Alumni Reunion Weekend
Friday 2 October 2009


Programme

Friday's programme will focus on Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry's campuses at West Smithfield and Whitechapel. Click here to download a programme [PDF 340KB].

Please note that all of the morning's activities will be based at West Smithfield while the afternoon's - including lunch - will be based at Whitechapel. One-way transport from West Smithfield to Whitechapel will be provided for those booked to attend activities on both campuses.

Click here for full information about travel to our campus at West Smithfield and here for information about Whitechapel.

Advance booking is essential for all paid events.


From 9.30am Registration at West Smithfield
Please try to register with us before going on any of the activities.

Enter St Bartholomew's Hospital and Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry's campus at West Smithfield via the Henry VIII Gate on Giltspur Street, EC1A 7BE. Turn left into the main Hospital Square and go through the large blue door on your left-hand side. This leads to the North Wing where you will find an Alumni stand. This will serve as our central meeting point whilst at West Smithfield.


9.50am (for departure at 10am) Guided tour of historic Barts and West Smithfield
Conducted by a City of London Guide, this tour will take in the church of St Bartholomew-the-Less; Hospital Square, North Wing and Great Hall, all designed by James Gibbs; and Hogarth's famous biblical paintings.

This tour will last approximately one and a half hours.

Meet by the framed notice regarding the Barts Museum and tours to the left of the Henry VIII Gate at St Bartholomew's Hospital, Giltspur Street, West Smithfield, EC1A 7BE.

10.15am Visit to St Bartholomew's Museum
Set in the historic North Wing of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, St Bartholomew's Museum tells the story of this renowned institution, celebrating its achievements and explaining its place in history.

Visitors will be able to view videos and listen to sound recordings as well as see original and fascimile archives dating back to the twelfth century, including the agreement between Henry VIII and the City of London which refounded the hospital. The oldest document in the hospital archives is Rahere's grant of 1137; sealed in the presence of Rahere, the founder of Barts, this deed has remained in the hospital ever since.

Objects from the hospital’s unique historical collections are also exhibited, including works of art, and surgical and medical equipment used in the hospital, for example, you will be able to view a case of amputation instruments which belonged to John Abernethy, surgeon to the hospital in 1815-27. Visitors can also learn about William Harvey, physician to Barts from 1609-43 and discoverer of the circulation of the blood.

Equipment used by nurses is exhibited, such as feeding cups, a hypodermic syringe and items of uniform. The hospital’s role in the training of medical students is also covered. The Museum overlooks the famous eighteenth century square designed by James Gibbs. Two vast and spectacular paintings by William Hogarth are also visible from the Museum.

To find the museum, enter the hospital through the Henry VIII gate on Giltspur Street, EC1A 7BE. The museum entrance is about 30 metres to your left under the North Wing archway.


10.15am Visit to the Barts and The London Heart Centre
Mauro Perretti, Professor of Immunopharmacology in the William Harvey Institute at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, will lead this visit to the newly built Barts and The London Heart Centre, a leading specialist centre formed from one of the biggest cardiac departments in the UK. Research undertaken will combine extant world-class gene discovery programmes and pharmacological research investigating how genes alter blood pressure and trigger disorders of heart rhythm, stem cell biology, biomarkers research and women's vascular health.

The Heart Centre is located at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry's Charterhouse Square campus. As this is a 5-10 minute walk from West Smithfield, we ask all alumni wishing to visit the Heart Centre, to convene at the Registration point as above.


11.30am Transport to Whitechapel
Transport to from West Smithfield to Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry's campus at Whitechapel will be provided for those who wish to have lunch or participate in the afternoon's programme of activities.

Meeting point: To be advised on the day


From 12 noon Registration at Whitechapel
Registration at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry's campus at Whitechapel will be in the Garrod Building, formerly known as the Old Medical School Building. A registration desk and cloakroom will be located in the foyer to the Milton Lecture Theatre.

The Garrod Building is at the junction of Turner Street and Stepney Way, E1 1BB. If you are coming from Whitechapel tube station, you will see the Royal London Hospital in front of you. Cross over the road and enter the Hospital grounds at the gates to Accident and Emergency. Walk past A&E, until you see the Garrod Building on the left-hand side.


12.30pm Buffet Lunch
A buffet lunch will be provided for alumni and their guests in the Senior Common Room on the first floor of the Garrod Building (formerly Old Medical College Building) on Barts and The London's School of Medicine and Dentistry's campus at Whitechapel.

The Senior Common Room underwent a refurbishment in 2007 and is now home to the Blandy Wall which was previously in the Old Library. The Blandy Wall is a collection of plaster portrait casts of notable alumni and former members of staff from The London, created by alumnus Professor John Blandy between 1977 and 2007.

Lunch: £8.50 per person; click here for information on how to book. If you have not already notified us of any dietary requirements, please do so at alumni@qmul.ac.uk or by telephone on +44 (0)20 7882 7790.


2.45pm Visit to the Royal London Museum
The Royal London Museum is divided into three sections: the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including information about the history of the hospital since its foundation in 1740, Joseph Merrick (the 'Elephant Man' and former London Hospital nurses Edith Cavell and Eva Luckes. A new section on forensic medicine (sponsored by the crime writer, Patricia Cornwell), features original material on the Whitechapel ('Jack the Ripper'), Dr Crippen and Christie murders.

The Museum also has a permanent exhibition of artefacts and archives relating to the hospital and the history of healthcare in the East End. Works of art, surgical instruments, medical and nursing equipment, uniforms, medals, and written archives and printed books are included.

The Royal London Museum is located in the former crypt of St Philip's, a late nineteenth century, early English style church, designed by Arthur Cawston. The building also accommodates the Library of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry.


2.45pm Visit to the Centre of the Cell
Led by Kat Sandford, Learning and Access Manager in the Centre of the Cell.

This tour will depart from the Senior Common Room on the first floor of the Garrod Building.


2.45pm Tour of the Institute of Cell and Molecular Science
Led by Dr Jeff Maskell, Head of Institute Laboratory Management and Ralph Thompson, Building Manager.

The Blizard Building is home to the Blizard Institute of Cell and Molecular Science - the largest of the six institutes of the School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Designed by the leading UK architect, Wil Alsop, the Blizard Building has won multiple awards since its opening in 2005 for its bold and innovative design which is both highly colorful and practical in terms of facilitating interactions between different groups of biomedical research workers in a large open plan laboratory and write-up area.

The building has been a huge success: it has acted as a magnet for the recruitment of the internationally renowned scientists over the last four years and the research of the Blizard Institute was ranked amongst the highest in the UK in the last research assessment exercise.

This tour will depart from the Senior Common Room on the first floor of the Garrod Building.


3pm Skeletons and Skullduggery: A tour of The London's pathology exhibits
Led by Steve Moore, Manager of the Centre for Medical Education.

The small collection of specimens at Whitechapel was put together with the idea of offering pathology as a special study component to undergraduate students, whereby a specific pathology could be studied and the results presented for evaluation.

This small educational exhibition space within the gallery not only houses the skeleton of a former well known resident of The Royal London, but also has some of the more unusual skeletons on permanent display, along with a space devoted to a display of specimens from chosen aspects of the extensive collection.

The exhibition shows a number of skeletons where extensive records and notes exist and where a story can be told of the social conditions and lives of the individuals that bequeathed their bodies to medical education. The result is an eclectic collection of specimens with a common theme: behind every specimen there is story that does not necessarily reflect the doctor’s diagnosis!

The second part of the exhibition is a selection from our Forensic Medicine collection. There is more than a hint of skullduggery as we try to encourage thought into “what happened” rather than “how it happened.”

This tour will depart from the Senior Common Room on the first floor of the Garrod Building.


4pm Afternoon Tea
Hosted by Professor Simon Gaskell, Principal of Queen Mary, University of London, you will have the opportunity to enjoy tea, coffee and cake in the surroundings of the Old Library in the Garrod Building (formerly the Old Medical College Building).

Professor Sir Nicholas Wright, Warden of Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry will give an overview of developments at the School. He will be joined by Professor Farida Fortune, Dean for Dentistry.


5pm (approx) Close