Dr Andrew Wilks (a highly regarded research scientist and entrepreneur) has chosen for his topic: Simians to Cyborgs: Seven million years of pharmaceutical drug discovery.
We’ve just been through the worst global pandemic in 100 years. Awful as the last two years have been, COVID-19 was a mere bagatelle compared with the carnage wrought by historical pandemics such as Bubonic Plague, Small Pox and Malaria, (to name but a few).
In short, we have been stewing in a soup of viruses and bugs that have been trying to kill us since time immemorial. Our immune systems have evolved amazing skills to help cope with this onslaught of disease and pestilence; and it’s pretty good, all in all.
Whilst most animals meet these same challenges in the same way, we humans, and our forebears and our ancestors, have had an extra weapon in this fight; our intelligence.
In this talk Dr Wilks will describe the arc of humanity’s struggle to heal that which ails us. From our first adventures with plant-based remedies, perhaps seven million years ago, to our present-day supercomputer-aided drug discovery industry, we have been on an unrelenting journey, searching for therapeutic drugs that can fight off microbial predators, extend our lives, and generally improve our quality of life.
Dr Wilks will share lessons from his own adventures designing new therapeutic drugs and disclose his thoughts on how his present day activities have been part of a continuous fight for survival that we humans have been involved in for more than seven million years.
The Four O’clock Forum on 30 March will be a ‘ripper’. It is easy to enrol. It is just like enrolling in any other class. Either do it online (i.e. add courses to Cart then checkout) or fill in an orange form at the Reception Desk. You must be double vaccinated and have that indicated on your membership record.
Dr Andrew Wilks has a very dry sense of humour and I commend this Forum to you.
June MacDonald
Class Leader and Member of the Committee of Management