<p> The main aim of our effort in human practices is to reduce the stigma around mental health problems by creating awareness about the physical causes of disorders such as depression and anxiety. Our lab work focuses on the connection between the gut microbiota and the brain to tackle mental diseases. Therefore, we are directly tackling this misconception.</p>
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<p> The human practices component in <strong>Mind the Gut</strong> aims to reduce the <strong>stigma</strong> 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. </p>
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<h3 style="margin-top:1%"> What our plan is</h3>
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<h2 style="margin-top:1%"> How?</h2>
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<p>We are talking to people who work in mental health charities, people suffering from mental health issues, practitioners and scientists to find out more. We also want to use the opportunity to create awareness for the mind-gut connection which is quite a nascent field of research. This helps us make our project relevant to patients.</p>
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<p>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.</p>
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<p> We organize events in collaboration with artists, museums and mental health organisations in order to start a dialogue with people outside the lab and incorporate their ideas into our project. So far, we have noticed two aspects that need to be considered. One is that a lot of research is not accessible to people due to technical language and jargon. This barrier needs to be overcome to tackle prejudices and to help patients understand their condition. <!--We are creating software that can find technical terms in publications and highlights them for authors, such as scientists or future iGEM teams, to rephrase when addressing non-science audiences.-->
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<p> We've organize 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:
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Secondly, we realized that patients taking medication ,e.g. for depression, have to increase their dose in regular intervals. This is an issue we need to consider when building a genetic circuit that responds to triggers of mental illness in the gut.</p><div>
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<li>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.</li><!--We are creating software that can find technical terms in publications and highlights them for authors, such as scientists or future iGEM teams, to rephrase when addressing non-science audiences.-->
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<li>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.</li></ul></p><div>
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<h3 style="margin-top:1%"> Who we are working with</h3>
<p>We are organising an event together with the mental fight club in Borough, London. We are going to give a presentation and do a Q&A about our project in this weekly cafe in south London which is open to all, but especially caters to those struggling with problems such as depression or patients from St. Thomas Hospital. <!--This might be in collaboration with an artist that focuses on the stigma and the way to overcome it with science.--></p></li>
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<p>We are currently organising an event with the Mental Fight Club in Southwark, London. <strong>The Dragon Café</strong> 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.<!--This might be in collaboration with an artist that focuses on the stigma and the way to overcome it with science.--></p></li>
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<li><p><b>YoungMinds UK</b></p>
<li><p><b>YoungMinds UK</b></p>
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<p>We are in contact with this mental health charity to widen our horizons about mental health issues especially in young people, such as students and to plan an event where we can engage directly with them and to present our own project.</p></li>
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<p>We have contacted the mental health charity, <strong>YoungMinds UK</strong>, 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.</p></li>