Professor Rick Young to give Distinguished Gates Lecture

  • October 18, 2011
Professor Rick Young to give Distinguished Gates Lecture

Professor Young is one of the leading minds in science, business and technology.

Professor Rick Young will speak about his ground-breaking genetics research and its implications for future medicine at a Gates Distinguished Lecture this week.

Named one of the top 50 leaders in science, technology and business by Scientific American, Professor Young’s lecture, Genetics, Epigenetics and Future Medicine, will take place on 19th October at Magdalene College and is open to all University members.

Professor Young is a Member of the Whitehead Institute and a Professor of Biology at MIT. He studies the gene regulatory circuitry that controls cell state in humans and animals.  Among his scientific accomplishments is the discovery of the core regulatory circuitry of human embryonic stem cells.  This regulatory circuitry controls developmental processes that are key to human health and disease.

Professor Young received his BSc degree in Biological Sciences at Indiana University, his PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, and conducted postdoctoral research at Stanford.  He has served as an advisor to Science magazine, the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization.  He has founded and advised companies in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.  His honours include a Burroughs Wellcome Scholarship, the Chiron Corporation Biotechnology Research Award, and Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal.

After his lecture, Professor Young will have dinner with around 12 scholars.

The lecture takes place from 6:30 – 7:30 pm at Cripps Auditorium, Magdalene College.

Picture credit: dream designs and www.freedigitalphotos.net

Latest News

Celebrating agricultural innovation in Africa

A foundation started by a Gates Cambridge Scholar is leading a Cambridge Festival event in March to celebrate agricultural innovation in Africa where a new project on food security will be launched. The Agri-Innovation & Impact Project (AGRIIP) will be launched at the Roots of Resilience event on 27th March. It is designed to empower […]

What makes Earth tick

It was during his master’s that Alex Myhill [2022] was introduced to Earth Science and realised just how much we don’t understand about the Earth. He wanted to explore further and his PhD seeks to understand the dynamics that make the Earth tick. He is developing new techniques for the efficient computation of whole Earth […]

25th anniversary panel to speak at Cambridge Festival

Five Scholars will speak about their ideas that could change the world at this year’s Cambridge Festival as part of the ongoing celebrations for Gates Cambridge’s 25th anniversary. The Festival programme has been published today and includes the Gates Cambridge event – Ideas that could change the world – hosted by international journalist Catherine Galloway […]

Study shows need for repeated vaccines for immunocompromised people

Vaccinations alone may not be enough to protect people with compromised immune systems from infection, even if the vaccine has generated the production of antibodies, according to new research from the University of Cambridge led by a Gates Cambridge Scholar. The findings, published today in Science Advances, suggest that such individuals will need regular vaccine […]