Thu 12 Mar 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Dr Virginia Pedicord, CITIID , Department of Medicine
- Speaker: Roser Vento-Tormo, Sanger Institute
- Thursday 12 March 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 12 Feb 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Maike de la Roche, CRUK
- Speaker: Prof James Arnold, Professor and Head of Tumour Immunology Group, King's College London
- Thursday 12 February 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 29 Jan 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Prof Ravi Gupta, CITIID , Department of Medicine
- Speaker: Prof John Tregoning, Professor of Vaccine Immunology, Imperial College London
- Thursday 29 January 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 05 Feb 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Prof Yorgo Modis, CITIID , Department of Medicine
- Speaker: Prof Neil Brockdorff, Biochemistry, University of Oxford
- Thursday 05 February 2026, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 04 Dec 13:00: Title to be confirmed Note unusual time
Host: Maike de la Roche, CRUK
Note unusual time
- Speaker: Clair Gardiner, Professor in Immunology, Trinity College Dublin
- Thursday 04 December 2025, 13:00-14:00
- Venue: Clifford Allbutt Lecture Theatre, Clifford Allbutt Building.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 27 Nov 16:00: Title to be confirmed
Host: Patrycja Kozik, LMB
- Speaker: Sebastian Amigorena, Director of Research, Institut Curie, Paris
- Thursday 27 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 13 Nov 16:30: Title to be confirmed Note unusual time
Host: Tim Halim, CRUK
Note unusual time
- Speaker: Prof Mark Cragg, Professor in Experimental Cancer Biology, University of Southampton
- Thursday 13 November 2025, 16:30-17:30
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 02 Oct 15:30: Chronic stress-mediated effects on the immune system: links to mental health Note unusual time
Dr. Stacey Kigar is a research associate in the Department of Medicine and affiliate of the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge. She obtained her PhD in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and did postdoctoral work at the National Institute of Mental Health in the United States before moving to Cambridge in September 2020. Dr. Kigar uses both preclinical animal models and clinical research samples to investigate biological mechanisms underlying mental health and neurological disorders. She is generously supported by the Cambridge BRC , Alzheimer’s Research UK, and the MindEd Charitable Trust.
Host: Dr Chrysa Kapeni, CRUK
Note unusual time
- Speaker: Stacey Kigar, CRUK
- Thursday 02 October 2025, 15:30-16:30
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Thu 16 Oct 16:30: Title to be confirmed Note unusual time
Host: Dr Noe Rodriguez
Note unusual time
- Speaker: Dr Fränze Progatzky, Principal Investigator in Tissue Biology, Kennedy Institute, Oxford
- Thursday 16 October 2025, 16:30-17:30
- Venue: Lecture Theatre, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Centre, Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
- Series: Cambridge Immunology Network Seminar Series; organiser: Liat Churley.
Mon 13 Oct 11:00: LMB Seminar - Quorum Sensing Across Domains: From Viruses to Bacteria to Eukaryotes
Macrocyclic peptides possess a number of pharmacological characteristics distinct from other well-established therapeutic molecular classes, resulting in a versatile drug modality with a unique profile of advantages. Macrocyclic peptides are accessible by not only chemical synthesis but also ribosomal synthesis. Particularly, recent inventions of the genetic code reprogramming integrated with mRNA-encoding display format, referred to as RaPID (Random non-standard Peptides Integrated Discovery) system, have enabled us to screen mass libraries consisting of over 1 trillion members of non-standard peptides containing multiple non-proteinogenic amino acids, giving unique properties of macrocyclic pseudo-natural peptides distinct from conventional peptides, e.g. greater proteolytic stability, higher affinity (low nM to sub nM dissociation constants similar to antibodies), and superior pharmacokinetics. The field is rapidly growing evidenced by increasing interests from industrial sectors, including mega-pharmas, toward drug development efforts on macrocyclic peptides as a new modality group. This lecture discusses their screening by the RaPID system, and several showcases of therapeutic potentials of such molecules. This lecture also discusses the most recent advance in the display of de novo pseudo-natural products generated by thiopeptide’s post-translationally modifying enzymes.
- Speaker: Bonnie Bassler, Princeton University
- Monday 13 October 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/99006584805?pwd=yFgF0P1zMvOJEKkOES4eNPpntaUodk.1.
- Series: MRC LMB Seminar Series; organiser: Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator.
Mon 29 Sep 11:00: LMB Seminar - De-novo discovery of macrocyclic peptides and pseudo-natural products for therapeutic innovation
Macrocyclic peptides possess a number of pharmacological characteristics distinct from other well-established therapeutic molecular classes, resulting in a versatile drug modality with a unique profile of advantages. Macrocyclic peptides are accessible by not only chemical synthesis but also ribosomal synthesis. Particularly, recent inventions of the genetic code reprogramming integrated with mRNA-encoding display format, referred to as RaPID (Random non-standard Peptides Integrated Discovery) system, have enabled us to screen mass libraries consisting of over 1 trillion members of non-standard peptides containing multiple non-proteinogenic amino acids, giving unique properties of macrocyclic pseudo-natural peptides distinct from conventional peptides, e.g. greater proteolytic stability, higher affinity (low nM to sub nM dissociation constants similar to antibodies), and superior pharmacokinetics. The field is rapidly growing evidenced by increasing interests from industrial sectors, including mega-pharmas, toward drug development efforts on macrocyclic peptides as a new modality group. This lecture discusses their screening by the RaPID system, and several showcases of therapeutic potentials of such molecules. This lecture also discusses the most recent advance in the display of de novo pseudo-natural products generated by thiopeptide’s post-translationally modifying enzymes.
- Speaker: Hiroaki Suga - The University of Tokyo
- Monday 29 September 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/96488916942?pwd=BpCGRwD8hD8ec89yfaJ0yKPmV3o6lv.1.
- Series: MRC LMB Seminar Series; organiser: Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator.
Fri 13 Mar 17:30: How Song Shapes Society, and Society Shapes Song
Abstract
From Renaissance princes and popes to modern-day democrats and dictators, those who rule countries, religious communities and empires have often kept a close watch on singers, songs and those who compose them. Equally, song has often been used as a subversive weapon, a tool of protest and a call to arms, as well as to bolster communal or national pride and morale. The tensions around songs and singers are no less prominent today than in the past, as is shown by the recent controversies surrounding what gets broadcast from the Glastonbury Festival, who gets to sing at Covent Garden, or which nations are allowed to compete in the Eurovision Song Contest. But does music have a real capacity to change society, rather than merely acting as a vent for strong emotions? How does singing affect us as individuals? Can it actually make us feel better – physically, mentally and spiritually? Can it change minds? Conversely, can the withdrawal of opportunities to sing, whether for political, religious or medical reasons, be regarded as a crime against humanity? And does the act of singing as a community bind us together, or reinforce tribal divisions?
Bio
Richard Morrison has worked for The Times for more than 40 years, first as a classical music and opera critic, then as arts editor and now as chief culture writer. For the past three decades he has written a wide-ranging weekly column commenting on the impact of the arts on society and politics, and vice versa. He also writes a monthly column in the BBC Music Magazine and is an occasional broadcaster on BBC Radio 3. His centenary history of the London Symphony Orchestra was acclaimed as a “warts-and-all” chronicle of an orchestra’s struggle to survive, flourish and make great music through the turmoil of the 20th century. Educated at University College School and Magdalene College, Cambridge, he has also been the organist and director of music at a North London parish church for all his adult life. He is married and has four children.
- Speaker: Richard Morrison, The Times
- Friday 13 March 2026, 17:30-18:30
- Venue: Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Avenue.
- Series: Darwin College Lecture Series; organiser: Janet Gibson.
Mon 10 Nov 17:00: Gravitational Waves, Black Holes and Experimental Tests of Gravitational Theory
Gravitational waves and black holes are two of the most novel predictions of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. These predictions emerged with the discovery of General Relativity in 1916. However, it took many years to grasp their physical meaning and even more years to obtain direct evidence for their reality. The lecture will review both the theoretical developments that led to our understanding of gravitational waves and black holes, and the experimental discoveries that confirmed their physical existence and the validity of Einstein’s theory of gravitation.
- Speaker: Professor Thibault Damour (Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques)
- Monday 10 November 2025, 17:00-18:30
- Venue: Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge.
- Series: Andrew Chamblin Memorial Lectures; organiser: Dr Jo Ashbourn.
Tue 21 Oct 16:00: Standing gravitational waves
Standing waves play an important role in many branches of physics. In general relativity, the nonlinearity of the Einstein equations makes the analysis challenging, and the nature of standing gravitational waves remains incompletely understood. In this talk, I will present recent developments on this topic.
- Speaker: Sebastian Szybka (Jagiellonian University, Krakow)
- Tuesday 21 October 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: CMS MR14.
- Series: Mathematical Physics Seminar; organiser: Professor Maciej Dunajski.
Tue 04 Nov 16:00: Energy in spacetimes with negative cosmological constant
This talk will discuss global and quasilocal properties of energy in spacetimes with negative cosmological constant using spinor methods. In the first half of the talk, a general positive energy theorem is developed for asymptotically, locally AdS spacetimes with boundary geometry admitting compact cross-sections with parallel or Killing spinors. Various examples will be used to illustrate the effect of the boundary geometry. In the second half of the talk, a new notion of quasilocal mass will be defined for generic, compact, 2D, spacelike surfaces in 4D spacetimes with negative cosmological constant. The new quasilocal mass is based on work for vanishing cosmological constant by Penrose and Dougan & Mason and will be shown to have a number of physically desirable properties.
- Speaker: Virinchi Rallabhandi (University of Edinburgh)
- Tuesday 04 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: CMS MR14.
- Series: Mathematical Physics Seminar; organiser: Professor Maciej Dunajski.
Tue 11 Nov 16:00: Black Hole Binary Dynamics and High Precision Gravitational Scattering
Gravitational wave signals from coalescing binary black holes are detected, and analyzed, by using large banks of template waveforms. The construction of these templates makes an essential use of the analytical knowledge of the motion and radiation of gravitationally interacting binary systems. A new angle of attack on gravitational dynamics consists of considering (classical or quantum) scattering states. Recent results obtained by such scattering approaches will be reviewed.
- Speaker: Thibault Damour (Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques)
- Tuesday 11 November 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: CMS MR14.
- Series: Mathematical Physics Seminar; organiser: Professor Maciej Dunajski.
Tue 21 Oct 16:00: Standing gravitational waves
Standing waves play an important role in many branches of physics. In general relativity, the nonlinearity of the Einstein equations makes the analysis challenging, and the nature of standing gravitational waves remains incompletely understood. In this talk, I will present recent developments on this topic.
- Speaker: Sebastian Szybka (Jagielonian University, Krakow)
- Tuesday 21 October 2025, 16:00-17:00
- Venue: CMS MR14.
- Series: Mathematical Physics Seminar; organiser: Professor Maciej Dunajski.
Thu 23 Oct 15:00: In-process monitoring and metal additive manufacturing: from scientific insight to real-time digital quality assurance
In-process monitoring has given us fantastic scientific insight into the physics of metal additive manufacturing processes, providing new understanding of melt pool dynamics, plume behaviour, and defect formation mechanisms. However, translating this insight into industrial-scale quality assurance remains a challenge, despite the availability of sensors and software from machine manufacturers. This talk will explore the scientific progress achieved through in-process monitoring, including the identification of defect-causing phenomena and their detection to generate 3D maps of porosity and critical defects. It will also discuss emerging approaches to digital quality assurance, including the integration of machine learning and non-destructive evaluation methodologies, and how they can accelerate the qualification and adoption of metal additive manufacturing technology.
- Speaker: Paul Hooper, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College
- Thursday 23 October 2025, 15:00-16:00
- Venue: Seminar Room West, Room A0.015, Ray Dolby Centre, Cavendish Laboratory.
- Series: Physics and Chemistry of Solids Group; organiser: Stephen Walley.
Thu 09 Oct 14:00: Simplifying Synthesis with Radical Cross-Coupling
Polar disconnections are intuitive and underlie much of retrosynthetic logic. Undergraduates exposed to multistep synthesis are often taught to assemble organic molecules through the combination of positively and negatively charged synthons because, after all, opposites attract. Indeed, the most employed two-electron C–C bond forming reactions today are those either based upon classical cross-coupling reactions (e.g., Suzuki, Negishi, Heck) or polar additions (aldol, Michael, Grignard). These reactions are the mainstay of modern synthesis and have revolutionized the way molecules are constructed due to their robust and predictable nature. In contrast, radical chemistry is sparsely covered beyond the basic principles of radical chain processes (i.e., radical halogenation). The historical perception of radicals as somewhat uncontrollable species does not help the situation. As a result, synthetic chemists are not prone to make radical-based strategic bond disconnections during first-pass retrosynthetic analyses. In this talk recent studies from our lab will be discussed to illustrate the strategic advantages that can result when unconventional radical disconnections are incorporated into synthetic design plans.
- Speaker: Professor Phil S. Baran
- Thursday 09 October 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Pfizer Lecture Theatre, Department of Chemistry, Lensfield Road.
- Series: SciSoc – Cambridge University Scientific Society; organiser: ajaf3.
Tue 25 Nov 18:00: It's a Wonderful Life: the bizarre animals that live in the worlds coldest ocean and their extreme adaptations
The coldest, ice laden, and most seasonal seas on the Earth hold an abundance of life that is the most bizarre and extreme in its biology of life anywhere. Life in the seas around Antarctica is unexpectedly diverse and abundant. It houses true giant species and animals that cannot live elsewhere because their biology is so tuned to the constant low temperature and extreme seasonality. They are also amongst the most threatened by change and are in some of the fastest areas of change on the planet. This presentation will discuss the limitations faced by the animals living in Antarctic seas, how they cope and thrive in the conditions and just how unusual and bizarre some of their biology is.
- Speaker: Professor Lloyd Peck
- Tuesday 25 November 2025, 18:00-19:30
- Venue: Pfizer Lecture Theatre, Department of Chemistry, Lensfield Road.
- Series: SciSoc – Cambridge University Scientific Society; organiser: ajaf3.