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A night of disease! We will hear about an infectious disease, in the context of malaria, and a non-infectious disease, diabetes. But alas, do not fear, for not only will we hear about disease epidemics, we will also hear about how we can stop them...
Malaria and drug resistance
Dr Joe Zhu
(Postdoctoral Research Associate)
Malaria has dramatically shaped modern human evolution and development. Joe will present stories of how malaria has played an important role throughout history and influenced conflicts ranging from wars in ancient China to the Vietnam War. This pernicious disease still kills half a million people every year. Moreover, the rapid spread of multi-drug resistant malaria exacerbates the problem and demands urgent action. Joe will demonstrate how his research on parasite genomes can help doctors and policy makers better understand the malaria epidemic.
Tackling the complexities of diabetes
Dr Natalie van Zuydam
(Postdoctoral researcher)
Diabetes has a complicated relationship with heart attacks, kidney disease and amputations. Natalie will talk about how we use mutations in our DNA to understand why some people with diabetes suffer from these illnesses while others do not. She will discuss how we may begin to use genetics to reduce diabetes related illness. Come along to discover how geneticists tackle complicated relationships in disease.
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