In this TEDx talk social gerontologist Gemma Carney explains why the lockdown is so hard, what it shows us about solidarity between generations, and how it plays a key role in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. Carney’s work is dedicated to exploring the impact of population ageing on society and political economy. In recent years Gemma has been collaborating  with colleagues from across the Faculty on projects such as Dementia in the Minds of Characters and Readers and the Lively Project. 

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Science is based on uncertainty. The notion is interwoven in physical and life sciences and sits at the centre of hypotheses testing. Science experiments and research seek through testing hypotheses to challenge assumptions and therefore increase the certainty in how we interpret data and other information that comes from the biological and physical world around us. All science has uncertainty, and unless that uncertainty is communicated effectively and understood, decision-makers may put too much, or too little, faith in it. Professor Elborn explains what is uncertain, and what is known to be pretty certain about the SARS-CoV2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease.

Professor Elborn is a well-established international leader in healthcare having driven major changes in healthcare delivery in the field of cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis.

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Professor Conway will discuss the effect of lockdown restrictions on funerals; the need to protect public health; and the emotional impact on those who’ve lost loved ones during the pandemic.  

Professor Heather Conway is professor of Property Law and Death Studies in the School of Law at Queen’s. She is the author of The Law and the Dead, published in 2016, and writes extensively on the legal frameworks around funerals and dealing with the dead. Professor Conway is also a Council Member and trustee of the Cremation Society and sits on the editorial board of Mortality- an interdisciplinary journal dedicated to death, dying, bereavement and memorialisation.

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The COVID-19 pandemic is littered with unknowns, including those related to a cure and/or vaccine - however, one certainty is that the use of soap and water for regular handwashing is a key part of preventing the spread of the disease. This short talk will explore the reasons why, and explain why soap and water is a sophisticated weapon in the battle against the coronavirus.

Dr Dan Corbett graduated from Queen's University in 2010, with a First Class Honours degree in Pharmacy, subsequently completing his pre-registration training within primary healthcare.

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Professor Armour’s talk will focus on the COVID-19 psychological wellbeing study which was implemented across the 4 nations of the UK. This study was designed as a longitudinal data collection exercise to identify and monitor the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the population. Today professor Armour will provide some early results from the data specific to Northern Ireland. 

Cherie Armour is a Professor of Psychological Trauma and Mental Health in the School of Psychology at Queens University Belfast.

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Professor Mark Lawler considers the unintended but profound effects that national lockdowns could have on cancer services and cancer patient outcomes globally, that may result in higher rates of deaths, particularly among cancer patients with at least one additional health condition.

Professor Mark Lawler is Chair in Translational Cancer Genomics in the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Digital Health in the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences.

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The impact of COVID-19 in care homes for older people and if, following the pandemic, society’s approach to such care may change in the future.

Professor Carmel Hughes is a pharmacist and Head of School at the School of Pharmacy at Queen's University Belfast. Professor Hughes’s main research focuses on the use of medicines in older people, particularly those living in care homes.

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Professor Falzon will explain how a new re-usable face shield for front-line works was designed and put into production within 48 hours of taking the decision to place the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the service of the NHS.

Professor Brian G. Falzon joined Queen’s University Belfast in 2013 to take up the Royal Academy of Engineering – Bombardier Chair in Aerospace Composites and is currently the Head of School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Advanced Composites Research Group.

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Agustina will discuss some of the changes to streets, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. She will talk about the use of temporary infrastructure to redistribute the space of streets and how the pandemic is acting as a catalyst for something that has been happening for decades in other cities, in the quest for a healthier and calmer urban environment.

A lecturer in architecture, Agustina has an interest in urban history and theory, specifically in the significance of local mixed streets, their fabric, histories and experiences. She studied architecture at Universidad de Buenos Aires, where she worked in research and practice. Continuing her research and design experience in the Netherlands, she completed a PhD in TU Delft studying the history of urban leisure waterfronts. Agustina then worked as a post-doctoral researcher in TUDelft and UCD Dublin.

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Dr McGuinness will talk about factors contributing to the increased morbidity and mortality in the elderly due to COVID-19 and she will discuss the importance of anticipatory care planning and good palliative care.

Dr Bernadette McGuinness, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences and a Consultant Geriatrician in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, is a leading researcher in cognitive impairment and dementia, and she recently took a leading role in a ground-breaking Alzheimer’s trial in patients in Northern Ireland.

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The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in dramatic and sudden changes in the way we deliver education, and provoked much discussion on the shape of the post-crisis 'new normal'. Tony Gallagher will suggest that talk of restarting education is misplaced and we need now to focus on resetting education altogether.

Professor Gallagher is a leading expert on the role of education in divided societies and has contributed extensively to education policy locally and internationally. Over the past two decades he has worked on the development of Shared Education through collaborative networks of schools in divided societies working together to promote improvement, equality and cohesion. His current projects focus on Northern Ireland, East Asia and South East Europe, and in the cities of Jerusalem, Beirut and Los Angeles.

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COVID-19 is causing a crisis for artists in theatre and music. This talk shares some ideas of some of the underlying problems in performing arts made worse by the pandemic and thoughts on what action is needed.

Dr Ali FitzGibbon is a Lecturer in Creative & Cultural Industries Management and Subject Lead for Arts Management & Cultural at Policy Queen’s University Belfast. She has worked as a producer, programmer, researcher, fundraiser and arts/non-profit consultant on an international level for over 25 years. Her specialist knowledge and research is in performing arts and cultural industries management, particularly focusing on the role of the artist in business, public policy and decision-making.

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Why is it we see politicians ‘listening to the science’ in devising strategies to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, but we do not see the same in relation to climate breakdown? Are there lessons for tackling the planetary emergency from how states and communities have responded to the pandemic, and how can we ‘build back better’?

John Barry is Professor of Green Political Economy and Co-Director of the Centre for Sustainability, Equality and Climate Action in the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics at Queens University Belfast. His areas of research include post-growth and heterodox political economy; the politics, policy and political economy of climate breakdown and low carbon energy transitions; the greening of citizenship and civic republicanism.  He is co-chair of the Belfast Climate Commission.

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In this talk, Dr. Adlakha will discuss the role of design factors for equitable community development to help civic authorities better respond to COVID-19 and strengthen our preparedness for future pandemics.

Dr. Deepti Adlakha is a Lecturer in the School of Natural and Built Environment. She is a recipient of the Fulbright Fellowship and received her doctorate from the Brown School, Prevention Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, USA. Dr. Adlakha has a background in architecture, urban design, and public health.

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In the current pandemic crisis, the Government needs not just to be led by science but to do ethics in the current pandemic. To do so properly it needs - as other Governments throughout the world have recognized - to be advised by those who are competent and skilled in ethical analysis and to do so transparently and publicly.

Professor David Archard is an internationally leading applied moral philosopher who has written extensively and influentially on important issues such as the rights of the child, the nature of the family, sexual consent, privacy, and on key moral ideas of paternalism, autonomy, partiality, expertise and compromise.

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