Molecular microbiologist Professor Maggie Smith will deliver the first Darwin Day Lecture organised by the British Humanist Association (BHA) in Leeds on 8 February 2017.
Professor Smith, Chair of Microbiology at the University of York, will ask if the emerging threat of antibiotic resistance threatens to send us ‘back to the dark ages’. Antibiotics are the foundation on which modern medicine is built, yet resistance to antibiotics is becoming increasingly common. This lecture will look at how bacteria evolve resistance and the search for new antibiotics.
‘Our annual Darwin Day Lecture is always one of our most popular events,’ said BHA Chief Executive, Andrew Copson. ‘In 2017, more than 2,000 people across the country will attend one of our lectures and we can’t wait to welcome them.’
‘Antibiotic resistance has become increasingly important over recent years, and marks a perfect demonstration of the theory of natural selection for which Charles Darwin is so respected,’ said Copson. ‘As Chair of Microbiology at the University of York, and the chair of a multidisciplinary research group working on this problem, we couldn’t imagine anyone better to speak on this issue, in the first Darwin Day Lecture to be held in Yorkshire and the Humber.’
In 2014, the Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies called for antimicrobial-resistant infections, such as MRSA, to be put on the national risk register alongside threats such as terrorism and climate change. Scientists, economists, healthcare workers, environmentalists, vets, and farmers, are all urgently seeking solutions to the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.
The Darwin Day Lecture is held in February as part of the British Humanist Association’s annual lecture series, exploring Humanism and humanist thought related to science and evolution, Charles Darwin, and his works. It takes place on or around 12 February, coinciding with Darwin Day, the global celebration of the birth of Charles Darwin. In 2017, the BHA will host Darwin Day Lectures in London and Leeds, with plans for further events to be announced soon.
Tickets cost £12.50 for the general public, and £10 for students and BHA members. You can get yours at humanists.uk/DarwinDay2017Leeds
Notes
The British Humanist Association (BHA) is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people who seek to live ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity.
Professor Maggie Smith is Chair of Microbiology at the University of York, and Chair of TARGeTed Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Project, developing new interdisciplinary collaborations and innovative approaches to tackle AMR challenges. Maggie did her first degree in Microbiology and Biochemistry. in Leeds. She studied in Bristol for her PhD, looking at the processes by which antibiotics are taken into bacterial cells. She then embraced gene cloning technologies during her post-doc years in Leeds and Glasgow, working on how genes are regulated. Her first post as a lecturer was at Stirling University, where she started working with the antibiotic-producing bacteria, Streptomyces. She then moved to Aberdeen and her research focused on how certain viruses take advantage of bacterial DNA to replicate, and how DNA is naturally moved around and rearranged within chromosomes. Now as Chair of Microbiology at the University of York, Maggie has a portfolio of research projects that range from antibiotic biosynthesis to antibiotic resistance.
Previous Darwin Day lecturers include Professor Jerry Coyne, Dr Eugenie Scott, Professor Alice Roberts, Professor Sir David King, Dr Adam Rutherford, and Dr Susan Blackmore.
Professor Lawrence Krauss will deliver the Darwin Day Lecture 2017 in London.