Media

The genomic revolution and personalised healthcare to be subject of first Oxford London Lecture

31 January 2011

Oxford University is staging a lecture in London as part of its efforts to bring cutting-edge research, and the light it casts on global challenges in the 21st century, to the widest possible audience.

The extraordinary recent advances in human genetics and their potential to improve healthcare, together with the challenges they bring for the individual and society, will be the subject of the first ever Oxford London Lecture.

The new annual lecture, held in association with the Financial Times, aims to connect a wide audience with research emerging from the University, showing how that research is immediately relevant to topics of significant public importance.

The lecture will also be made available to audiences worldwide through the University’s iTunes U site and YouTube channel.

Professor Peter Donnelly will talk about ‘The Gene Revolution’ at 18.45 on Tuesday 1 February at Church House, Westminster.

Professor Donnelly is head of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford and has been at the forefront of efforts worldwide to identify genetic variants linked to common diseases. He will describe the latest advances in genetics and their growing impact in improving healthcare.

He will also highlight the challenges the revolution in genetic information is bringing for the individual and for society – for example, is the NHS well placed to take advantage of advances in genomics; how should information about an individual's DNA sequence be handled; and how will society view people who are known to be at risk from certain diseases but choose not to change their lifestyle?

These issues will be discussed afterwards by a panel chaired by Lionel Barber, editor of the FT, and including Professor Sir John Bell, Oxford’s Regius Professor of Medicine; Stephen Dorrell MP, Chair of the House of Commons’ Health Select Committee and former Secretary of State for Health; Professor Nazneen Rahman of the Institute of Cancer Research; and science broadcaster Dr Geoff Watts.

The audience will be a mix of the general public and invited guests, including ministers, parliamentarians, health sector professionals and charities, as well as Year 11 and sixth-form students from a number of London schools.

Another section of the audience will be students who attended Oxford’s UNIQ summer schools and now hold offers of a place. The UNIQ summer schools bring students from under-represented groups to the University for a week, to get an intensive taster of academic and social life as an Oxford student.

Ann Tivey, who has an offer to study medicine, says: ‘We hear about genetics advances all the time in the news, but to get this opportunity to hear it discussed by a leading expert will be an incredibly interesting and valuable experience.

‘The UNIQ summer school helped me tremendously in my application. Practically, the information about interviews and the admissions process was extremely helpful, but possibly most important was the confidence the experience gave me.

Professor Donnelly said: ‘I am delighted and honoured to be invited to give the first lecture in this new public lecture series. There has been an explosion in our knowledge of genetics and of variants which affect risks of rare diseases, of common diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, and even of how people respond to therapeutic drugs. This new genetics is already having an effect on healthcare, and over the coming years its impact will be profound.

But the opportunities for radically new treatments brought by advances in genomics are matched by a number of new challenges that we’re all going to have to consider.

Richard Jarman, Head of Government and Community Relations at the University of Oxford, said: ‘In holding this lecture in London, we’re temporarily moving the University away from its dreaming spires as part of our efforts to connect the things we do with the widest possible audience.

It is increasingly important for universities to demonstrate the value they bring, not just in terms of teaching and research for students and academics, but in the wider benefits for society as a whole. The Oxford London Lecture aims to show how leading research at the University engages with some of the most important topics for society and is helping to shape the 21st century and our understanding of it.

 For more information please contact the University of Oxford press office on 01865 280530 or press.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

Notes for editors

  • The Oxford London Lecture in association with The Financial Times will be held on 1 February 2011 at 6.45pm at Church House in Westminster.
  • This is a new annual public lecture by the University of Oxford. Its purpose is to connect the widest possible audience to some of the most significant research emerging from the University. It will provide a platform for outstanding and engaging Oxford researchers to cover current topics and ideas of public importance and interest. 
  • Tickets: Adult – £15/Oxford University alumni – £10/Concessions – £7.50
    Tickets can be booked online at: www.ox.ac.uk/oxfordlondonlecture
  •  Professor Peter Donnelly, director of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, will speak on ‘The Gene Revolution – Opportunities and Challenges’
    His presentation will be followed by a panel debate about the implications of this research for individuals and society as a whole. The panellists are:

    Chair: Lionel Barber, Editor of the FT
    Professor Peter Donnelly FRS
    Professor Sir John Bell FRS, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University
    Rt Hon Stephen Dorrell MP, Chairman of the House of Commons’ Health Select Committee and former Secretary of State for Health
    Professor Nazneen Rahman, Institute of Cancer Research
    Dr Geoff Watts, science journalist and commentator
  • The UNIQ summer schools are designed to give academically talented students from state schools a chance to experience life at Oxford, with over 500 attending in 2010. Students predominantly came from schools without a history of making successful applications to Oxford, and in some cases where students rarely achieve Oxford entry requirements.
  • The Financial Times is the media partner of the Oxford London Lecture 2011. The lecture is supported financially by the Romanes Fund, which has endowed an annual public lecture at the University of Oxford for nearly 120 years.