Talks and shows

Seeing our hearing: How microscopes have changed our lives

Discover how the development of microscopes has shaped our understanding of the senses, as Anwen Bullen explores the working of the ear.

Image via Pixabay

The inner ear has long fascinated biologists. It contains our organs of hearing and balance, which use complex 3D structures to turn movement and sound waves into electrical signals that can be processed and understood by our brains. Specialised detector cells called hair cells are the first step in this sensory process, and malfunctioning hair cells cause many hearing and balance disorders.

The story of how we unravelled the inner workings of hair cells is entwined with the story of how microscopy developed as a science. From early anatomists who hand drew the cells they saw, to solving the structure of channel proteins by cryo-electron microscopy, microscopes have been at the forefront of hair cell research for over a hundred years. Join Anwen Bullen this International Women's Day as she explores the history of microscopy through the history of hair cell neuroscience, and show how some of the smallest structures in cells can have the biggest effects on our sensory world.

Event type

This is a theatre only event where the speakers and audience are together in our Theatre.

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About Anwen Bullen

Anwen Bullen

Anwen Bullen is a senior research fellow and the microscopy unit manager at the UCL Ear Institute. Her research focuses on how subcellular structures and organelles affect the functioning of hair cells in the auditory and vestibular systems, and how pathologies such as excessive noise and ageing can cause changes in these structures. As a microscopist, she also collaborates on projects on a wide variety of topics, from RNA formation on early earth to synthetic nanoparticles for drug delivery. She completed her PhD with the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control using cryo-electron microscopy to research vaccines for bacterial meningitis, before transferring those microscopy skills to neuroscience to study hair cells. She really likes microscopes.

Timing

Doors to the theatre will open at 6.45pm and the talk will begin at 7.00pm.

Accessibility

The event will take place on the first floor and there is step-free access from the street via lift.

The closest underground station is Green Park, which is step-free.

There is space at floor level in the theatre for wheelchair users.

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Our theatre is equipped with an Audio Induction Loop. 

Event terms and conditions