(2005-05-04) University of Leicester, Ather Mirza
Professor’s voyage out of Africa in public lecture, 24 May 2005.
A genetic journey, out of Africa to a future of highly individualized health care, will be undertaken by a University of Leicester professor.
In his inaugural lecture on 24 May, Professor Anthony Brookes will describe how the most fundamental ways in which human genes vary are now being examined, and the fact that this is likely to have an enormous impact upon society and medicine.
The lecture, Mankind’s Genetic Voyage Out of Africa and into a Morbid State, takes place in Lecture Theatre 1 of the Ken Edwards Building, starting at 5.30pm and is followed by a reception. It is free and open to the public.
Professor Brookes, who is Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics in the world-class Department of Genetics, will assess how genetics provides the potential to provide targeted individual medical care in the future as well as provide greater understanding for the genetic basis of common illnesses.
Professor Brookes will also describe how the genetic evolution of man out of Africa - assessing how variations in the genetic make-up of individuals can help to make sense of how people came to exist across the planet. He said:
“University of Leicester researchers have a strong reputation for studying the basics of genome variation and its functional consequences. Breakthroughs include the discovery of variable DNA elements that lead to DNA fingerprinting, the revelation of extensive copy-number variations, and the elucidation of many correlations between sequence alteration and disease. Much still remains to be discovered in the very new field, and with ever-better equipment and resources we are steadily moving towards a whole-genome analysis of DNA variation in all its glory.”
NOTE TO NEWSDESK
For more information, please contact Professor Brookes on (0)116 252 5233