5th October 2009

Seventh BioCity Annual Lecture, Thursday 8th October 2009 at 5.00 pm

One of science’s most compelling communicators, Professor Steve Jones will deliver the seventh BioCity Nottingham Annual Lecture to an audience of over 150 guests on Thursday 8th October 2009.

In what is anticipated to be a lively and entertaining presentation, the award-winning geneticist will argue that the signs show, at least in the developed world for now, that human evolution has slowed down or stopped. His thesis will therefore raise many questions about man’s ability to adapt to future challenges such as climate change, and to the social and environmental impact of technology.

Speaking ahead of his visit to Nottingham, Steve Jones, Professor of Genetics at University College London (UCL) says: “It will give me great pleasure to deliver the Annual Lecture this year at BioCity. Somehow we must all get a better grasp of how we humans have evolved and how a slowing of that evolution could affect us. Given BioCity’s pre-eminence in the life science and bioscience field I know my audience will be ready to engage in a robust and thoughtful debate.”

Dr Glenn Crocker, BioCity Nottingham CEO is looking forward to welcoming Professor Jones to this prestigious event in the scientific calendar. “Demand for places at this year’s Annual Lecture has been overwhelming which goes to show how popular Steve Jones is. Many people know him for his talks on BBC Radio as well as lectures around the UK. His accessible style and ability to explain complex science will be well-received and appreciated by our guests.”

Among the audience at this year’s BioCity Lecture will be leading scientists from across the East Midlands, life science company entrepreneurs, academics, college and school students. Nottingham’s status as a Science City, together with the City region’s reputation as a life sciences centre of excellence continue to attract researchers, companies engaged in both research and commercialization and inward investors. Professor Jones’ visit will bring further inspiration to this growing and influential bioscience network.

Sponsoring the Annual Lecture, and keen to promote healthcare growth and developments, are Boots UK and the East Midlands Healthcare and Bioscience iNet.

Simon McCandlish, Boots the Chemists Director of Consumer Healthcare & Pharmacy welcomes the event.

“As chemist to the nation, Boots has always been at the forefront of helping our customers to manage their health pro-actively. We know that lifestyle and demographic trend predictions bring with them fresh challenges for us to meet. Challenges that we have a duty to be ready for. This lecture will be an interesting opportunity to understand what the future may bring, and how we need to respond to it.”

“Is man fit to survive?” says Dr Ian Barr, Director of the East Midlands Healthcare and Bioscience iNet. “It’s an excellent question to ask on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’, and Steve Jones is the man to address it.”

Enquiries about places at the BioCity Annual Lecture should be made to Miranda Knaggs by email at m.knaggs@biocity.co.uk

ENDS

Media enquiries:

Louise Third

Integra Communications

BioCity Nottingham

T: 0115 912 4350

E: louise@integracommunications.co.uk

NOTES:

Professor Steve Jones has been involved with the media for several years, largely in presenting scientific work but also in a more general context. He has appeared on BBC

Radio on more than two hundred occasions. He gave the 1991 Reith Lectures on "The Language of the Genes". Since then he has written and presented a long-running Radio 3 series on science and the arts, "Blue Skies", and a six-part TV series on human genetics, "In the Blood"; broadcast in 1996. He has also appeared in various other TV programmes, from Question Time to Late Review to Newsnight. In addition he has written extensively in the press on scientific issues and has a regular column in The Daily Telegraph - "View from the Lab".

He has given large numbers of named lectures, and frequently visits and speaks at schools and schools conferences. He is UCL’s representative on the recently established London Regional Science Centre, which aims to provide in-career training to science teachers. Professor Steve Jones won the Rhone-Poulenc book prize and the Yorkshire Post first book prize in 1994; and the BP Natural World Book Prize in 1999. In 1995 he was a member of the NCR Non-Fiction Book Prize judging panel, in 2000 the Guardian First Book Prize Panel and in 2001 the Samuel Johnson Book Prize Panel. He was awarded the Royal Society Faraday Medal for public understanding of science in 1997, the BP Natural World Book Prize in 2000 and the Institute of Biology Charter Medal in 2002. He is President of the Galton Institute.

At the moment Professor Steve Jones is particularly involved in looking at the interaction of thermal ecology and genetics in snails and in Drosophila. He has spent many years studying the ecological genetics of snails, fruitflies and humans. He has spent much of his career at UCL, but has had visiting posts at Harvard University, the University of Chicago, the University of California at Davis, University of Botswana, Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leone, and Flinders University in Adelaide.

Alliance Boots is an international pharmacy led health and beauty group best known for its presence on the high street. However, the company has always been active in medical development. It pioneered the production of insulin injections and also developed ibuprofen. Today, Alliance Boots invest several million pounds each year into healthcare development and has set up the Boots Centre for Innovation to help early stage companies and inventors to develop products.

The Healthcare and Bioscience iNet is a region-wide initiative that coordinates support for businesses, universities and individuals in the healthcare and bioscience sector in the East Midlands.

Specialist healthcare and bioscience advisers provide easy access to information, impartial advice and support to innovate, grow, enhance competitiveness and contribute to the regional economy. The iNet also provides sector networking opportunities, skills development and knowledge exchange through its events programme. It champions innovation and promotes the strengths of the sector. The iNet is inspired and funded by the East Midlands Development Agency. The project is delivered by Medilink East Midlands.