Sneezing for science – thousands of allergy sufferers
16 Sep 2019
A public engagement story from Britain Breathing – tell us your story or ask to get involved
Thousands of citizen scientists are tracking their allergies with a new smartphone app in a bid to help researchers gather good quality data on symptoms.
Around one in four people suffer from seasonal allergies and this incidence is on the increase, but the causes of this are not known.
#BritainBreathing – a partnership between the Royal Society of Biology, the British Society for Immunology, cross-disciplinary scientists here at the University and allergy sufferers from across the UK – is the first nationwide citizen science project aiming to track symptoms and location.
The free app allows sufferers to track their allergic responses in real time, with the data collected then shared anonymously with scientists working to understand more about allergies in the UK. In its first year more than 1,500 users downloaded the app.
The public are involved in the whole research process and were instrumental in the design of the app and advising on how to build ways to keep people engaged throughout the project.
So far, they have found that the data submitted is good quality and reflects allergy medicine prescriptions and known peaks in pollen seasons. Now the approach is validated the researchers are using the data to understand what areas of the UK suffer the worst symptoms and when as well as the possible links between symptoms reported and environmental factors such as pollutants.
Now in its third year, it’s set to go international with a foray into Brazil, meaning even more of us can sneeze for science.
Professor Sheena Cruickshank, part of the #BritainBreathing team and also our academic lead for public engagement, says: “Allergies are increasing but we don’t know why. This project seeks to explore that question. And importantly it has been co-developed from the start with those who experience allergies. Involving the public in developing and delivering research questions has been a real privilege and is just one example of public engagement with research.”
Since leading one of the first UK Beacons for Public Engagement, our University has gone on to be awarded a Gold Watermark from the National Co-ordinating Centre for Public Engagement and we are celebrating that journey.
Now we’re taking up the challenge of playing a leading role as a civic university, as well as addressing key national and international agendas, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Our vision includes creating a more permissive engagement culture; developing more inclusive practices; co-creating innovative approaches and working in partnership with more diverse audiences to help realise our University’s strategy for social responsibility, research and discovery, and teaching and learning. You too can share, inspire and involve our community partners and public audiences in Manchester, across the country and around the globe.
For this we need our staff and students to get involved – tell us your engagement stories.
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