Impact
Cultural preservation
Through the exploration of microfluidic techniques, this project aims to replicate the current method of IcPD analysis of enamel but using custom-built lab-on-a-chip (LoC) devices, reducing sample size requirements from ~15-30 mg of enamel to <1mg. The significant reduction in sample size will lessen the destructive impact on culturally important samples and thus preserve them for future generations.
Cultural knowledge exchange
The project team will build on their collaborations over the last 10 years developing outreach material with the Yorkshire Museum, Natural History Museum (London) and Cape Town’s Iziko museum, targeted at general public audiences. We will present our research at two institutional festivals which we have already been involved in (the York Festival of Ideas, with our Royal Society of Chemistry funded “Analysing the Past” stand and Manchester Science Festival).
Technology
A lack of expertise and equipment often limits the use of techniques, especially in areas where funding is restricted. Microfluidics can circumvent many of these restrictions by reducing the need for lab space and expertise through the use of dedicated compact devices. We will apply to the UK-South Africa Newton Fund for follow-on funding to train individuals in South Africa in use of the developed prototype.
Societal benefits
Researcher training: the Wisdom Teeth project aims to train students and staff through internships at the NEaar lab, and training in Africa at field-schools. This would target individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and a balanced gender participation, without prejudice to academic excellence. The African partners/individuals will benefit from training in the state-of-the-art methods, with the potential to become the future leaders in their field. Through these partnerships the Wisdom Teeth project team will also gain a better understanding of the realities of undertaking lab-based research in Africa, which will benefit the development of the dating technology so that it is designed to be fit for purpose.
Teacher training in UK & Africa: The schools outreach package developed as part of the “Building a Better Eggtimer” project was adopted by the Education department and translated into a useful exercise in engaging students with science for their PGCE students. In doing this, we want to show that chemistry is not just drug manufacture and petro-chemistry, but is interdisciplinary and dynamic. We intend to build on this strand, developing teacher training packages and resources for use in the UK and Africa.
School students in UK: Two groups of school students will also be targeted: A-level students (through the Institute for Research in Schools; IRIS) scheme, and Key Stage 2/3 students, who are yet to specialise in science. We will develop a research project that A-level students can undertake through the IRIS scheme; this will run in the 2nd and 3rd year of the project, with students able to use the completed microfluidics system. For the KS2/3 students, we will bring the Wisdom Teeth research into the RSC “Chemistry at Work” event we have run in the last 5 years.