Speaker of the House of Commons, Rt Hon John Bercow visits Birkbeck Babylab
On Wednesday 5 November, the Speaker of the House of Commons the Rt Hon. John Bercow visited Birkbeck
On Wednesday 5 November, the Speaker of the House of Commons the Rt Hon. John Bercow (pictured, right) visited Birkbeck, where he met with students from the Departments of Politics and Management and research scientists from Birkbeck’s world-leading Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development.
The Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development was established in 1998 and is internationally recognised as one of the leading centres of its kind. The Centre also incorporates the Babylab, whose researchers have made breakthrough advancements in detecting early signs of autism in infants as young as six months old. As well as studying typical brain development in infancy, it is one of the only laboratories in Europe that studies brain functioning in very young children with William’s Syndrome, Fragile X and Down’s Syndrome.
During his visit to the Babylab, Mr Speaker was shown a number of cutting-edge technologies which are used in experiments with infants, including an eye-tracking device used to measure infant attention, and near infrared spectroscopy technology, which can measure brain activity in infants who are too young to lie still enough for an MRI scan. Leslie Tucker, the centre coordinator who conducted the tour, explained that parents participate in Babylab research for a variety of reasons. Some are involved because their baby has an older sibling who has been diagnosed with autism or ADHD and they are therefore considered to be more at risk of developing the condition.
Mr Speaker, who is a parent patron of the charity Ambitious About Autism, commented: “I think it’s fantastic that so many parents bring their babies to Birkbeck’s Babylab for analysis and testing when, for the most part, the outcomes will be of benefit to other people’s children and for the population as a whole. It shows that the age of altruism is not dead.”
Following his visit, Mr Speaker said: “I knew a bit about Birkbeck before I came, but the important research being undertaken in the Babylab was new to me. I was very struck by the facility and to learn that its work has resulted in medical advances that really have helped families who have children with autism. The other striking thing about Birkbeck has been the incredible commitment and enthusiasm of staff and students. When I asked students, ‘Isn’t it exhausting at the end of a working day to study in the evening?’ they answered that while it’s a sacrifice in terms of social life, they love their course and the opportunity to combine work and study – with a prestigious degree – means they’ll have a much better career at the end of it.”
“It does seem to me that Birkbeck – with its excellent research and evening teaching – is a unique and original offer in what is quite a competitive education market.”
Professor David Latchman CBE, Master of Birkbeck, said: “We were delighted to welcome Mr Speaker to Birkbeck so that he could see first-hand the exciting and world-leading research that is undertaken here, and to hear from our students about the life transforming opportunities that studying at Birkbeck offers.”
- If you are interested in participating in Babylab experiments with your infant, please contact the team on 0207 079 0761, or email them at staars@bbk.ac.uk to find out more.
- Find out more about Birkbeck.
- Support our world-leading research projects such as the BabyLab by making a donation.