University of Leicester holds first Doctoral Inaugural Lectures

Public event at University of Leicester discusses research into heart failure and drug design

The University of Leicester Graduate School is holding the first Doctoral Inaugural Lectures of the year on Wednesday, 24 November.

The lectures will be given by the PhD Prize Winners of the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Psychology.

The first inaugural lecture 'Failing Hearts - does race matter? Epidemiology of heart failure in a multi-ethnic population' is delivered by Dr Hanna Blackledge, formerly of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences.

Awarded her PhD in 2010, Dr Blackledge will present the results of studies looking into trends in heart failure in general population from different ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
A specialist in public health, Dr Blackledge will discuss the implications of her research for public health and for health care, as well as the future potential for more effective prevention and treatment of heart failure and other cardiovascular diseases.

The second lecture will be given by Dr Ian Wilkinson, awarded his PhD in 2009 by the Department of Biochemistry, on 'The future of therapeutic antibody drug design and discovery.'

Currently a research scientist at Medimmune, the global biologics unit of AstraZeneca, Dr Wilkinson will focus on the application of new nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) based methods to characterise the structure of the minimal functional form of antibodies.

His work demonstrates the potential of NMR to characterise the interaction of therapeutic antibodies with their antigen, providing high resolution information that can be used in rational structure based design of the next wave of therapeutic antibodies.

Lectures, which are free and open to all, will start at 5.30pm in the Frank and Katherine May Lecture Theatre, Henry Wellcome Building. A free wine reception will follow in the Atrium.