Ghost in your genes

A psychology research seminar by Prof Marcus Pembrey

The School of Psychology organises monthly research seminars that are open to the public, and the first such event this year took place on March 25, where Professor Marcus Pembrey (UCL) presented a talk “Ghost in your genes: do human transgenerational responses contribute to developmental variation?”.

Attendees were warmly welcomed by the Faculty Dean, Professor Dominic Palmer-Brown, and by the Acting Head of School of Psychology, Robin Iwanek.

Professor Marcus Pembrey is a clinical geneticist, Emeritus Professor of Paediatric Genetics at the Institute of Child Health, University College London, visiting Professor at the University of Bristol and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. His research over the last 15 years has focused on male-line transgenerational effects of environmental exposures.

The speaker argued that genes have “memory” - they capture information on our ancestors’ environmental experience and this information can be passed on to offspring, increasing or decreasing the risk for certain diseases.

The lecture was very well attended, it attracted a lot of London Met students and staff, as well as external guests from other universities, such as, UCL and Goldsmiths.

Students found the event very useful for their studies and personal development and enjoyed the opportunity to network with academics and fellow students.

The event was organised by Dr Kostas A. Papageorgiou.

See the Faculty of Life Sciences and Computing page for more upcoming events