Integrated Human Practices
The policy and practices component in Mind the Gut aims to reduce the stigma around mental health problems by creating awareness about the physiological causes of disorders such as depression and anxiety. We aim to directly tackle this misconception through the science of our lab work: the connection between the gut microbiota and the brain to treat mental disorders.
How?
We've been involved in discussions with patients, practitioners,scientists and volunteers in charities to inquire about mental health issues. We also plan to use this as an opportunity to create awareness for the gut-brain axis which is quite a nascent field of research. This helps us ensure the relevance of our project to patients.
We've organized events in collaboration with artists, museums and mental health organisations in order to start discussions with the general public and incorporate their ideas into our project. As of now there are two aspects that are needed to be considered:
- Firstly, a large part of scientific research is not accessible to the general public due to technical language and jargon. This barrier needs to be overcome in order to inform the public about the physiology of mental health and to help the patients understand their condition.
- Secondly, patients taking medication (e.g. for depression) must increase their dose in controlled, regular intervals. This is an issue we will consider when building the genetic circuit for our biobricks.
Who?
The Dragon Café, Mental Fight Club
We are currently organising an event with the Mental Fight Club in Southwark, London. The Dragon Café is a weekly event in the Crypt of St George the Martyr Church. It is open to all, but is especially catered towards those struggling with mental health issues or patients from St. Thomas Hospital. Our one-off event will consist of a presentation and a Q&A about our project.
YoungMinds UK
We have contacted the mental health charity, YoungMinds UK, to widen our perception about mental health issues. This charity is catered towards students and young people with mental health issues. We are currently planning an interactive event to engage directly with these people and present our project.
Art and design
Bioart
Through our art and design we aimed to analyse and explore the future implications of delivering genetically modified bacteria to possibly enhance our bodies and minds. Furthermore, we wanted to bring our project to the general public, by creating a collection of pictures with potential products that could be manufactured to delivered our genetically enhanced bacteria.
- We collaborated with bioartists Anna Dumitriu and Heather Mac to produce a range of new products for the Hypersymbiont Enhancement Salon.
- In order to do so Anna used our engineered E.coli overexpressing serotonin to develop a fun and creative collection of everyday products containing the psychobiotic that makes people ‘happier’.The GM E.coli was freeze dried in order to sparkle this ‘shiny dust’ on the toothpaste and lipstick, while live bacteria was used for the tabs and jellies.