This sold-out Tuesday Talk was given by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Irene Tracey. While she was open to questions about her current role, her talk itself was about her work as a neuroscientist who specialises in pain.
Why pain matters
Pain is important. It’s a warning system, it helps us learn what is dangerous, and we’d be in trouble without it. Nevertheless, chronic pain affects around one in five people and can have a serious impact on quality of life. It can lead to job loss or contribute to family breakdown. It is also costly to our society.
But pain is very individual - it’s complex and non-linear. There is no straightforward relationship between the size of an injury and the amount of pain someone feels. Professor Tracey has spent much of her career looking at this question and using cutting-edge imaging methods to study the brain’s response to pain. She walked us through several experiments, many involving testing on students. These included exploring how music changes the perception of pain and testing the power of placebo and expectation.
She has also looked at the effects of anaesthesia: at what point do we stop perceiving the outside world?
Discussion over dinner
Professor Tracey’s talk was certainly thought-provoking and provided plenty of interesting discussion over our delicious meal. Over dessert, we were given two discussion questions:
- What would we like Professor Tracey to change during her next four years as Vice-Chancellor?
- How would we defend the role of universities if their value were challenged, for example due to artificial intelligence?
There were many good suggestions to the first question. On the second, there was a reassuring level of agreement about the value of universities as important communities that challenge people, and which drive learning and innovation.
Throughout her talk, Professor Tracey emphasised the importance of her collaborators and mentors. She spoke warmly about the inspiration she received from those she worked with, as well as students and postdoctoral researchers. She also spoke on managing both work and family, and of her transition into senior leadership roles within the university.
Community
Throughout her talk, her love of Oxford, both the University and the city, was clear. Many of the changes that she has or is trying to implement are influenced by her own experiences as an academic and resident of the city.
The whole evening was bookended with beautiful music from Reuben’s student choir – hopefully we’ll be hearing more from them at future Reuben events.
