The global AI inflection point
Has artificial intelligence reached the point of moving from providing intelligent responses, to elevating humans by actively shaping scientific discovery? In this special lecture, Lennard Lee showcases work initiated at Green Templeton College, setting out a new AI opportunity landscape for the college and its community. He explores the emerging concept of the 'AI Scientist': autonomous and semi-autonomous systems that can generate hypotheses, design experiments, learn from data, and work alongside human researchers. Drawing on the Oxford-led AI Scientist and Supercomputing project, the lecture examines how this approach can accelerate cancer vaccine research and signal a broader shift in how knowledge is created, tested, and translated for societal benefit. This talk speaks directly to those navigating the AI inflection point, as the world moves through a fourth technology revolution, and highlights the unique role Green Templeton can champion in shaping the future of medicine.
Open to all, but please register. To request a livestream link for this event, please email [email protected]. Please note that the quality of the livestream will be limited as this is primarily designed as an in-person event.
About the speaker
Dr Lennard Lee is a Research Fellow of Green Templeton College and associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. He is Chief Medical Officer of the Clinic at the Ellison Institute of Technology and a medical cancer doctor focused on using technology and data to deliver flagship national health programmes.
He works across oncology, artificial intelligence and population health, with a strong interest in innovation that brings real-world impact to patients. His work includes the UK COVID cancer monitoring project, the Department of Health lateral flow diagnostic moonshot, the NHS-Galleri trial to detect 50 types of cancer and the United Kingdom’s cancer vaccine advance.
About the Green Templeton Lectures
This is the first of the Green Templeton Lectures 2026, exploring healthcare innovation. Innovation in healthcare and life sciences is a rapidly evolving field and a central societal priority. In the context of urgent global health challenges and the expanding role of biotechnology and digital health, Oxford is uniquely positioned to convene researchers, thought leaders, practitioners and future innovators to exchange ideas and foster meaningful dialogue.
The 2026 Green Templeton Lecture Series explores how discovery, experimentation and translation drive progress in medicine and health. It considers the scientific, entrepreneurial and system-level shifts shaping the future of healthcare, while also reflecting on the broader state of the field and the conditions needed for innovation to flourish. The programme strengthens the college’s role as a convener in this space, deepens engagement with students and alumni, and enhances its public profile in health innovation and entrepreneurial leadership. At a time when few spaces in Oxford bring together health, entrepreneurship, and policy in a sustained way, the series aims to create a forum where these worlds meaningfully connect.
The series is led by Associate Fellow Dr Christiaan de Koning, in collaboration with partners across the college and the wider health innovation ecosystem, and forms part of the activities of the Oxford Health Innovation Forum. Details of future lectures in the series will be announced in due course.
The lecture series is generously sponsored by Mills & Reeve. a leading UK law firm known for building strong, long-term relationships with clients, colleagues and communities. Guided by its purpose, 'Achieve more. Together.', the firm works in partnership to deliver practical, forward-thinking legal advice that creates meaningful and lasting impact.