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Wain Medal Lecture to illuminate role of sugars in health and disease

The annual Wain Medal Lecture at the University of Kent will explore the role that sugars play in biology, health, medicine and disease.

Titled 'Life is sweet: sugars in nature', the lecture will be given by Professor Ben Davis from the Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford, at 6pm on Tuesday 21 October in Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 (Canterbury campus). The lecture, which is free and open to all, will be presented in a way that is accessible to scientists and non-scientists alike. There is disabled access to the lecture theatre.

Professor Davis is the 2008 winner of the Wain Medal. Awarded annually in memory of Professor Louis Wain, a former Honorary Professor of Chemistry at the University of Kent, the medal recognises the achievements of an outstanding young scientist working at the interface of biology and chemistry. Professor Davis's nomination was for his pioneering and world-leading research on carbohydrate biochemistry and its application to biotechnology and therapeutics.

Alan Bull, Emeritus Professor of Microbial Technology in the University's Department of Biosciences, said: 'The translation of science into practical endpoints for the benefit of humanity was a life-long mission of Louis Wain and is surely something that he would applaud in the outstanding research being done by Ben Davis. We can look forward to an exciting lecture.'

Dr Dan Lloyd, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology and Director of the MSc in Science, Communication and Society at the University of Kent, provided context for Professor Davis' lecture by saying: 'Sugars are critical biological molecules that fuel us, decorate cells, regulate the properties of proteins and can determine the progression of health and disease. Often overlooked as our attention has focused on other aspects of biochemistry, sugars have emerged as highly versatile biological molecules with diverse roles in infection, cancer, inflammation and cell communication.'

Contact: mediaoffice@kent.ac.uk

Story published at 3:17pm 15 October 2008