SCI Public Evening Lecture: Hadyn Parry - The war against mosquito-borne diseases - changing times, changing minds

Synopsis

The mosquito is the world’s most dangerous animal; accounting for hundreds of millions of malaria and dengue cases each year. In the global war against the mosquito it is the mosquito that is winning as trends such as globalisation and urbanisation provide transportation and environments that exacerbate the threat of mosquito borne diseases. In his talk Hadyn will argue that current tools have proved unsuccessful in combating this threat and that new approaches are desperately needed. His solution is that genetic engineering provides an answer by allowing the use of genetically ‘sterile’ mosquitoes that are released into an urban environment to reduce rapidly the disease carrying species. In presenting such a solution Hadyn argues that proponents must address the perceptions around GM technology with clear communication and transparency.

Join SCI for its Public Evening Lecture series which are free and open to all. This talk forms part of SCI's 2014/15 Outreach Programme of Evening Lectures.

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About the speaker

Hadyn Parry is the Chief Executive of Oxitec, an Oxfordshire based company pioneering the control of insects that spread disease and damage crops.
Hadyn has an extensive background in the Life Science sector. During his career at ICI Crop Protection/Zeneca/Syngenta he held various positions helping to develop solutions for farmers and public health authorities. Hadyn has been involved in the development of GM crops through his position as General Manager of Zeneca Plant Sciences and as European Business Director and Global Head of R&D for Advanta, one of the world’s largest seed companies. More recently he has worked as an entrepreneur in the pharmaceutical sector developing new therapeutics. Hadyn was also Chairman of Help for Heroes, a UK charity founded in 2007 to support wounded British soldiers from its foundation up to 2013.