Alumni Festival 2019

Trypanosomes - the causal agents of sleeping sickness

The Department's 2019 Alumni Festival event was held on Saturday 28th September. Dr Andrew Grace and Professor Mark Carrington both gave talks in the Hopkins Building, and Dr Ross Waller gave a lecture at the Sidgwick Site, all of which were open to University alumni and members of the general public.

Imaging and fixing the heartbeat in the 21st century

Disturbances of the heart rhythm are responsible for many strokes and for cardiac arrest. Such arrhythmias can be quantified across multiple domains and are genetically determined. Direct visualisation of the human heartbeat has now been achieved, allowing an opportunity for significant biological and clinical advances that are likely to greatly impact public health.

  • Speaker: Dr Andrew Grace
  • Date: Saturday 28th September
  • Time: 14:00-14:30
  • Location: Coleman Library, Department of Biochemistry, Hopkins Building, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW.

Sleeping sickness: how a parasite can determine human history and what to do about it

Trypanosomes are the causal agents of sleeping sickness. Human and livestock infection has had profound effects on the history of sub-Saharan Africa and even today determines where livestock farming is feasible.

  • Speaker: Professor Mark Carrington
  • Date: Saturday 28th September
  • Time: 14:45-15:15
  • Location: Marjory Stephenson Lecture Theatre, Department of Biochemistry, Hopkins Building, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge, CB2 1QW.

How to fit 2000 miles of string in your handbag: DNA compaction at its extremes

The complexity of life is stored as information written in vast strings of DNA. Storing all of this information safely is a colossal challenge for living organisms. So, who are the champions of DNA compaction? Not who you might expect - but the oceans, coral reefs and planet depend on them!

  • Speaker: Dr Ross Waller
  • Date: Saturday 28th September
  • Time: 16:00-17:00
  • Location: Sidgwick Site, 5 West Road, Cambridge, CB3 9DP.