The challenge of learning lessons and making predictions
Posted on 26 October 2009
Professor Hugh Pennington will discuss how the fact that health threats such as E.coli outbreaks, or influenza pandemics, occur so infrequently leads to a lack of experience on the part of those charged with responding to them.
He chaired the inquiry into Britain’s biggest E.coli O157 food poisoning outbreak that led to 17 deaths in Scotland in 1996 and also led the inquiry into the 2005 outbreak in South Wales.
Professor Pennington will use his lecture to discuss the biology of E.coli O157, the remarkable similarities between the two events and make comparisons with the space shuttle disasters.
His lecture is the first of three this term in the York Biology Lecture series which is supported by the University of York Distinguished Visitors Fund and the Department of Biology.
It will take place at 12.15pm on 28 October in room P/X001, in the Department of Physics. Admission is free and open to all.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- The University hosts a series of public lectures covering a wide variety of subjects every year. A complete list is available at http://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/.
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