‘The risks to society of unrestricted antibiotic use’ – Saturday Evening Lecture on 28th March

Published On Tue 24 Mar 2015 by Grant Hill

The resurgence of tuberculosis is a very real possibility and Professor Dame Sally Davies will explain how this is just one of the many serious implications of unrestricted antibiotic use for society at the University of Dundee this weekend.

Dame Sally, Chief Medical Officer for England, will deliver the next instalment of the University’s Saturday Evening Lecture Series (SELS) at the Dalhousie Building on 28th March. The lecture is also the inaugural Margaret Fairlie Lecture, named after the first female Professor in Scotland, and takes place in conjunction with Dundee’s Women in Science 2015 festival.

The development of effective antibiotics revolutionised healthcare in the second half of the 20th Century leading to massive falls in the threat to the public from a range of major diseases. However, the widespread use of these agents has led to problems of resistance. In her talk, Dame Sally will outline the extent of the coming crisis as well as how society might tackle this urgent problem.

In February 2013, Dame Sally was named the 6th most powerful woman in the UK by the BBC Radio 4 programme Woman's Hour. She previously held the posts of Director General of Research and Development and Chief Scientific Adviser for the Department of Health and National Health Service.

SELS is Scotland's oldest continuous free public lecture series and its history can be traced back to a series of lectures held jointly with the Dundee Naturalists Society beginning with a lecture by Principal John Yule Mackay on Primitive Man in October 1924.

‘The risks to society of unrestricted antibiotic use’ takes place at the Dalhousie Building, Old Hawkhill from 6pm on Saturday, 28th March.

A drinks reception will follow this lecture. Overflow theatres may be in operation and the main lecture theatre is filled on a first come first seated basis on the night.

Free tickets are available from Tower Reception, 01382 385108, online at www.dundee.ac.uk/tickets, or by emailing events@dundee.ac.uk.

Notes to editors:

Dundee is once again celebrating the achievements of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) with the Women in Science Festival. A total of 45 exhibitions, talks, film screenings, fun days and other events are taking place across the city in March, and the festival is supported by many of the internationally acclaimed female scientists and researchers working at institutions in Dundee.

The programme highlights the many opportunities there are for women to pursue a career in science and related subjects. It is the only festival in the world to focus on celebrating women in science and this year will present a range of film screenings, exhibitions, talks and family fun days.

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