Should we let scientists follow their noses?

Join us for another exciting Science and Society lecture with Professor Patrick Chinnery, delivering his lecture; Should we let scientists follow their noses? How curiosity-driven research advances medicine and health.

There is a pressing need to develop technological solutions to address the world’s greatest problems, particularly given current geopolitical instability and the changing planet.

At times of financial constraint, we become focussed on achieving quick results – usually by adapting what we already have. I will argue that, taken to its extreme, this is a dangerous strategy.

The most transformative advances in medicine have emerged from the minds of inquisitive scientists who were allowed to study what interested them (and sometimes them alone).

If we fail to train and support scientists driven solely by curiosity, then opportunities to create world-changing solutions will soon dry up, compromising our own resilience, and that of our descendants

Professor Patrick Chinnery FRS FMedSci FRCP FRCPath is Professor of Neurology at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

He runs a combined clinical and laboratory research programme based in the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit and has been supported by Wellcome since 1995 including a Principal Research Fellowship.

He is known for his expertise in rare inherited diseases that affect the nervous system. His lab has been studying the genetic basis of mitochondrial disorders for over two decades, harnessing the power of whole genome sequencing and developing new treatments through experimental medicine and early phase trials.

He jointly chairs the NIHR BioResource for Translational Research in Common and Rare diseases, is Executive Chair of the UK Medical Research Council and life sciences lead for UK Research and Innovation.

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