The Erasmus Seminar Series was launched in November 2022, in celebration of the diverse intellectual life of the College. The series fills a gap in scope and scale between the ambition of the Darwin Lecture Series and the intimacy of the Research Seminars. A seminar is held termly, and is open to all College members.
The Master, Dr Mike Rands, said of the new series:
“In an exciting new development for Darwin College, I’m delighted we are launching the Erasmus Seminar series. This draws upon the College’s deep intellectual strengths, interdisciplinary and international outlook and research rich environment to hear and discuss a topic of great significance for society and especially our academic community.”
Upcoming seminar:
21 May 2025
Professor Carol Brayne
Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia – rhetoric and the evidence base from an epidemiological perspective
This talk will draw on four decades of population-based studies based within communities. It will cover how contemporary rhetoric regarding dementia and its subtypes has, to a substantial degree, become disconnected from the reality of how dementia is experienced in ageing societies. The talk will cover concepts such as prevalence and incidence, risk and protection and how upstream prevention fits with the current narratives of early detection and much publicised potential therapies. It will also cover the challenges of how communities, households and individuals are affected by inequalities and inequities that have far reaching impact across generations.
Carol is Professor Emeritus of Public Health Medicine at the University since 2024, and was Director of the Institute of Public Health, then co-director of the University’s Cambridge Public Health IRC until her retirement. She has led population studies of ageing populations for four decades. These multidisciplinary and multicentre studies have provided understanding of how dementia, frailty, healthy ageing are experienced in communities, providing evidence from policy to biology. She has also been a leader within the public health community in the region and nationally. Her contributions were recognised with a CBE in the Queen’s Honours in 2017, Fellowship of the Academy of Medical Sciences and awards from the Faculty of Public Health.
Previous seminars:
23 November 2022
Professor Catherine Barnard
What happens when enforcement doesn’t happen: Brexit, free movement and … Great Yarmouth
8 February 2023
Professor Jonathan Heeney
How to prevent the next pandemic
10 May 2023
Dr Jennifer Schooling
Smart Infrastructure [Cambridge only]
1 November 2023
Professor Chris Bishop
The Dawn of Artificial General Intelligence
7 February 2024
Professor Simon Schaffer
Colonial natures and climate sciences [Cambridge only]
8 May 2024
Professor Flora Samuel
The Cambridge Room: engagement and inclusion in spatial planning [Cambridge only]
30 October 2024
Dr Torsten Krude
Where to begin? Replicating the human genome [Cambridge only]
12 February 2024
Dr Mohamed El-Erian
Bridging the Trust Gap: Economics, Economists and Public Policy [Cambridge only]
