“Research gives you hope”

Listen to Dot chat with inspiring researchers on our Ble fydden ni heb ymchwil? podcast soon wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe now.

Mum of three, Dot Davies grew up in Cardigan, West Wales and has had an incredible career in journalism, presenting TV and radio shows for channels such as BBC, ITV and S4C.

Dot’s next exciting project is hosting our Ble fydden ni heb ymchwil? podcast.

Thinking more about research

“As a parent, you take your children to get their vaccines and you don’t really think about how they came about. It’s an abstract thing. But, through COVID-19, people started to get a real understanding and appreciation of how we were all going to benefit from research.

“I was really lucky during the pandemic, I got to talk to loads of different people on my radio show and the one thing everybody clung onto was one day there will be a vaccine. The only way we got it was through the tireless efforts of researchers, they are making life better for all of us.”

Research and family

“A member of my family is registered to donate bone marrow, they got matched from the register and gave their bone marrow to a complete stranger. I remember sitting down with them and thinking about how we got to a point where science enabled them to be matched with a man who lives in the north of England, and how they got to save his life. That’s where research leads you, how amazing is that?

“For me, research is all about the greater good, how humanity can help itself and improve quality of life.”

Learning about research at work

“I recently worked on a programme for S4C about motor neurone disease (MND), a condition which affects the brain and nerves. I met all these families with loved ones affected by the disease, and, at the moment, there is no happy ending for them.

“But, with research, hopefully one day those families won’t have to go through what they are right now.

“During filming I met some inspiring people living with MND, and one man is hoping to take part in a research study in Wales soon. He said he knows it’s too late for him, the trial isn’t going to save him, but he hopes by being part of this research he can help find better treatments, or even a cure, for others in the future.”

Where would we be without research?

“I don't pretend to understand what researchers do, but I do know that research gives you hope, and that's what you need.

“We all hope for treatments or cures for different illnesses, or even an all-encompassing cure for cancer. But these things won’t happen without research, without these people who are working towards it, it just won't.”

Hear from Dr Emma Yhnell, the host of our Where would we be without research? podcast on our blog page.