Dr Sinead Loughran

Talk 1: Biotechnology: From Nature's Blueprint to Modern Marvels

• Class: TY to 6th year
• Duration: 1 Hour

In this talk, Sinéad will delve into the concept of biotechnology and how living organisms or their products can be used for human benefit. She explores historical examples, showcasing how humans have long harnessed the power of living organisms and focuses in on modern medical biotechnology's wide-ranging applications, from preventive medicine to gene therapy, biopharmaceuticals and stem cell technologies.

She also showcases the business side of biotechnology, the significant revenues generated globally and the top regions for biotechnology jobs, globally and in Ireland. She discusses various career paths within the biotechnology industry, and offers advice on how to land a good job in the Biotech/Biopharma sector.

Talk 2: HPV: The whole story, warts and all

• Class: 1st year to 6th year
• Duration: 1 Hour

Join Sinead for this talk to learn all about the HPV virus, vaccines and where to find reliable information about the virus.

The talk begins with a brief overview of the nature of science and the scientific method, then moves on to look at the Human Papilloma Virus; what it is and what it does in the body. This is followed by an overview of HPV-associated cancers; what they are and how they are caused. Finally, the last part of the presentation looks at vaccines; how they work in general and then specifically, how the HPV vaccines work with a closer look at the effectiveness of the Gardasil vaccine which is used in the HSE programme.

Information reliability is also discussed in this talk, where to find reliable sources of information and how to be vigilant about the accuracy and reliability of the information we consume and share.