Victoria Borwick MP took a walk in the shoes of an Imperial academic last week as part of the Royal Society's pairing scheme for scientists and MPs

Ms Borwick, MP for Kensington, paired up with Sian Harding, Professor of Cardiac Pharmacology in Imperial’s National Heart & Lung Institute, for the scheme, which aims to build bridges between parliamentarians and some of the UK’s leading scientists.

During her time shadowing Professor Harding, Ms Borwick spent time with a multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians who are working to solve problems of heart rhythm disturbances. 

As part of the visit, she donned a lab coat and took part in a hands-on experiment, observing the effects of cardiac stimulants on a single heart cell to understand the way that they disrupt heart rhythm. 

The local MP also had the chance to meet with Imperial students and young researchers to hear their ideas and concerns.

Ms Borwick said: “It’s a great honour to be MP for area which includes a world leading institution.”

“If I’m to truly promote the area that I represent it’s really important that I understand what’s going on within it. You can’t talk about something you know nothing about.

The visit comes after Professor Harding spent a week in Westminster shadowing Ms Borwick in November last year.

Victoria Borwick examines heart cells under a microscope

Professor Sian Harding said: “It has been very enlightening and eye-opening to understand more about the pressure and scrutiny that MPs are under. I feel that we have gained a true understanding of each other’s work during the reciprocal shadowing visits, and that this will be the basis for a really helpful partnership into the future.”

“One unexpected thing I discovered was how much science there is in the parliamentary process. The Government and Parliamentary Offices of Science and Technology,  and institutions such as the National Physical Laboratory and the UK Stem Cell Bank have many talented scientists doing exciting, rigorous science. We tend to think that the work they’re doing is routine, but actually that’s not true. There are a lot of opportunities there to make a difference.”