Page 30 - Gi flipbook February 2018

IGEM NEWS | CO Conference

THIRD TIME’S

A CHARM

IGEM held its third carbon
monoxide conference bringing
together the leading research
into this silent killer and
addressing how the industry can
act on what it has learned so far.
IGEM Head of Marketing and
Events Gemma Baguley reports

COORDINATION, PRIORITISATION
and collaboration were the words of
the day at IGEM’s third conference
dedicated to the fight against carbon
monoxide (CO) poisoning.
The 2017 event, entitled Research
into Action, brought together
representatives from the gas industry
with those from the medical
profession and academia in order to
coordinate activities aimed at
preventing the tragic and unnecessary
deaths, injuries and suffering caused
by CO poisoning.
Our morning speakers included
Roland Wessling, a Research Fellow at
Cranfield University, who covered
where we are now and where we
need to get to in terms of CO
research. A CO survivor himself,
Roland tragically lost his partner to
CO poisoning and now advocates the
importance of science in the fight
against this silent killer.
Julie Connolly, a medical professional
and PhD student at Liverpool John
Moores University, is currently
undertaking an interpretative
phenomenological analysis of surviving
carbon monoxide poisoning. Next, Clive
Shrubsole, Senior Research Associate need to understand the issue. • Bring together researchers to
at University College London, looked discuss what their findings are telling
at the factors contributing to low level Our speakers and the assembled them. This will highlight gaps in their
carbon monoxide exposure in English delegates were in agreement that knowledge and prioritise what
housing stock. there is a clear need to: further research is required.
Our research session concluded • Coordinate the research projects
with a panel discussion aimed at being undertaken across academic • Strengthen the link between
identifying the gaps that exist within institutions, in order to remove academia and industry as
our knowledge on CO and how to competition for funding and make collaboration is the key to extending
ensure that research findings are efficient use of the limited funds the reach of our combined message
communicated to all those who that are available. on CO.

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