Join us on Tuesday 10 June for our next instalment of Talking Ed’s – an event that introduces you to our Fellows’ research.
Time: 5.30 pm to 6.45 pm, in the Garden Room, with Dr Merav Rosenfeld-Hadad and Dr Jing Su.
Event speakers:
Dr Merav Rosenfeld-Hadad will speak on “Jewish Life and Arabic Music in Baghdad (1900–1951): Insights into Jewish–Muslim Coexistence”
This talk delves into the religio-cultural life of Baghdad’s Jewish community during the first half of the twentieth century. Drawing on nearly 100 lengthy interviews with Jews who left Baghdad in the 1950s, the talk presents a nuanced picture of Jewish-Muslim coexistence shaped by shared religious values, cultural practices, and Arabic music. Arabic music served as powerful common language between the communities bridging identities and fostering connection. These memories challenge dominant narratives, offering an authentic account of a once-vibrant Judaeo-Arabic culture now on the verge of disappearance.
Dr Merav Rosenfeld-Hadad is a historian and musicologist at the University of Cambridge, St Edmund’s College, specialising in Judaeo-Arabic religion, culture, music, and Jewish-Muslim-Christian relations. Currently, she leads a project on the religio-cultural life of Jews in Baghdad and Aleppo and collaborates internationally with multiple universities on research into Jewish literary and musical traditions. Awarded prestigious grants, Merav has published widely and lectures internationally.
Dr Jing Su will speak on “A Snapshot of the NHS Scotland Trio WES Service”
The NHS Scotland Trio Whole Exome Sequencing service is a unique collaboration between NHS Scotland and the University of Edinburgh that embeds academic genomic expertise directly into clinical practice. By integrating cutting-edge research with NHS diagnostic services, this partnership enables rapid and accurate genetic diagnoses for paediatric patients with complex neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative conditions. This pioneering model demonstrates how academic expertise and scientific innovation can be directly aligned with clinical needs, bridging the gap between research and healthcare to benefit patients in a tangible and timely way.
Dr Jing Su is the Head of The Genomic Data Analysis Centre and leads the Bioinformatics Core Analysis Team at the Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh. She is also an NHS Honorary Researcher and a long-standing member, Bye-Fellow, and Associate Tutor at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge, where she first joined as a graduate student in 2004. With over two decades of experience, Jing has contributed to the development of national genomic services across NHS Scotland, NHS England, and Genomics England, helping to deliver faster, more accurate diagnoses and improved outcomes for patients with rare diseases and cancer.
Tea and coffee will be served at 5.30 pm. The seminar begins at 5.45 pm.