IBMS in Scotland member Diane Anderson met Helena Oldroyd, aged nine, at the 2013 Big Bang event in Glasgow. Impressed by Helena's keen interest in science and her scrap book of hand drawings and photographs of images seen under her own microscope, Diane invited her to tour the laboratories at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
Helena became interested in science when her brother was diagnosed with Wilms’ tumour on his kidney, and she wanted to investigate the disease how he was cured. Over the years, Helena acquired a skeleton and a microscope and lots of models. She also undertook projects on the skeleton, the history of medicine and cells, and completed her Bronze CREST Award on the differences between normal cells and cancer cells.
During her visit to the laboratory, Helena (pictured with Diane Anderson) was able to speak with biomedical scientists and doctors in training. She also saw how tissue is processed for diagnosis in histopathology and was able to view the stained results under the microscope. At the end of her visit, Helena was able to take away a certificate for her work and a magazine on science.
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