"Will We Still Be Human at the End of the 21st Century?"-Free Public Lecture

"Will We Still Be Human at the End of the 21st Century?"-Free Public Lecture
Lord Robert Winston, well-known British broadcaster and presenter of documentaries The Human Body, The Secret Life of Twins, Making Babies and, most recently, Superhuman, will present the E.S. Meyers Memorial Lecture on November 3, 2000 in Mayne Hall, The University of Queensland, St Lucia at 7.30 pm.

This annual lecture, which honours the memory of one of the founding fathers of the UQ School of Medicine, Professor Errol Solomon Meyers, is presented by the UQ Medical Society in conjunction with The University of Queensland and is one of the major highlights of the Society's academic year.

With the recent advances by the Human Genome Project and in cloning, this discussion of the potential for human development is timely and necessary for informed public debate.

Lord Winston, Baron of Hammersmith in London, is Professor of Fertility Studies, Imperial College School of Medicine at London University and Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Hammersmith Hospital London.

He is the director of the United Kingdom's biggest reproductive medicine department and has been instrumental in developing intricate gynaecological microsurgery techniques for the treatment of tubal disorders and sterilisation reversal. His team has established various internationally adopted improvements in fertility medicine, IVF and DNA testing.

Currently, the group is researching issues of transgenic technology, genomic imprinting and new techniques for maturing eggs in-vitro, which may result in IVF becoming more accessible and affordable.

He has published over 300 articles in learned journals worldwide, is a prolific author of books on ethics, fertility and reproductive technology.

Entry is free to the lecture but a ticket is required. Light refreshments are available following the lecture. Car parking is available nearby.

For more information or free tickets, contact the UQ Medical Society (telephone 07 3365 5261).

For media enquiries and interview, contact Peter McCutcheon at UQ Communications (telephone 07 3365 1088) or email: communications@mailbox.uq.edu.au.