue of origin and disease grade.

The nucleolus, where early steps occur, is a biomolecular condensate whose dynamic morphology mirrors function, making it both a stress sensor and a biomarker. Traditional biochemical approaches to study pre-rRNA processing, while robust, require large inputs and lack resolution.

I will present our next-generation sequencing strategies combining short- and long-read technologies to map RNA processing and modification with high sensitivity and resolution. These advances are uncovering the nucleolar blueprint and enabling the use of nucleolar biology as a platform to discover novel modulators of ribosome biogenesis.

By bridging mechanism, disease, and technological developments, we aim to transform our understanding of ribosome biogenesis from a fundamental cellular process into a translational opportunity for diagnostics and therapy.

We propose a novel model for a vascularised poroelastic composite representing the myocardium which incorporates both mechanical deformations and electrical conductivity.  Our structure comprises a vascularised poroelastic extracellular matrix with embedded elastic inclusions (representing the myocytes) and we consider the electrical conductance between these two solid compartments. There is a distinct scale separation between the scale where we can visibly see the connected fluid compartment separated from the poroelastic matrix and the elastic myocyte and the overall size of the heart muscle. We therefore apply the asymptotic homogenization technique to derive the new model.  

The effective governing equations that we obtain describe the behaviour of the myocardium in terms of the zeroth order stresses, current densities, relative fluid-solid velocities, pressures, electric potentials and elastic displacements. It effectively accounts for the fluid filling in the pores of the poroelastic matrix, flow in the vessels, the transport of fluid between the vessels and the matrix, and the elastic deformation and electrical conductance between the poroelastic matrix and the myocyte.  This work paves the way towards a heart model that incorporates multiscale deformations and electrical conductivity whilst also considering the effects of the vascularisation and indeed the impact on mechanotransduction.

Venue: Fulton G20

Pete has conducted several participatory action research projects with teachers of mathematics in primary and secondary schools over the past 10 years. These projects have focused on promoting ‘teaching maths for social justice’ which aims to:

• Develop progressive pedagogies that promote mathematical sense-making and engagement of all learners.
• Promote mathematical inquiries that resonate with learners’ real-life experiences and develop understanding of their own situation.
• Facilitate mathematical investigations that develop learners’ individual and collective agency, enabling them to act for the public good.
• Challenge common myths surrounding school mathematics and expose processes that lead to success/marginalisation.

In this session, Pete will present for discussion some of the theoretical ideas underpinning the above.

Venue: Fulton G20

This talk will provide a tutorial of the Lean with illustrations of its use for education and research purposes. Lean is an open source proof assistant and a functional programming language based on the calculus of constructions with inductive types.

Venue: Fulton G20