How we organised a sustainable international conference

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In June 2024 the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit welcomed 200 participants to Bristol and 60 participants online to our 6th Mendelian randomization conference, making this our biggest conference to date. A key innovation this year was a Hub in the MRC Unit in Uganda, where delegates gathered in a video-linked room to participate in the conference, also with networking and catering on-site.

Sustainability was a key theme, and we set a target to reduce the carbon footprint by 50% mainly through converting to a hybrid conference with a virtual Hub, and booking vegetarian/vegan catering. The total estimated tonnes CO2 (tCO2) for the conference (mostly due to travel) was 143.25 tCO2. The Hub and virtual attendance avoided 147.5 tCO2 (see table). (more…)

And today’s random (and dubious) medical news is: dark chocolate prevents diabetes

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George Davey Smith challenges the findings of a new BMJ paper claiming that eating dark chocolate protects against Type 2 diabetes.

Pieces of nutty dark chocolate stacked on top of each other. Photo by amirali mirhashemian on Unsplash.Xmas is supposed to be a time of goodwill, and medical journals like the BMJ print seasonal papers not intended to be taken too seriously. The topic of one of the latest papers – chocolate – has been the topic of Xmas BMJ papers in the past, but it appears this is intended to be a serious paper; it is certainly not entertaining. The paper suggests that dark chocolate can protect against type 2 diabetes. At the risk of being a Grinch at Christmas, it has to be said that this is, frankly, a meaningless paper. Indeed it is surprising to see such a paper published in 2024 in a supposedly reputable journal. (more…)

Do you have plans for life beyond your PhD?

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Winfred Gatua shares her perspective of the recent Life Beyond PhD Conference 2024 that was held at Cumberland Lodge

As a PhD student, getting caught up in the pressure surrounding immediate research output is easy. However, what happens after earning a PhD?

I recently had the privilege of attending the Life Beyond PhD 2024 conference, organized by Cumberland Lodge and with the support of the University of Bristol. This event brought together PhD students and alumni across various disciplines to explore the challenges and opportunities ahead. The conference was designed to leave no stone unturned regarding coping with the PhD and beyond. From dealing with imposter syndrome to practising presentation, improving writing skills and fostering inclusive societies. (more…)

Away day brings programmes together to explore cancer challenges

Posted on by Jess Akerman

Bringing researchers from different areas together is vital in sharing expertise and generating opportunities for new collaborations and connections. Last week members of the Integrative Cancer Epidemiology Programme (ICEP) joined colleagues specialising in Mendelian randomization (MR) within the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU), for a day of discussion, networking and sharing their latest research.

Here, Senior Research Fellow Philip Haycock, who leads the Cancer Progression and Drug Target research theme in ICEP, summarises some the day’s discussions and overlapping research. (more…)

Adiposity in childhood affects the risk of breast cancer by changing breast tissue composition, study suggests

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A close up of a strand of DNA.
Photo by Sangharsh Lohakare on Unsplash

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide.  With rates continuing to rise, there is an urgent need to identify new modifiable breast cancer risk factors. New research led by the University of Bristol suggests that higher adiposity in childhood leads to less dense breast tissue forming, which results in a reduced breast cancer risk.  However, further research is needed to understand the mechanism of the overall protective effect of childhood adiposity to identify new targets for intervention and prevention. (more…)

A novel measure of inflammation in depression

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Éimear Foley discusses a recent paper

Inflammation is thought to play a role in depression. According to research that combined information from many studies (i.e., systematic review and meta-analysis), approximately a quarter of all those diagnosed with depression also have consistently higher levels of inflammatory proteins, like C-reactive protein (CRP), in their blood. Large population-based studies and studies using genetic information (i.e., Mendelian Randomization) further suggest that inflammation, particularly an inflammatory protein called interleukin 6 (IL-6), play a key role in causing depression. (You can read more about the role of inflammation in depression in our IEUREKA blog on “Immune cells as biomarkers of depression”.) 

So far, studies examining this relationship between inflammation and depression have only focused on the levels of individual immune proteins in the blood, like IL-6 and CRP. At a cellular level, an inflammatory response is not caused by the activity of one inflammatory protein but rather by the interaction between several proteins working together to trigger a signalling response. Looking at the activity of proteins gives further insight into how these proteins relate to a particular condition, like depression. For this reason, in a recent study, we examined how IL-6 activity relates to symptoms and cognitive performance in people diagnosed with depression.   (more…)

The MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol (IEU) conducts some of the UK's most advanced population health science research. It uses genetics, population data and experimental interventions to look for the underlying causes of chronic disease.