Many more details to come – but in the interim the essentials are:

Date: Tuesday 31 st January 2017

Tuesday 31 January 2017 Time: 6pm (for 6:30pm start – get there early for food and a good spot)

6pm (for 6:30pm start – get there early for food and a good spot) Venue: Leroy’s Dive Bar (top of Plimmer Lane/bottom of Plimmer steps)

Leroy’s Dive Bar (top of Plimmer Lane/bottom of Plimmer steps) Cost: Free/Koha

Speaker details (in no particular order):

A Quest for New Markers

Evie Templeton

Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS) result in significant morbidity and mortality, accounting for approximately half of all deaths due to cardiovascular disease. Accurately predicting high-risk patients at danger of recurrent ACS, stroke or death is extremely challenging, and biomarkers are commonly employed as tools in order to risk-stratify patients. It has been hypothesized that using a multi-marker inflammatory panel consisting of pro- and anti-inflammatory markers would provide independent prognostic information in an ACS population, and as such could provide a better model for predicting inflammatory mediated risk following a heart attack. This talk will also delve into the sometimes less-than-ideal realities of being a postgrad student – a tight time frame, a tight budget, and things just not working out…

Evie Templeton is a master’s student at Victoria University of Wellington, who is currently completing the last month of her Master of Clinical Immunology.

The Secret Life of Otters.

Dave Harper

Perhaps one of the most loved members of the Mustelidae family are the adorable otters. This talk will briefly overview some of the interesting features of the thirteen accepted otter species (plus delve a little in to the possibility of a mysterious ‘missing 14th’ species). In addition, we will explore some of the behavioural characteristics of the more commonly studied species and the challenges that arise from understanding another species from an inescapably anthropomorphic perspective (i.e. we really have no idea what is going on).

Dave Harper is a Professor in Psychology and Dean of Science at Victoria University of Wellington. Although he has moved to the dark side of University administration, the academic interests of his past life have encompassed such areas as behavioural pharmacology, mathematical modelling of basic behavioural processes and understanding the cognitive processes of non-human animal species.

My Great-Great-Great-Great Grandparents Were Aliens

Oliver Scripps

This talk explores the psychology of our ancestors, their decision-making and worldview. With no formal education in psychology or history but an overfull bucket of enthusiasm and energy, Oliver will draw from sources in pop-history and historical conspiracy theories to see the world through the eyes of the ancients.

Oliver Scripps is a stand-up comic, producer and writer based in Wellington.