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Oxford Open Doors 2019 - programme for the BDI

Atrium of Big Data Institute building, Oxford University

Talks (in the seminar rooms)

14:00 The Big Data Institute and Big Data Gil McVean
14:15 A first byte into Big Data Rosemary Walmsley
14:30 The origins of disease: using Big Data to understand and improve health Anthony Webster
14:45 The Mobile Malaria Project George Busby
15:00 Beyond the body: A portrait of autopsy Halina and Anna Suwalowska

Activities (in the atrium)

Join us in the atrium of one of Oxford University's newest research buildings to learn how 'Big Data' is being used to enhance our understanding of human health and the treatment of disease.

Here, you will discover a number of interactive activities:

  • Who gets sick and why? Have you ever asked whether vegetarians live longer than meat-eaters, or if an apple a day really does keep the doctor away, or if being married is good for your health? If so, then you’re asking the same questions asked by researchers who study who gets sick and why. They’re called epidemiologists and a group from the Cancer Epidemiology Unit will be on hand to help you answer these questions.
  • Beyond the body: a portrait of autopsy. Autopsy is surgery carried out on a body to find out how the person died. To investigate the ethical dilemmas presented by examining the body across different cultures, a social scientist and an artist are collaborating on a creative project.
  • Data games. Data can help us make sense of the world around us. It can be grouped, ordered, counted or ranked. Sometimes patterns emerge when we do this. If you like playing games and building things, visit our stand and learn more about data.
  • Can you help hear the baby's heart beat? How can a baby inside their mother’s tummy tell us if they are feeling OK? Come and find out with our hands-on activity! You’ll also discover what we’re doing to understand unborn babies better, using the heart beat patterns of 100,000 babies.
  • Secrets in the blood. How can blood help us understand the causes of disease? Our labs store and test millions of bloods samples from people all over the world who are taking part in our research. Learn about components of blood and how we process them.
  • UK Biobank. We’re following the lives of half a million middle-aged people in the UK. These volunteers have told us lots of things about their lives. This includes what they eat and drink, the illnesses they’ve had, how much exercise they take and where they live. We’ve also looked at their blood and genetics.   Come and find out why all this matters.  What can scientists learn, and do from the UK Biobank study?
  • Health Services - solving a crazy maze. If you’ve got a long-term health condition like heart disease or problems with your memory, getting the right help from the NHS and related services can be complicated. You might have to see lots of different doctors, nurses, and specialists in lots of different places. At the Health Services Research Unit we find out how people can find the support they need and their quality of life is improved by these services.